What I meant by what I said is that I am more focused on building out a test level where I can test game mechanics that will be in the game, before I actually start to work on the actual game. The test level will very likely end up being either a section in the game or even part of a demo. I don’t know how to get the game mechanics I want up and running as I don’t even know how to model characters and rig animations for them, something that some tutorial online or these forums might help with (in discussion in a different thread).
I’m pretty confident that the introductory part of the story doesn’t need to be changed, although I’m up to change parts of it if anyone has any good ideas.
What do you mean by create a crisp, short animation sequence for the beginning? Do you mean a cutscene made in Matinee?
The girl in the square becomes one of the two central main characters that is going to be in my game. She’ll basically go around Rome trying to find information about the true murderer, what is to happen to the mother and boy, and how the Gladiatorial Games will pan out. I was thinking that she bumps into the father early in the game where they then work together to try and save the father’s wife and his/her son who is locked up in the prison. She’ll be the sort of stealth-character who plans out her moves, in contrast to the other main character where the father (who is the other main character) of the boy will be the sort of head rushing in person that just gets things done.