STACK May 2016 Issue 139

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visit GAMES FEATURE
58 MAY 2016
GAMES
“We have a map called Hollywood.
It almost looks like a cross between
Beverly Hills and maybe Rodeo Drive.
If you ever drive up to Hollywood itself,
it doesn’t look anything like this, but
what we want is like ‘Hey, pretend
we’re someone that’s lived in Australia
their whole life – what’s the idea they
have in their head?’ That’s what we’re
trying to deliver."
It wasn’t only work on the
environments that required major
attention to detail. In bringing the title to
console, it was important for the studio
to retain the customisation abilities that
PC players are so comfortable with.
You can change the camera's visual
sensitivity on the sticks, and even map
different buttons to different abilities for
each individual character – a big move in
the right direction for a console port.
Having high-calibre console players
in attendance during the press trip
was a huge advantage for the studio.
“They’ve given feedback on extra customisations
that they would want," notes Keller. “Hopefully
we can add some more of their suggestions
before this goes live”.
With community being such a focal point of
Blizzard’s organisation, Overwatch ’s competitive
scene was always going to be important.
“I think we’ve been really lucky, because we
started developing a small competitive scene for
the game, just for the beta, and there are already
a lot of players in it," explains Keller. "It gives
us a lot of hope that it can turn into
something bigger. If Overwatch can
come in and find a place amongst
the biggest games in the industry,
I’d be ecstatic."
The company recently released
a video detailing the specifics of
the competitive scene, and the
game looks to be holding its
ground against the giants
of the industry. A five-
tier system will be
implemented for
competitive play, with
subdivisions in each, and a
queue that allows teams of
any size to compete together.
Overwatch ’s ability for
players to change characters at will, removing
the caged-in feeling of being stuck with
one champion for periods of up to an hour,
differentiates the title from its competitors
“At the start we didn’t know if we were going
to have hero blocking or not – we just wanted to
have a bunch of cool heroes to begin with," says
Keller. "We quickly realised that once you get
a certain amount of heroes in there, the game
becomes really dynamic."
Moreover, Keller cites the lively nature of the
game as a key component in its appeal.
“It’s one of the things that makes the game
magical when you play it. You make one switch
on your team and it really forces the other team
to revaluate what they’re doing, and see whether
or not they need to switch at the same time. It
becomes a really strategic decision."
Pressed for time, and cutting in on his lunch
break, we manage to sneak in one last question
with the assistant game director – where does
he see the game in ten years?
“Good lord – that’s a long time! The analogy I
use a lot of times is, if you get to the last page
of a book you really, really love, it’s almost a
sad experience to finish it, because you want
to live in the world that another author has
created for you.
"I’d love for people to still be playing
Overwatch as it is right now. If it’s that good of
a game that people are still playing it ten years
from now, just as people are still playing
World of Warcraft ten years down the
track, that would be amazing.
"Blizzard is committed to making
Overwatch a franchise. a world,
the same way it has
with its other
games.”
Their service awards
are insane! Two years you get a
stein, five years gets you a sword,
a shield at 10, a ring at 15, and an
almighty helm at 20!
Statues are awesome
and all over the place. Overwatch,
World of Warcraft, Diablo…
there’s something for everyone
lying around.
Expect to see
furry friends
everywhere.
Well, almost everywhere.
The USA is an extremely pet
friendly locale, and Blizzard HQ is
no exception.
There's fan art as far as
the eye can see.
Blizzard are highly appreciative
of their community. You’ll see
paintings, drawings, even emails
and tweets printed out and proudly
displayed.
Blizzard is committed to
making Overwatch a franchise,
a world, the same way it has
with its other games.
4
Blizzard
HQ
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• Overwatch
is out May 24