Gilgamesh: A Closer Look

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By: TitanAjax | 2021/3/30

WHO IS GILGAMESH?

The King of Uruk

In ancient history there exists a certain type of poem that tells the story of the most heroic figures of all time: The Epic. The first epic ever written comes from the region known as Sumeria, which later would found the great city of Babylon. And the hero within this epic: Gilgamesh.

SMITE has long awaited this figure. The first mythical hero of all time. Many of us have studied him as part of our literature education in different countries around the world, and now we can see him realized in modern art and technology within SMITE!

OUR VISION

Gilgamesh is a king, a leader, and an adventurer. We can see from ancient art specifically how the people of this ancient civilization depicted their kings and other persons of high stature. Gilgamesh is designed to embody that historical image clearly.

Themes

Theme – Humanity – Gilgamesh makes mistakes, he beseeches the gods for help, and he seeks far and wide for immortality. He is not a traditional god, but was deified by his people.
Visuals – Cultural Icon – He displays the features and culture of his people in every detail of his design. Historical imagery and exploration of a new region for SMITE drive these visuals.
Personality – Transformative – He learns from his experiences. He changes and grows with each adventure. He adapts to his surroundings.
Perspective – The Catalyst – When Gilgamesh arrives things escalate quickly in the standoff against Tiamat. This empowers some gods, but deeply worries others. Gilgamesh sets forth the chain reaction that will drive the SMITE story through the rest of the year.

The gods are closely watching Tiamat, not quite ready to act. However, that action is taken for them when Gilgamesh arrives. He knows the history of Tiamat, and how she warred with his gods before. For these reasons he immediately jumps to action to call out Tiamats treachery and he even attempts to defeat her himself.

Many gods are still grateful for Tiamat, as she banished Cthulhu and rebuilt much of the destruction across the world. They see Gilgamesh’s actions as reckless. Other gods have grown concerned over Tiamat’s behavior, and agree that she should be shown that she will not rule over other gods. The deities must now pick a side, which won’t be an easy decision.

ARTISTIC PROCESS

We had very clear goals for Gilgamesh, leading to a lot less experimentation than we normally do. We knew we wanted a strong, fit, male figure. With a skin tone and the signature beard that would be expected for men of this region.

A lot of our iterations came down to more details. Specifically his hairstyle, clothing, and decorative elements. A king as renowned as Gilgamesh could have a variety of adornments. He needs to look royal, but also look ready for battle.

The crown was an immediate favorite among the dev team. It looked great and reinforced his themes. That same iteration also had a lot of other visually strong elements. The asymmetrical shoulder armor vs cloak brought a lot of visual interest compared to the others. The strong focal point on his hip provided balance.

If you look closely, you’ll see references to specific animals in his armor like the lion and the bull. Both are references to specific parts of his epic. These animals he conquered or tamed as part of his journey are now a part of him in SMITE.

Gilgamesh’s weapon and armor are important parts to both his kit as well as his visuals. He was said to have acquired powerful artifacts in his journeys, which we wanted to portray as a general theme. His weapon has some supernatural elements worked into it to signify this, as well as to compliment some of his gameplay. These artifacts are not described clearly in the original epic, so we creatively applied themes from Gilgamesh and references to other Babylonian gods, like Shamash.

GAMEPLAY

The King of Uruk is a Warrior. Likely to be played in solo but he definitely could be flexible, more likely into Jungle than Support though. Gilgamesh takes a hands-on approach to combat. He brings a lot of brute-force strength and an in-your-face attitude. Gilgamesh is a king and a tactician, but also a man of the people. He might even remind you of a professional wrestler, but a more divine one, of course.

Unique Gameplay Features

A unique passive that requires him to venture to a map location.
Visiting that location will grant him a random tier 1 item
A basic attack self buff that increases in duration on successful basic attacks – allowing for possibly infinite uptime
Brand new basic attack animation tech to make his attacks feel smoother than ever, especially while moving in various directions
A Drop-kick ability that combines with his ultimate to create a “king of the ring” feeling – allowing Gilgamesh to chain knockbacks on his opponents
A Leap that encourages his allies to follow him, and provides buffs to them
A lean and straightforward kit. Designed to do exactly what it needs to do.

Gilgamesh drops into the SMITE universe next update, and with him comes the first Living Conquest Update. His challenge against Tiamat amplifies the tension between the gods, leading to rapid changes in the story as well as in the game-world. Tiamat or Gilgamesh? It’s time to make your choice!