Vedran Vivoda

Gowan McDerrick (the main character)

Gowan was born on 31st October 1866 in a town called Scarborough on the seashores of North Yorkshire. In his youth, the town was still a respectable port, especially for fish export. His father had a small fleet of fishing boats, and his life seemed as if it had already been written.

In 1882, the Borough’s councilors agreed to make no further extensions or improvements to the harbor. This meant that henceforth the governors of the town would give priority to its development as a tourist and retirement resort by the sea, not as a seafaring community. After that, the export of fish dwindled, and Gowan’s father fell into debt. Soon after this turnout in the local economy, his mother died from cholera. During this time, Gowan tried to save his father’s business, but the father slowly deteriorated, both in health and mind. In 1887, the family business was lost. Soon after, the father perished too. He was alone in this world, but for the first time he was felt free. He read the local newspaper article about Mahdist War and he knew that is the only way out from Scarborough.

Story summary

During the first part of The Second Boer war, Brigadier-General Sir Edward Bellingham found a rare artifact bearing a strange script in the ruins of the lost city Kweneng. In the middle of fighting, Brigadier-General fell into the ground and nobody had seen him for ten days. The scouts found him three miles north of the camp and what was strange, five miles east from the hole he fell in.
Gowan was devastated when Sir Edward disappeared. He felt like he was losing his father again. Gowan felt devastated and was about to jump into the hole after Sir Edward when the other six colleagues told him that the scouts had found him. When he saw him, he was so trilled and full of joy that he ignored the ominous presence in his voice. Sir Edward spoke Sumerian, which Gowan did not understand, and he thought this was just the old Egyptian language.
A few weeks, Sir Edward had to leave for England. The consequence of falling into the hole was a broken spine. Doctors in South Africa agreed that he would never walk again. Gowan noticed that Sir Edward was becoming increasingly grim and depressed, focused only on an Egyptian manuscript he found in the tombs bellow the lost city of Kweneng.
The war soon ended and Gowan was in London again. He was a highly decorated soldier now, with the rank of corporal and got a leave in London. A few weeks of contract left, he had to decide whether he would or take another tour. However, the life is strange. He rented a room in a dosshouse on the shores of Thames. No sooner had he unpacked his bags than an invitation bearing Sir Edward’s sigil arrived.

Character design (art)

The story is set in the early 1900’s so the character needed to reflect the look of the people who lived in that time. The main protagonist lived in Scarborough in North Yorkshire (England) so our final redesign of the character really managed to capture the feel of that time & style. The picture bellow, we see the progression of the main character through different game versions.