I see what you are doing, and i like it...
does it has to do something with this guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uDMw9kpRWg
Can't watch because i live in germany =/
But "Gladiator" in the title is enough for me to know what you want^^
Yeah, it will definitely have an arena-feeling. Can't let any wild animals out, though (Hehe). People will have to deal with gates being closed again and only fighting on half the ground and/or falling down if the Battlemasters (hence the name xD) want to.
It's kinda weird because i made it so huge that it seems like a man could even pass through the gaps on the gates themselves, but if i kept it smaller there would be like absolutely no place to fight xD
Not quite sure how to implement cav in this map, i don't want it to get like another version of the genius pitfalls, so yeah, need to figure something out. Maybe a couching track on one side.