Note: The final shipping legends were the product of numerous incredibly talented individuals across multiple departments and disciplines. While I initiated, implemented, and drove these character designs in terms of abilities and gameplay, the final product was only realized through a team effort.
Live Service Disclaimer: Apex Legends is a live service game. Legends are subject to balance changes and even full kit redesigns. I stopped working on Apex in late 2019 and my last Legend design released in 2020. I claim neither credit nor responsibility for the current live state of Apex characters. While much of my work survives in its original form, subsequent alterations and balance changes are the unique contributions of other designers. My commentary, observations, and philosophy on Apex character design extends to my designs at the time they launched and no further.
Live Service Disclaimer: Apex Legends is a live service game. Legends are subject to balance changes and even full kit redesigns. I stopped working on Apex in late 2019 and my last Legend design released in 2020. I claim neither credit nor responsibility for the current live state of Apex characters. While much of my work survives in its original form, subsequent alterations and balance changes are the unique contributions of other designers. My commentary, observations, and philosophy on Apex character design extends to my designs at the time they launched and no further.
Key Details
Project: Apex Legends
Feature: Gibraltar - Long-Range Defensive Character
Fantasy: The Immovable Object
Niche: Long-range Squad Anchor
My Role: Pitched, Designed, and Scripted Character Abilities.
Released: February 4th, 2019
Feature: Gibraltar - Long-Range Defensive Character
Fantasy: The Immovable Object
Niche: Long-range Squad Anchor
My Role: Pitched, Designed, and Scripted Character Abilities.
Released: February 4th, 2019
Kit Summary
I designed Gibraltar’s kit to solve the Battle Royale problem of unexpected threats in open terrain. Drawing inspiration from the fantasy of an immovable object, I built a deployable dome Tactical that creates instant cover, a gun shield Passive that enables safe counter‑peeking, and an area‑denial bombardment Ultimate that deters enemies who attempt to breach his position.
Work Overview
- Pitched, designed, implemented, and iterated all three abilities. Collaborated with Designer Carlos Pineda on final polish.
- Prototyped numerous ability alternatives to find final kit.
- Worked closely with Art, FX, Narrative, and Animation to interweave character persona with gameplay mechanics.
Designing Gibraltar
Design Overview
Gibraltar was the very first character made for Apex Legends. Mechanically, the kit was inspired by an immovable object. I named the prototype after the Rock of Gibraltar, since last I checked, nobody's moved it.
Like several early Apex characters, Gibraltar was designed to address specific pain points I saw in the Battle Royale format.
Believe it or not, I wasn't a fan of Battle Royale before developing Apex. I grew up splitting my time between arena, tactical, and mil-sim shooters. Coming from arena shooters, Battle Royale pacing felt slow and high-risk. From the mil-sim angle, engagements felt rushed and haphazard.
Further, the mode's loot and circle RNG create a "poker" dynamic. A "bad hand" can compromise your ability to participate. Many players drop, loot, and die before things get interesting. This creates a game loop where some players are endlessly preparing and never participating. Enduring numerous false starts just to get a good match is Sisyphean. It doesn't give players a good return on their time investment.
Attacking this issue was an opportunity to broaden the mode's appeal.
Essentially, early versions of Battle Royale had key frictions that wasted a player's time. Getting killed instantly after several minutes of initial looting wasn't uncommon. If players had to die most of the time, I wanted them to go down fighting. Players needed reliable opportunities to use their loot and fully participate in the match.
Character design became my avenue to address this.
This outcome-focused design philosophy pervades many of my Apex character designs. Instead of starting with a specific mechanic or fantasy, I started with a specific problem I wanted to fix. For Gibraltar, it was the unpleasant feeling of being eliminated suddenly from random angles. By setting a target outcome up front, it becomes much easier to gauge progress and success.
I tend to think about shooters in terms of angles and threat. You threaten angles based on where you are aiming. You control your threat exposure by positioning yourself. In some shooters, you can carefully manage threat by playing angles and slicing the pie. Battle Royale rarely gives players that luxury. You are frequently exposed to 360 degrees of threat, running from the circle, and moving over open ground between points of interest. Death is high-consequence, so there is a great potential for frustration.
When a good position isn't available, Gibraltar creates one. He curtails threats and brings hope to otherwise hopeless situations.
Gibraltar was the very first character made for Apex Legends. Mechanically, the kit was inspired by an immovable object. I named the prototype after the Rock of Gibraltar, since last I checked, nobody's moved it.
Like several early Apex characters, Gibraltar was designed to address specific pain points I saw in the Battle Royale format.
Believe it or not, I wasn't a fan of Battle Royale before developing Apex. I grew up splitting my time between arena, tactical, and mil-sim shooters. Coming from arena shooters, Battle Royale pacing felt slow and high-risk. From the mil-sim angle, engagements felt rushed and haphazard.
Further, the mode's loot and circle RNG create a "poker" dynamic. A "bad hand" can compromise your ability to participate. Many players drop, loot, and die before things get interesting. This creates a game loop where some players are endlessly preparing and never participating. Enduring numerous false starts just to get a good match is Sisyphean. It doesn't give players a good return on their time investment.
Attacking this issue was an opportunity to broaden the mode's appeal.
Essentially, early versions of Battle Royale had key frictions that wasted a player's time. Getting killed instantly after several minutes of initial looting wasn't uncommon. If players had to die most of the time, I wanted them to go down fighting. Players needed reliable opportunities to use their loot and fully participate in the match.
Character design became my avenue to address this.
This outcome-focused design philosophy pervades many of my Apex character designs. Instead of starting with a specific mechanic or fantasy, I started with a specific problem I wanted to fix. For Gibraltar, it was the unpleasant feeling of being eliminated suddenly from random angles. By setting a target outcome up front, it becomes much easier to gauge progress and success.
I tend to think about shooters in terms of angles and threat. You threaten angles based on where you are aiming. You control your threat exposure by positioning yourself. In some shooters, you can carefully manage threat by playing angles and slicing the pie. Battle Royale rarely gives players that luxury. You are frequently exposed to 360 degrees of threat, running from the circle, and moving over open ground between points of interest. Death is high-consequence, so there is a great potential for frustration.
When a good position isn't available, Gibraltar creates one. He curtails threats and brings hope to otherwise hopeless situations.
My original sketch illustrating gun shield body coverage.
The Abilities
Dome of Protection [Tactical]
The Dome Shield was the very first character ability I prototyped for Apex. I wanted to lay a strong foundation for my immovable object fantasy and reduce the pain of getting shot from random angles. Players needed a tool to block unexpected gunfire.
Some kind of "popup" bunker felt like a natural fit.
I realized that we already had a serviceable "bunker." As Titanfall fans will know, Gibraltar's Tactical repurposes the dome shield originally used to protect Titans.
The initial prototype was fun and tactically flexible. You can use the dome as cover, partition off a door or hallway, or protect a downed teammate. It just worked.
Getting ambushed is a common experience in Battle Royale. A fight that starts and ends in the same moment creates enormous friction. When players die before they can react, they're robbed of agency. Abilities like the Dome Shield give players tools to recover and fight. Even if they lose, they participated in the match.
The dome's high visibility also shaped how I thought about ability reads. When Gibraltar uses his Dome Shield, he clearly telegraphs his fighting position. Battle Royale is fundamentally about choosing fights. Who you fight, when and where, makes or breaks you. I realized that by coupling survivability and visibility players would voluntarily "announce" their position. This creates greater awareness of enemy positions across the match. When players are aware of each other, firefights tend to start at longer ranges with squads facing each other. These fights last longer, offer more participation, and are generally less lethal than close-quarters fights.
This philosophy of visual anchoring—seen across the Apex roster—started with Gibraltar.
Gun Shield [Passive]
Once the Dome Shield was functioning, I began to notice some ergonomic issues. For balance reasons, the Dome Shield blocks both incoming and outgoing gunfire. Gibraltar players were routinely wiggling the edge of their Dome Shield to shoot at enemy players. Players often deploy the dome on open ground, engaging enemies situated behind superior cover. By stepping out of the dome, Gibraltar exposes his full body, but his enemies still have their cover. All other factors being equal, Gibraltar loses that trade.
People aren't wrong for wanting to peek the dome. You have to shoot or you give the enemy a free pass to close on you. It's also best not to pick a fight with human nature. I supported the behavior by giving Gibraltar a gun shield. The shield allowed players to trade favorably when stepping out of the dome.
The gun shield helps reinforce Gibraltar's role as a long-range defensive anchor. You can peek risky angles and trade favorably in poking fights. The shield makes it challenging for opponents to push you if you hold a prepared angle. This allows Gibraltar to block without relying on defensive structures. Since the shield deploys after a delay when Gibraltar aims down sights, he surrenders this advantage while rapidly advancing.
Ultimately, it gave players the tool they needed to use the Dome Shield effectively, which helped cement his immovable object fantasy.
Defensive Bombardment [Ultimate]
Once Gibraltar sets up in a position, he is incredibly difficult to dislodge unless you aggressively push into his dome. If you can push and occupy the dome, Gibraltar's squad is forced into the open—where death awaits them. Gibraltar is most vulnerable when his dome is on cooldown and he is forced to move unexpectedly. He wants to hold opponents at range, but his kit didn't initially offer players any tools to accomplish this.
I wanted to fill this gap with an Ultimate that deters enemies from encroaching on Gibraltar's position. It would provide a final backstop if all else failed. A zoning ability seemed like my best option, but it needed to be large enough to encapsulate the dome.
In the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong frequently used a tactic called "belt grabbing." It was a very pragmatic way of countering enemy air power. You engage enemy infantry at almost point-blank range. That way, you can't be shelled or bombed without friendly fire.
What if Gibraltar employed the inverse strategy? The idea of shelling yourself to create distance jumped out at me. With Gibraltar safe inside his dome, it sounded plausible. Like a hammer striking an anvil.
I created a bombardment players could call with a thrown marker. The hypothesis worked in practice immediately. Gibraltar could quickly push back enemy forces by dropping a bombardment on his dome. It also allowed for offensive bombardments to some degree.
Gibraltar's Ultimate taught me an important character design lesson: abilities are most interesting when they force opponents to alter their tactics. The bombardment could rapidly blunt the momentum of an enemy assault, forcing them to pivot their plan. That creates participation opportunities on both sides of the fight.
This philosophy of giving players utilities to attack the opponent's strategy pervades the early character roster.
Dome of Protection [Tactical]
The Dome Shield was the very first character ability I prototyped for Apex. I wanted to lay a strong foundation for my immovable object fantasy and reduce the pain of getting shot from random angles. Players needed a tool to block unexpected gunfire.
Some kind of "popup" bunker felt like a natural fit.
I realized that we already had a serviceable "bunker." As Titanfall fans will know, Gibraltar's Tactical repurposes the dome shield originally used to protect Titans.
The initial prototype was fun and tactically flexible. You can use the dome as cover, partition off a door or hallway, or protect a downed teammate. It just worked.
Getting ambushed is a common experience in Battle Royale. A fight that starts and ends in the same moment creates enormous friction. When players die before they can react, they're robbed of agency. Abilities like the Dome Shield give players tools to recover and fight. Even if they lose, they participated in the match.
The dome's high visibility also shaped how I thought about ability reads. When Gibraltar uses his Dome Shield, he clearly telegraphs his fighting position. Battle Royale is fundamentally about choosing fights. Who you fight, when and where, makes or breaks you. I realized that by coupling survivability and visibility players would voluntarily "announce" their position. This creates greater awareness of enemy positions across the match. When players are aware of each other, firefights tend to start at longer ranges with squads facing each other. These fights last longer, offer more participation, and are generally less lethal than close-quarters fights.
This philosophy of visual anchoring—seen across the Apex roster—started with Gibraltar.
Gun Shield [Passive]
Once the Dome Shield was functioning, I began to notice some ergonomic issues. For balance reasons, the Dome Shield blocks both incoming and outgoing gunfire. Gibraltar players were routinely wiggling the edge of their Dome Shield to shoot at enemy players. Players often deploy the dome on open ground, engaging enemies situated behind superior cover. By stepping out of the dome, Gibraltar exposes his full body, but his enemies still have their cover. All other factors being equal, Gibraltar loses that trade.
People aren't wrong for wanting to peek the dome. You have to shoot or you give the enemy a free pass to close on you. It's also best not to pick a fight with human nature. I supported the behavior by giving Gibraltar a gun shield. The shield allowed players to trade favorably when stepping out of the dome.
The gun shield helps reinforce Gibraltar's role as a long-range defensive anchor. You can peek risky angles and trade favorably in poking fights. The shield makes it challenging for opponents to push you if you hold a prepared angle. This allows Gibraltar to block without relying on defensive structures. Since the shield deploys after a delay when Gibraltar aims down sights, he surrenders this advantage while rapidly advancing.
Ultimately, it gave players the tool they needed to use the Dome Shield effectively, which helped cement his immovable object fantasy.
Defensive Bombardment [Ultimate]
Once Gibraltar sets up in a position, he is incredibly difficult to dislodge unless you aggressively push into his dome. If you can push and occupy the dome, Gibraltar's squad is forced into the open—where death awaits them. Gibraltar is most vulnerable when his dome is on cooldown and he is forced to move unexpectedly. He wants to hold opponents at range, but his kit didn't initially offer players any tools to accomplish this.
I wanted to fill this gap with an Ultimate that deters enemies from encroaching on Gibraltar's position. It would provide a final backstop if all else failed. A zoning ability seemed like my best option, but it needed to be large enough to encapsulate the dome.
In the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong frequently used a tactic called "belt grabbing." It was a very pragmatic way of countering enemy air power. You engage enemy infantry at almost point-blank range. That way, you can't be shelled or bombed without friendly fire.
What if Gibraltar employed the inverse strategy? The idea of shelling yourself to create distance jumped out at me. With Gibraltar safe inside his dome, it sounded plausible. Like a hammer striking an anvil.
I created a bombardment players could call with a thrown marker. The hypothesis worked in practice immediately. Gibraltar could quickly push back enemy forces by dropping a bombardment on his dome. It also allowed for offensive bombardments to some degree.
Gibraltar's Ultimate taught me an important character design lesson: abilities are most interesting when they force opponents to alter their tactics. The bombardment could rapidly blunt the momentum of an enemy assault, forcing them to pivot their plan. That creates participation opportunities on both sides of the fight.
This philosophy of giving players utilities to attack the opponent's strategy pervades the early character roster.