Online team-based shooters are more than just fun competitive video games.
Many of them also tell amazing stories.
Some campaign modes let gamers experience the horror and shock of personal loss in war.
Others grant the player the role of Guardian on an epic quest to save the Light of the
solar system.
Both of these types of games are relaying a story built around an immersive scripted
experience.
So, the question is: How can a developer tell a fascinating story when that script is removed?
2016 First Person Shooter Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment did just that.
The development team leverages every aspect of character and world design along with various
other online media to create a compelling narrative that leaves fans clamoring for more
with every major update.
One such playable character is Junkrat, a defense hero.
Without explanation there are a number of things immediately apparent here.
He is missing both a leg and an arm on his right side.
The tips of his hair are literally on fire.
His clothing is torn, patched and also burned.
He stands there, strapped to the teeth with explosives, his smoke stained head twitching
back and forth.
Within the world of Overwatch he is in fact a demolitions expert who lives in the cutthroat
expanse of the Australian outback.
Short of hearing him talk, a lot of that description is clear upon initial inspection.
Junkrat's weapon of choice continues to reveal hints at his psychological profile.
His grenade launcher is plainly held together with string, tape, and whatever spare parts
he could salvage and slap together haphazardly.
These design choices inform the player of Junkrat's character.
His weapons don't have to look pretty.
HE doesn't have to look pretty, as long as he can continue to blow things up, causing
as much mayhem as possible.
In contrast to him the support character Mercy appears angelic.
She wears a white mechanical suit that features wings and a halo –like headset.
Her weapons are a long staff and small pistol that both look a bit worn from frequent use.
Mercy stands tall and proud, seeming confident in her ability to do what need be done.
All of these small cues come together in the player's mind.
When introduced to Mercy's abilities that involve healing damaged teammates and most
importantly resurrecting fallen heroes from death these skills seem natural.
They are an extension of the impression the design inherently gives off.
It then comes as no surprise that Junkrat's ultimate ability is a large tire bomb.
This well of detail showcasing each individual hero's personality runs deep in the game
of Overwatch.
Even beyond the static designs every character has emotes, ability animations, voice lines,
and reload sequences that reinforce invisible human traits about them.
These details encourage players to see Overwatch heroes as distinct real people and identify
with them.
Even if their backstories are not explicitly outlined these designs create the impression
of a life lived.
Additionally, the maps of Overwatch provide players with a number of glimpses into the
stories of certain characters as well as the game's world as a whole.
From a gameplay perspective these maps act as capture point locations or payload routes
that need to be attacked or defended by the participating teams.
That is no different than any other online team based shooter.
Through meticulous design Blizzard has constructed Overwatch maps that encourage exploration
and discovery in between frenzied team fights.
For example, the capture point map Horizon Lunar Colony is the former home of one of
Overwatch's more unusual characters, Winston.
Winston is a hyper-intelligent gorilla scientist raised on the Moon.
Once the novelty of that sentence settles in take a look at some of the locations on
the Lunar Colony.
As a whole the map provides some evidence as to how advanced humanity is in the world
of Overwatch.
It holds large satellite maintenance bays, a high powered telescope observatory, and
a hydroponics lab with a large array of vegetation on display.
On a smaller scale the map also hints at Winston's upbringing on the Moon.
There are classrooms where Winston and the other animal occupants of the colony were
taught, a large training facility with tire swings and rock wall climbing, and an old
commissary for meals.
The story physically shown on Lunar Colony isn't an entirely positive on either.
Security camera stills in one spawn room show the growth and eventual takeover of the colony
by its non-human inhabitants.
Horizon Lunar Colony is just one example, but there is so much of narrative interest
built into the maps of Overwatch.
The deathmatch map Castillo shows the secret lair of Sombra the mysterious Mexican hacker
who uses her skills to manipulate the world's leaders.
Another small map, Ecopoint Antarctica, shows the site where climatologist Mei awoke from
a malfunctioning cryo-slumber.
Nearby she finds out that the rest of her expedition team died in their pods.
Instead of directly explaining the defining events in the world of Overwatch and the lives
of its heroes, the development team uses level design to quietly expand this lore for those
that take the time to notice.
In addition to the time and attention spent on character and map designs the Overwatch
team also employs several other types of media.
These online stories cast more light on the events transpiring in the game world.
Origin Stories serve as key focus points for new heroes as they are routinely introduced
to the game.
They highlight which side of the Overwatch world's epic conflict the new hero theoretically
falls on.
Animated shorts take the viewer back to many pivotal moments in a hero's past that served
to define them.
The emotional impact of some of these are like mini Pixar films.
Also, several issues of a comic series have been released providing greater insight into
character backgrounds as well as what the heroes are doing in the present day.
This diverse media suite is impressive, and much of this content is well worth consuming.
However I think these additions primarily serve as auxiliary experiences.
They help to further define a world that already has so much personality breathed into it from
earlier development.
The online team-based shooter Overwatch is a triumph of game design.
Each individual hero has been meticulously crafted to exude their own unique personality
to the delight of over 35 million players across the globe.
The summation of the characters, map designs, and related media make up the impressive story
of Overwatch.
No campaign needed.
As new heroes and new maps are added to the game keep an eye out for the development team's
storytelling by design.
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