#overwatch development history

[purplekoop]

Okay so I was looking through the hero gallery reaffirming my favorite skin for each hero (and double checking I don't really like any Winston skins, which holds up), but I found something. Peculiar.

I was checking Symmetra's skins and noticed a peculiar name for one of her Rare skins (the blue-tier ones that are very minor recolors, where only four are made for each hero on their release and never any more). Normally, these names are very formulaic, very often just the color of the skin in the hero's native language, or some vague pleasant-sounding way to describe the color choice.

But then there's this Symmetra skin: Technomancer.

Her other three Rare skins are named Cardamom, Hyacinth, and Saffron, all different plants, so "Technomancer" sticks out.

But I think I know why...

Putting it simply, this was her beta design color scheme

Seems like yellow was meant to be Symmetra's main color before it was settled that her outfit should be primarily blue.

It even shows up in this concept art that I've shown before and will show again, along with several other heroes in their finalized and not-so finalized designs, along with some characters that never made the cut in general.

It's also worth noting that Symmetra is one of the oldest Overwatch character concepts, back in the MMO phase of the idea where each character was instead a class, with the class that became Symmetra being... okay it'd be cool if I could say it was also called "Technomancer", but no, apparently just "Architect".

(fun fact while we're here, "Architect" is listed as being able to deploy 3 sentries to distinguish them from "Mechanic"'s one large sentry, but Symmetra could deploy a whole 6 sentries until her second major rework, where it was reduced to the three that's both how we know it today and the original concept to distinguish her from what became Torbjorn. She also couldn't deploy a shield generator until her first major rework where it became her alternate ultimate, Symmetra 1.0 only gave allies a small portion of shield health directly, while now she has no equivalent shield-generating abilities. No, her ult doesn't count, that's a barrier, "shield" in overwatch terms refers to blue health. Unless it's Rein and Brig, those are also shields.)

...*ahem* anyways.

Was not expecting to uncover a beta design reference in the final game tonight. Haven't heard anyone acknowledge this before, though admittedly people don't tend to pay attention to Rare skins much at all.

Skins that are references to earlier design iterations are super neat but not something common at all as of now, with the only other exception (at least coming to mind now) is, ironically, Lucio, with his Equalizer skin, a reference to his earlier design as well.

This one's from Archives 2018 and is super neat. The contrast in personality despite the outfit being the same is particularly delightful, it's not too far off but it's juuust different enough to be noticeable when the Lucio we know and love is wearing his beta outfit, and it doesn't quite have the same vibe as the concept art.

If I haven't made it clear yet, I adore seeing development art stuff and seeing the ideation process, so seeing characters or other concepts that were scrapped come back later in official capacity is always one of my favorite things. Morpho Knight from Kirby is a prime example, and there's great examples from Sonic like Honey the Cat and the very recent inclusion of the rabbit design that was a scrapped concept for Sonic himself. These are just a couple skins and not whole characters, but it's still super neat. Wish they did more of these to be honest, especially with Archives. Considering the whole theme of the event is (was?) seeing heroes how they were in the past in-universe, it was cool to see Lucio in how he looked in the past in a more meta sense. As I comb through the old concept arts, I'll try to keep an eye for which ones I could think work as skins for the finalized hero.

...This post ended up being longer than I expected. oops.

[katapotato55]

how to make your writing be remembered forever and possibly be well loved.

(incredibly stupid and silly fanfiction line at the end of this post) I know that title is incredibly daunting but listen, its very simple. you ready?

MAKE STRONG CHARACTERS

"but kat! surely its not that simple! " nononono listen. bear with me. I want you to think of your favorite thing. Now ask: what do you remember the most about the thing you love? I will go first:

I love team fortress 2. and guess what: this game has been around since 2007, and was in development hell since before I was even born. The game has been around for 16 fucking years. And guess what? in the strong year of 2023 team fortress 2 Is STILL getting memed about. and do you want to know the crazy part? the character designs to the naked eye are not special at all. ok sure from a designer standpoint, these are very well designed characters made so that you can easily tell who they are based on their silhouette. but from the average joe.... tf2 is iconic but overall it looks ok. it doesn't seem special to a stranger to tf2. look at this completely random and arbitrary example of a game in the same genre:

I don't know shit about the characters in overwatch. Yeah i have a BASIC idea on what their personality is like based on voice lines and some videos i guess... but in-game they just exist. these characters are brightly colored, they have beautiful unique designs, hell they have even more diversity such as robots and people from other cultures! but i don't remember shit about these characters. Maybe I remember the ice lady and tracer, but nothing else. and yeah part of overwatch struggling right now is incompetant development, BUT: The characters in team fortress 2 are SO remember-able because the characters have such a vibrant personality. I am an orange box owner, its been a decade and a half and I am still remembering this game and enjoying art about it.

"but kat! that is a comedy game! Overwatch is a very serious game! are you saying comedy is needed to make a character more noticeable?" no. though I think allowing your characters to lighten up every now and then would humanize them. Not full on goofy, just give them something that makes them likeable. and if you cant do that, you can STILL make a compelling character even though they are mostly seriousness. I have an even more awfully thought out example:

kung fu panda is a masterclass in making a serious comedic movie somehow work. Master Oogway.... he isn't a comedic character at all. Yeah we made memes about him, but ignoring that, he is a wise and resourceful person. He is at calm and has faith in this intuition. there are a lot of characters like this. What makes Oogway stand out is that he is also a little bit kooky and sassy.

this youtube clip sums up what I mean. It is a funny line, it fits the character, and It doesn't ruin the seriousness of the moment. Some of the most successful series in history have something about them that has appealed to people. In my opinion: characters with strong personality and interesting traits is always a good way to ensure your writing is successful. The second most important is the characters bouncing off of each other in terms of their chemistry with each other. There is a reason why I spent years playing the first Destiny game and all of the DLC, but I remember fuck all about the characters. I think I maybe remember the bootleg star lord robot guy.

A writing exercise

here is an exercise to get you in the spirit of character making. step 1- get a random character from a random bit of media. In this case let me bring you master Oogway. Step 2- Get a completely different character from a completely unrelated series. I am going to give you Scout from team fortress 2. step 3- write a random ass thing about them interacting. Think about how the characters would react to each other and why. Think about each characters values in life and think about how they would bond and conflict with each other. Think about characters similar to the character they met in the past and how they reacted then, and if they have never interacted, make something interesting with it. Step 4- keep experimenting. Once you get into the spirit you can apply this to any new character you could want to make anyways thats it byeee- "arent you going to do that ?" do what? "make a writing thing about oogway and scout. " ........

Scout: let's go turtle you got nothing on my speed- Oogway: The one who first resorts to violence shows that he has no more arguments. Scout: that sounds like chicken talk! come on tough guy let me have it- Oogway then proceeds to make scout eat shit before vanishing in a cloud of cherry blossoms and dust from the desert. If this post isn't popular I want you to know my dignity was lost for nothing.

[snapscube]

I’m aroace, have never played overwatch and confused why is this person so shameful to like?

i'm like 80% joking she's obviously conventionally attractive it's just that blizzard is a fucking nightmare of a company and Overwatch is one of the biggest "fall from grace" stories in like all of game history so acknowledging it played such an important role in my personal development is inherently comedic to me LOL

[docholligay]

Do you think having such a personalized and detailed headcanon makes it harder to enjoy fic about the show/game that's written by others?

I mean sure, probably.

But unfortunately things I adore, for people named Doc who are me, fall into one of two buckets:

The character work and plot in this show are incredible, I find myself turning it around in my mind like a rotisserie chicken. I constantly discover new things about the show/book/game or the characters in it. I do not read fic about this, because why would I? Every answer I search for is in the text. I want to talk about this with someone, but about what is THERE, not what could be there. Ex: The Haunting of Hill House, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Piranesi, Bioshock:Infinite, Watership Down, Yellowjackets, among others.

The concepts of this could be amazing but are handled so fucking badly so consistently, in a shocking contrast to how INCONSISTENT the character work is, that all I want to do is steal it and make it better. All i want to do is turn it into something that doesn't suck ass when you look at it too hard. So I am going to take it SO seriously, and I am going to develop the rich inner lives for these characters that they lack, with intense backstories and families and motivation for how they got to be the person we know, or know sometimes, in certain episodes or shorts. Ex: Sailor Moon and Overwatch are the biggies here obviously, this is actually not an emotion I feel very often. I don't have intense backstories and extra-textual feelings and ideas about most of the stuff I read and watch, these two are just my Spiders Georg.

So! The odds on me being into something in the correct way to make me want to Seek Treasure Elsewhere but also I have a chill enough attitude about how the characters are that Any Dream Will Do is almost nil. I do not in ANY way mean this in a shady way, but I mostly read published adult fiction for entertainment and not fanfic. I am very picky about my fanfic. So, "plus these two new red and blue girls into Starbucks" often won't work for me, because the reasons to have Haruka and Michiru meet in a coffee shop are completely different from any of the reasons Fareeha and Angela might meet in a coffee shop, and so many of those types are archtypical plug and play stuff. Honestly, I have skated the idea of making a cheat sheet of fanon archetypes of various characters and buying a typewriter to sell 100-200 word 'quick fic' at cons with my sister. That's how common it is to use these archetypes. This is not a criticism! At all!

But, to take the two couples above, I have read so much BORING SHIT about both HM and FA that I could throw up. Lesbian couples have a lot of very milquetoast writing about them, and a lot of meet-cute which isn't really my bag.

But there are authors I love! @oathkeeper-of-tarth was and is one of the best harumichi writers out there and we don't even have all the same headcanons. The rare occasions @verbforverb decides to grace me with "Jewish Mercy I don't Have To Write" I pop a can of bubbly in the tub. And on both fields of battle @keyofjetwolf has stuff I've had bookmarked for years, and there are some things even within Rei's backstory and history that we disagree on.

Actually, to that point what I like is good writing. You can write me into believing nearly anything. There are things I believe about Amelie when I'm reading @lemon-embalmer's stuff that when I go back to my own world, aren't true, but when I'm in her world who the fuck cares, I'm having a great time. EVEN MORE to the point, I read @moonlight-frittata's stupid sun and moon lesbian League of Legends shit and I would rather shoot myslef than know ANYTHING about the game, but unfortunately she has a beautiful turn of phrase and plot flow to her work that I just....read anyway, because it is good. Fucking @tallangrycockatiel had me like 25 pages or so into a story before I was like, "OH SHIT, IS THIS SLASH??? WAIT I DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT BOYS' LOVE!! NO!!" *hits next page* And I still could not care less about that podcast and would never listen to it, and if I did I would be massively disappointed because to my mind, her John and Arthur are the actual article, and whatever the fuck is going on in the source material can eat my dick.

So, yes, I DO think that having a very particular point of view is going to mean I back out of a story where like, "Lena stepped out of her Chelsea flat, custom leather high heels clicking against the step" sometimes, or, you know, "Haruka put down her copy of War and Peace, each meticulous note codified by a color-coded tab. Blue was for historical references to research, green for character analysis, yellow for themes, blah blah blah*" But I am actually shockingly open minded in what I will read, often to the point that I'm reading stuff from SHIT I DO NOT LIKE OR CARE ABOUT, because the quality of the writing is excellent. So, also no.

*I met someone who read books like this and I suddenly realized what the literary equivalent of 'knowing someone is a serial killer' was.

[nitewrighter]

I'd love to see some positive Illari interactions with some of the friendliest heroes (Lucio, Junkrat, Reinhardt and Tracer especially). She really needs some positivity in her life given what she's gone through.

Illari: So, no one in history before you has ever been chronally dissociated, but you managed to develop a whole fighting style using its abilities?

Tracer: Well, I wouldn't even have the abilities without a chronal accelerator. And it's not really a martial style, it's combination of standard Overwatch training, sparring with Genji, and just, kinda... how I move?

Illari: You sell yourself short. I can think of a lot of people out there who would do anything to replicate what you can do.

Tracer: Well they shouldn't--I don't think it's very good for the Time-space continuum.

----

Junkrat: Y'know, when I look at you, and then I squeeze my eyes shut, I get all these pretty spots in my eyelids!

Illari: *suppressed snicker* Um, thank you?

Junkrat: No, no, thank you!

---

[During setup on Paraiso]

Lúcio: You know, one of these nights you should stop by Club Sinestesia! Just dance, feel the energy of the crowd, and cut loose!

Illari: I... don't think that's a good idea. Crowds and me... is not a good idea.

Lúcio: Oh, um... okay. Maybe something smaller, then?

Illari: ...I'll think about it.

----

Reinhardt: You fight with such ferocity! But I sense... a weight in your heart.

Illari: You don't know what you're talking about, old man.

Reinhardt: Oh, but I do! Such is the power of a warrior's bond! And what warrior has not known pain or loss?

Illari: *huff* I'd rather not talk about it.

Reinhardt: No need! True warriors need only draw strength from each other's presence! But whatever weight you carry, know I would be happy to help shoulder the burden!

Illari: Ugh. Fine. Whatever.

*pause*

Illari: *sniffles*

Reinhardt: Eh?

Illari: *voice thick* Why did you say that!?

Reinhardt: ...because of the warrior's bond?

Illari: *voice breaking* What did you do to me!?

[wildissylupus]

Ive seen this brought up a lot but where do Overwatch fans draw the line and what voicelines are and arent canon? I bring this up because ive scene Spuriken/McGenji shippers getting upset over the “youre like a brother to me” line and saying in defense that voicelines arent canon. But at the same time i see people depict relationships entirely based on voicelines (example is Sombra and Sigma being a grandfather/granddaughter duo despite them never really interacting with each other in comics, books, etc)

So the voice lines and in game interactions are canon in a "what if" scenario. That is if these characters were to interact then they would say this. The interactions themselves aren't canon and sometimes don't reflect canon (as a lot of characters would refuse to work together), how ever things that are said to have happened or characters stated opinions of other characters are canon.

Take this interaction for example;

Cassidy: You might be able to beat me in basketball, but how about a couple rounds of bowling? Pharah: So, you want me to beat you at every sport then? Mercy: Ooh! If I come, can we play with bumpers?

This interaction hasn't happened in canon, but it could. Not only that but this line makes it canon that Pharah can beat Cassidy in basketball, both Pharah and Cassidy are competitive with each other, and Mercy uses the bumpers when bowling.

So using that logic we know that from interactions, though the interactions themselves are not canon. The information of those interactions are.

So going further and using your examples;

Cassidy: This one might get tricky. Can I count on you to watch my back? Genji: Of course. You are like a brother to me. Cassidy: You've... told me about your family. Not sure that's a compliment.

This interaction makes it canon that Genji views Cassidy as an older brother, that Genji has told Cassidy about his family history and it was enough for Cassidy to be worried when Genji says he's like a brother to him.

As for Sombra and Sigma, the same applies to them. Though we have never seen them interact we know that they have from interactions. We also know that Sombra looks out for him and doesn't approve of what Talon is doing to him.

However, this is the official standing stated by the developers. With fans it's a little more difficult, as everyone has their own thoughts. Honestly it depends on what side of the lore fanbase your on, people like me who analyze the characters will often go with what the developers said and treat the interactions as "canon enough" (which is why I stopped shipping spuriken), meanwhile those who take the interactions and lore less seriously will often pick and choose what interactions they view as canon.

[fioras-resolve]

last night i watched a play, my mom's production of aaron posner's "Stupid Fucking Bird." it's a really good production, if you're in the chicago area you should go see it. but it got me thinking a bit about the nature of theatrical productions and how different it is from the state of games.

like, okay. from what i understand from my parents telling me about this, here's how it works: the original production of Stupid Fucking Bird was in 2013, shortly after the play was written. since then, like many plays, the script has been licensed to dozens of productions, who will use the same script but put their own directorial spin on it. the same play may be done as a drama, a tragedy, or a comedy, and that ability to do that is part of the beauty of theatre.

these different productions are how a play stays alive, because unlike a lot of other art forms, plays are innately ephemeral. no showing is exactly the same, and once a production is done, it's over. mama's play is still in theaters, but the only way to experience yesterday's showing is to go back in time. but that sense of presence, of in-the-now, is what gives theatre, and performance generally, its character. we in the video game space tend to chafe against the concept of ephemeral art, and view it as a matter of preservation. i'm sympathetic to this! we shouldn't be letting art history be controlled by corporations who put profit above art. but there is aesthetic value in art being limited, and of-the-moment. it doesn't have to be artificial scarcity to make a quick buck. but that's a whole separate conversation in itself, and not what i wanna talk about here.

the real thing i'm interested in is this: we in the gamedev space don't really do "new productions" of old work as freely as theatre does. we do get remakes, remasters, and rereleases, but those are always either made in-house or at the strict behest of the original publisher. alternatively, the developer doesn't get the rights, and gets a cease and desist letter for it. there just isn't a culture of adaptation in games. nobody wants to hand off their work to somebody who puts their own spin on it. this is partially copyright culture, corporations very protective of their IP. but it's just as uncommon in indie spaces, and i suspect that's because there's a very real stigma against "copying somebody's work."

now, look, plagiarism sucks, and there's always going to be a debate over what specifically counts. but i'm not actually talking about that. i'm talking about the derision that the gaming community has to wearing its inspiration on its sleeve. we see this in the memes about indie rpg's inspired by EarthBound, in the way Paladins was framed as "Shitty Overwatch," and how Overwatch itself was framed as "Shitty TF2." gamers are very defensive about their favorite games, and to some, the most cringeworthy thing you can do as a dev is try to do what it's doing.

i don't have a solution to this problem, but i can be change i want to see, so, here. this is my gameography. you have permission to adapt or remake or reinterpret any of this as you like, as long as you ask first and give me a cut if you're gonna monetize it. i don't really monetize my shit usually, so it only seems fair. i'd love to see other devs do this, to see even big-name developers willing to open their work to adaptations. but there's also reasons we don't tend to do that, and maybe this'll be a failed experiment, whatever that means. i hope i've at least given you something to think about though. peace

[bikiniarmorbattledamage]

Actvision Blizzard decides to "improve" diversity in their games by quantifying things like ethnicity, culture and sexual orientation.

Just another, sadly unsurprising step in Blizzard's long, long journey of promising a more diverse respesentation followed by more sexism and tokenism every time.

If you don't see what's wrong with that picture, please stop to ask youself how you'd represent something like ethnicity or gender on a numeric scale. And what would 0 on that scale be.

Thankfully, most of the fandom and media seems to react to this idea with well-deserved bewilderment and mockery (like comparisons to phrenology, a racist pseudoscience). Also with obligatory mentions of how this does the opposite of improving the company's image in the light of their bigoted, toxic work culture and corrupt business practices.

Moreover, despite now edited-out claims in the official announcement about the diversity tool, Overwatch 2 developers deny using it or even knowing about it prior to the media buzz.

If we could put a number on how out of touch this is, ActiBlizz PR would score off their little dystopian charts!

But hey, it's not like we've been pointing out for years that Blizz seems to do diversity by begrudgingly ticking off boxes on a list of superficial character features (and only after ticking some boxes multiple times), right?

~Ozzie

Media reporting on the matter:

Activision Inexplicably Introduces Tool to Rate Character Diversity Metrics - FanByte

Activision Blizzard Discusses Tool to Calculate Diversity in Video Game Characters, May Also Be Investing in Lab Coats - The Mary Sue

Activision Blizzard's New Diversity Game Tool Comes Across Terribly & Activision Blizzard’s Diversity Tool Has A Long, Even More Embarrassing History - Kotaku

‘Overwatch 2’ staff say they never used Activision Blizzard’s diversity tool - NME

Activision's "Diversity Tool" Is F*cking Awful - The Jimquisition (video)

edit: Added the NME link

[iamthedukeofurl]

The story of Overwatch (The game, not the lore) is so weird. Blizzard made a pretty good game, it was called Overwatch. You bought the game and you played it and it was fun. It had predatory loot-box mechanics, but only for cosmetics (Most of which were pretty useless). It wasn't the greatest game in the world, but it was fun and people liked playing it, and most importantly, it was straightforwards. You bought the game and you played it and it was fun. But Blizzard didn't just want a game that people bought and played and had fun with. They wanted to be the next big Esport, so they pushed really hard to create a professional esports league around the game, and then they had to juggle a game that was fun to watch as an Esport and a game that was fun to play. And on top of that, they had the Lore. So much of Overwatch's marketing was based around the Lore, the story of Overwatch returning, but that story was pretty incompatible with the game that they were actually making, a team-based arena shooter. Now, games like League of Legends have very deep lore, with lots of characters with pasts and histories deep enough to have spinoff games and critically acclaimed animated series, but none of those are presented as "The Story of League of Legends", they're a story FROM League of Legends. There's no promise that you can boot up League of Legends and get progress on The Story Of League of Legends. And the Paradox of Overwatch's story is that, building content that interacts with the Story of Overwatch doesn't do anything for the core product, an arena-based team shooter. Blizzard built a game that contained the promise of an entire separate game, and building on that meant neglecting the game they HAD built. What's more, adding story content would be expensive, but probably wouldn't make them much money, the people interested in it had already bought the game after all, and the model they had set up only has them charge for cosmetics. Meanwhile, it's hard to make PvE content that matches PvP for replayability. They would be doing a lot of development work to make some content that they can't charge for and that people would play a few times and put aside. Now, one way to resolve this paradox would be to build story mode as a separate game. Take Overwatch assets and lore, and build a story-focused shooter around it, but they'd marketed Overwatch heavily around it's story, so saying "And to get that story, buy this OTHER ENTIRE GAME" isn't acceptable. The result is Overwatch 2, a sequel-replacement that exists to break the cosmetic-only rule of the previous game. But that doesn't fully resolve the paradox that building what they promised would require making a whole new game, and they're just not incentivized to do that. Maybe once upon a time people would gladly to pay for Overwatch story content, but it's 6 years later and nobody cares. A series of scandals has burned through Blizzard's goodwill, and the promise of overwatch is an albatross around their neck. So here we are, the Lore that spawned a thousand fanfics is finally realized in-game: What if there were bad robots and we shot them. Give us $20.

[demifiendrsa]

Microsoft has officially completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard King first announced in January 2022.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick confirms on his message on the acquisition that he will step down as CEO at the end of 2023.

Message from Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming CEO

We love gaming. We play games, create games, and know first-hand how much gaming means to all of us as individuals and collectively, as a community. And today, we officially welcome Activision Blizzard and their teams to Xbox. They are the publishers of some of the most played and most beloved franchises in gaming history across console, PC and mobile. From Pitfall to Call of Duty, World of Warcraft to Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga to Farm Heroes Super Saga, their studios have pushed the boundaries of gaming for players around the world. I’ve long admired the work of Activision, Blizzard, and King, and the impact they’ve had on gaming, entertainment, and pop culture. Whether it was late nights spent playing the Diablo IV campaign with friends from start to finish, gathering the entire family in the rec room for our weekly Guitar Hero night, or going on an epic streak in Candy Crush, some of my most memorable gaming moments came from experiences their studios have created. It is incredible to welcome such legendary teams to Xbox. As one team, we’ll learn, innovate, and continue to deliver on our promise to bring the joy and community of gaming to more people. We’ll do this in a culture that strives to empower everyone to do their best work, where all people are welcome, and is centered on our ongoing commitment of Gaming for Everyone. We are intentional about inclusion in everything we do at Xbox—from our team to the products we make and the stories we tell, to the way our players interact and engage as a wider gaming community. Together, we’ll create new worlds and stories, bring your favorite games to more places so more players can join in, and we’ll engage with and delight players in new, innovative ways in the places they love to play including mobile, cloud streaming and more. Players have always been at the center of everything we do. And as we grow, we’ll continue to keep players at the heart of it all. We’ll continue to listen to your feedback, build a community where you can be yourself, where developers can do their best work, and continue to make really fun games. As promised, we will also continue to make more games available in more places—and that begins now by enabling cloud streaming providers and players to stream Activision Blizzard games in the European Economic Area, a commitment made to the European Commission. Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms. We’ll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you’re excited—and we are too. For the millions of fans who love Activision, Blizzard, and King games, we want you to know that today is a good day to play. You are the heart and soul of these franchises, and we are honored to have you as part of our community. Whether you play on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC, or mobile, you are welcome here—and will remain welcome, even if Xbox isn’t where you play your favorite franchise. Because when everyone plays, we all win. We believe our news today will unlock a world of possibilities for more ways to play. Thank you for the ongoing support. We have so much more to come in the months ahead—I’m excited for the future and cannot wait to share it with you. —Phil Spencer

Message from Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO

Team, Today marks a milestone in our company’s celebrated history. Combining with Microsoft will bring new resources and new opportunities to our extraordinary teams worldwide. It will also enable us to deliver more fun, more joy, and more connection to more players than ever before. This moment is possible because of your efforts over four decades to innovate, inspire, and achieve. When Brian Kelly and I began this journey in 1991, we intended to build a company that would have great impact and lasting value. Your tireless work and unwavering commitment to excellence enabled us to do just that. In the 1980s, we pioneered independent, third-party game development with Pitfall, River Raid, and Kaboom. In the 1990s, we united the world with online multiplayer games like MechWarrior, Warcraft, and StarCraft. In the 2000s, we introduced Call of Duty, which became one of the most successful entertainment franchises in history. We also introduced Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, which entered popular culture in ways few videogames ever have. In the 2010s, we debuted Candy Crush Saga, which to date has been downloaded more than five billion times and contributed to our total worldwide players being fifty percent female. Your dedication is what makes it possible for us to continually push envelopes, break records, and delight players. Amid the uncertainty of the last 21 months, you’ve remained focused, as always, on serving our players and supporting each other. I have long said that I am fully committed to helping with the transition. Phil has asked me to stay on as CEO of Activision Blizzard King, reporting to him, and we have agreed that I will do that through the end of 2023. We both look forward to working together on a smooth integration for our teams and players. Brian and I couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter for Activision Blizzard King. We now join one of the most successful global companies, poised for unprecedented opportunities to connect the world through our games. As a part of Microsoft, we will be even better, together. —Bobby Kotick

Activision Blizzard King Joins Xbox - Official Trailer

[morally-grey-girlbosses]

Bracket has been updated for Round 2! Matchup list is in text under the cut. Round 2 will begin within a few days. The loser's bracket will begin after the main bracket concludes.

Betty Grof (Adventure Time) vs. Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Edelgard von Hresvelg (Fire Emblem: Three Houses) vs. Almalexia (The Elder Scrolls)

Maeby Funke (Arrested Development) vs. GLaDOS/Caroline (Portal)

Nico Robin (One Piece) vs. Helen Richardson (The Magnus Archives)

Nefera de Nile (Monster High) vs. Lady Barbrey Dustin (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Jennifer Check (Jennifer's Body) vs. Moira O'Deorain (Overwatch)

Artemis (Greek Myth) vs. Tomie Kawakami (Tomie)

Rachel (Animorphs) vs. Shego (Kim-Possible)

Tabitha Scarlet (Scarlet Hollow) vs. Morgana Pendragon/le Fey (BBC Merlin)

The Witch (Into the Woods) vs. Nimona (Nimona)

Klaasje Amandou (Disco Elysium) vs. Ianthe Tridentarius (The Locked Tomb)

Sailor Galaxia (Sailor Moon) vs. Lady Alcina Dimitrescu (Resident Evil: Village)

Vriska Serket (Homestuck) vs. Willie Jack (Reservation Dogs)

Galadriel (Lord of the Rings) vs. Charlie (Don't Starve)

Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond (Steven Universe) vs. Tokiko Shigure (AI: The Somnium Files)

Shion Sonozaki (Higurashi When They Cry) vs. Yuko Ichihara (xxxHolic)

Laerynn Coramar-Seelie (Critical Role: Exandria Unlimited) vs. Granny Weatherwax (Discworld)

Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights) vs. Starlight Glimmer (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Rocky Horror Picture Show) vs. Jinx (Arcane/League of Legends)

Eva Ushiromiya (Umineko When They Cry) vs. Empress Phillipa Georgiou (Star Trek)

Paige Duplass (The Silt Verses) vs. Dr. Pamela Isley AKA Poison Ivy (DCEU)

Reagan Ridley (Inside Job) vs. Kalina AKA Shadow Cat (Fantasy High)

Power (Chainsaw Man) vs. Marcille Donato (Dungeon Meshi)

Remy "Thirteen" Hadley (House MD) vs. Fang Runin / Rin (The Poppy War)

Han Sooyoung (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint) vs. Wu Zetian (The Iron Widow)

Emma Perkins (The Hatchetfield Series) vs. Nadja of Antipaxos (What We Do In The Shadows)

Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa) vs. Malva (Pokemon)

Vermouth (Detective Conan) vs. Eleanor (Do Revenge)

Asuka Langley Soryu (Neon Genesis Evangelion) vs. Leliana (Dragon Age)

Anthy Himemiya (Revolutionary Girl Utena) vs. Kyoko Sakura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

O-Ren Ishii (Kill Bill) vs. Gwendolyn Poole AKA Gwenpool (Marvel Comics)

Lappland Saluzzo (Arknights) vs. Dr. Harleen Quinzel AKA Harley Quinn (DCEU)

Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs. Rue Kuroha AKA Princess Kraehe (Princess Tutu)

Eve (Biblical Canon) vs. Ellie Williams (The Last of Us)

Marina (Sinbad: The Legend of the Seven Seas) vs. Sucre/Sugar (OFF)

Shodan (System Shock) vs. Halea Haumea (Phantomarine)

Arcee (IDW Transformers) vs. Wu Zetian (IRL History)

Miranda Pryce (Wolf 359) vs. Perihelion / ART (The Murderbot Diaries)

Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum (Adventure Time) vs. Lady Macbeth (Macbeth)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb) vs. White Gladys the Orca (IRL)

Doctor Carmilla (Doctor Carmilla and The Mechanisms) vs. Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Jasnah Kholin (The Stormlight Archive) vs. Medea (Greek Mythology)

Odin (The Bifrost Incident) vs. Nana Daiba (Revue Starlight)

Beatrice (Umineko When They Cry) vs. Any Female Praying Mantis (IRL)

Veronica Sawyer (Heathers) vs. Eleanor Guthrie (Black Sails)

Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) vs. Shadowheart (Baldur's Gate 3)

Noi (Dorohedoro) vs. Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)

Rat God (Mad Rat Dead) vs. Petra Solano (Jane the Virgin)

Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club) vs. Cinder Fall (RWBY)

Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (M*A*S*H) vs. Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd)

Claudia (Interview with the Vampire) vs. Lady Eboshi (Princess Mononoke)

Entrapta (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) vs. Princess Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Samantha Groves AKA Root (Person of Interest) vs. Shanoa (Castlevania)

Makima (Chainsaw Man) vs. Raphaella la Cognizi (The Mechanisms)

Yennefer Vengerbeg (The Witcher) vs. Toriel Dreemurr (Undertale)

Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Carribbean) vs. Wanda Maximoff AKA The Scarlet Witch (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Mapleshade (Warrior Cats) vs. Gertrude Robinson (The Magnus Archives)

Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) vs. Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

Muu Kusonoski (Milgram) vs. Romanadvoratrelundar (Doctor Who)

Rouge the Bat (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. Yubel (Yu-Gi-Oh)

Ponyo (Ponyo) vs. Aubrey (OMORI)

Dr. Olivia "Liv" Octavius AKA Doc Ock (Into the Spider-Verse) vs. Helena George Wells (Warehouse 13)

Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. The Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2)

Nami (One Piece) vs. Lucretia (The Adventure Zone: Balance)

[purplekoop]

one of Mauga's lines is interesting "both hearts pumping" did this man get a second heart along with all of those biological upgrades?

Yes, actually! A panel of devs explained it in the Mauga deep dive during a later part of today's stream. Mauga was gravely injured, and had a mechanical second heart put into his body, leading to his unnatural strength. He realized this was so good, he decided to augment his normal heart with cybernetic upgrades too. This is the explanation for his lifesteal ability, "Cardiac Overdrive".

I'd honestly recommend watching through this panel if you have the time to spare. It started at the 5 hour 30 minute mark of the opening day stream, which I'll leave a timestamped version here:

It starts with his origin story as well, which teases the heart thing, but the panel explains a bunch of his backstory more thoroughly, as well as the storied history of his development, from the process of designing his complex tattoos to the fun tidbit that his ult was once considered to be D.va's ultimate back when her kit was being designed, and more than I can list off the top of my head. So. Yeah, just watch the panel, don't recall how long it is but trust me it's a fun watch if you're a nerd about this stuff like I am.

[schantzscribbles]

The Overwatch fandom on tiktok is so incredibly dense and reactionary. I swear I don't run into the amount of bullshit from OW fans anywhere else except for there. This game has been my special interest since about 2017, both actually playing it and being into the stories and lore that surrounds it. Even when I missed things being away and unable to play, I still caught up with the short stories and comics, and still people are correcting me on the lore while being simultaneously objectively wrong and it's so stupid and I shouldn't be mad, but the information is literally all available for free on Blizzards website and they're just too immensely dense to access it and fact check.

Someone had the audacity to tell me Reaper doesn't have any lore when he has a short story (regardless what you think of it, it's canon), a comic, and a game mode all devoted to him, and beyond that has a ton of features and indirect development from other characters and their stories. He is literally one of the most developed Overwatch characters in game and lore. Meanwhile, we have characters like Zenyatta who has never had sole focus on him and most of what we know on him is through Genji or Ramattra, or even Sigma who had such a killer introduction and so much potential, but with little to no further development beyond in game voice lines.

I love that we're getting more opportunities for story through the animation miniseries, but admittedly it's frustrating when the same handful of characters continuously get their own stories, comic, shorts, and small features when we have 30+ heroes with a good number who've gotten nothing since their release.

Sorry for the rant. I'm just exhausted with the OW fandom of Overwatch because you cannot post anything without a bunch of fucking morons trying to "well actually 🤓" you on easily accessible and accurate information or just straight up harass you for making a simple joke. I know this fandom has a history of toxicity, but this wave of people "correcting" lore who just don't have a clue about the actual OW stories insanely infuriating.

[ultravioart]

Sombra uncovered a world wide conspiracy represented by an eye symbol, and that plot line hasn't been touched since. The conspiracy eye symbol could be connected with the Iris (eye motif) or god ai Anubis (Egyptian eye of Ra) but it got me thinking.

Apparently omnics were originally aliens in concepts for OW/Project Titan. (Seemingly an alien invasion/cohabitation conflict?)

Okay, so combine everything going on: Talon pushing global conflict in hopes of pushing humanity's advancement, Anubis' omnic crisis seemingly having no known trigger but causing mass advancement in tech, The Iris advancing omnic sentience ai and giving golden iris bestowed powers, Overwatch developing various cutting edge technology (teleporting Slipstream jet that gave the game's mascot Tracer her time powers, secretly hiring controversial Moira + Blackwatch, etc), and all the other things referenced in Sombra's conspiracy web like how Volskaya was using tech from "the enemy"(omnics) to build massive machines to fight... omnics.

OW2's original plan is canceled now, but think about it:

Ow1: intro to lore, first omnic crisis lore, FPS

Ow2: second omnic crisis and in the stories you play as OW pushing back or even beating Null Sector/Talon, PVE setting up the basis for an MMO

Ow3: MMO... with a bigger threat than NullSector/Talon.

Omnics were originally aliens. There are HUGE advancements in tech happening at high speed. Sombra discovered a conspiracy that changes everything ('sides' don't matter).

TDLR; The Sombra conspiracy might have been that a secret group is trying to advance humanity past a key civ/tech stage ASAP so Earth can fight off a technologically advanced 'alien' enemy that plans to invade Earth in the near future.

The focus on space travel even after the failure of Winston's crew is interesting, too.

So what kind of enemy? Aliens aiming to take over, or Alternate dimension/timelime trying to take over, or Time travelers from the future coming to attack the past earth to prevent an event in history... it would be something big where the heroes roster has to work together to fight off the invading threat in the MMO.

This would easily set up a large scale threat for an OW MMO story and landscape.

And with Tracer (time travel powers related to not time tech but teleportation tech) being the mascot, and with seeing that crew that worked on Overwatch (and Project Titan) went to work on a "parralel timelines fighting eachother" lore game Valorant, and from there going to work on a Valorant related MMO called "Project T"-- it makes me think the Sombra conspiracy would explain why multiple characters could exist on the same map, and it may very well have involved different timelines or atleast some kind of alien threat invading earth. Sigma even comments things in his voice lines that imply different dimensions or timelines.

But yeah, if Project T as an MMO comes to be, it may have been what Project Titan was intended as.

[crystal-ball-of-ow-canon]

Blizzard's handling of Gabriel Reyes: a dissertation

For preface: this IS NOT me accusing anyone specifically nor is it me saying any of these actions were done with malintent. This is not the fault of the writers or the game developers, this is not an accusation towards Jeff Kaplan, Michael Chu, or Arron Keller. But what I am saying is that a company as big as Activision Blizzard should have diversity/sensitivity readers and non-white and non-male and non-white-non-male creative leads. Because the problems that I’m raising in the plot and storytelling got greenlight, either meaning that Blizzard (the company conglomerate) didn’t do their due diligence in double checking their story or they didn’t listen to anyone who raised concerns. I’ve already talked about Blizzard’s handling of Gabriel before but in light of Code of Violence and Blizzard’s intent on where they plan to head Gabriel’s character I think it might be pertinent to review everything. 

First, Blizzard has always been annoyingly noncommittal on whether their universe is “fictitiously egalitarian” or “realistically problematic” although they have aired on the side of fictitious egalitarianism. However, especially earlier in their writing process they had more subtle nods that racism might be in existence. If the OW universe is an alternate reality without racism the in universe points are null insofar as “real life factors” are not actually involved nor affect Gabriel’s character in the story. This still does not mean that the points I bring up are completely invalid as stories are not written in a vacuum, the choices a writer [writing team] makes are influenced by their own lived experiences and then interpreted by people with different lived experiences. This is why you still need to be informed about certain tropes and how you work with them, work around them, avoid them, or subvert them, because they’re always going to carry outside context whether you mean for them to carry that context or not.

Side note: I do not want to see “well it’s in the future there is no more racism”. First of all this isn’t even 100 years into the future, it’s 70. Gabriel Reyes was supposedly born in 2020. Second, this nebulous idea that racism, sexism, bigotry won’t exist “in the future” is naive and misinformed. That is not how systems of oppression and pushback to those systems (and then retaliation to the change being fought for) works. I’m not saying you’re wrong for hoping/assuming progress will have been made, but merely saying “everything will be fixed it won’t exist anymore” is wrong.  Not only does it ignore the systematic oppression that would need to be overturned to “not exist anymore” but it would also still be ignoring the history of that systematic oppression and the long lasting effects it has on the people it was installed to oppress against. That’s all I’m going to say on that, I’m not trying to fight, I’m not trying to insult, and I won’t engage with bad faith actors.

I’ve already done a full breakdown on why Gabriel being a cop before joining the military is stupid from just the pure impracticallity of the timeline to why it’s generally also a bad take. I’m not really going to say more on that point since I don’t have anything to add to it.

Moving on is how  Blizzard has decided to handle Jack’s promotion as Strike Commander. In the text, Gabriel, a brown Latino man who has a full college degree as a senior officer, is a respected veteran, and original leader of the Overwatch Strike Team, is passed over the position for Jack who is white, younger, and does not have a college degree. None of this is subtext, all of this is explicitly stated in Fading Glory. The beginning layout of Jack and Gabriel’s story is Gabriel as a more qualified and experienced brown man is passed over for a promotion in which he has seniority for, for all Americana Jack. When Gabriel headed Overwatch in its experimental phase he was successful, Overwatch won the omnic war. When the United Nations votes to keep Overwatch as an establishment the title of Strike Commander is given to Jack. This is a tactic used all the time. Give the risk to a woman and/or POC so that if it fails they will take the blame, if it succeeds then you replace them with a white person/man. It is a form of erasure, to make sure attributes are always given to those in power and not to those who deserve it. And in the in-text reasons for Jack’s promotion in my opinion do not justify this decision of passing Gabriel over.

“Adawe and the others thought Morrison was the one who could. He looked the part, after all. The war hero. Compassionate, brave, confident, political.” What the everlovingfuck is “looked the part” supposed to mean? Or rather why was it necessary to include that? I don’t know what other inference you could draw from that. “Looked the part.” “War hero.” “Compassionate.” “Brave.” “Confident.” “Political.” The entire thing is loaded to say the UN wanted Jack because he was white. Because what does “looking the part” have anything to do with actual qualifications? What does a “war hero” look like? What does “compassionate, brave, confident, political” look like?

Jeff described Gabriel’s behavior as “rogue, he was too maverick in his leadership style--he ruffled too many feathers”. First I find it odd and in contrast with Reaper’s voice lines to Sombra to “Try to stick to the plan” and Sombra’s retort “Look, someone has to be ready when all your careful planning doesn't pan out” which is much more aligned with Gabriel being a tactician (which would make sense since he’s had a long career as a military leader). Second, it's very interesting that Jeff would describe Gabriel as “rogue” and “maverick in his leadership style”. We can deduce from his implied track record that whatever his leadership style is he is successful in it. The military looks for results first and worries about morals later. So for what reason would the brass have to take umbrage with Gabriel’s leadership if it resulted in the outcomes they wanted? Well for one thing we know that the American military is predominately male and white especially the higher up in rank you go. Would there be possibility that his actions would have been described differently if he were white? Maverick and rogue have very rebellious leaning definitions and are rather negative in connotation. You could technically say “unorthodox and risk taking” and semantically mean the same thing however it has different connotations, it’s not near as condemning.

Now if racism doesn’t exist in Overwatch then this point of contention isn’t part of Gabriel’s backstory and instead Blizzard has made some very poor word choices that probably wouldn’t have been used in an egalitarian universe and possibly reflect tellingly on the creative team. However, it might have been a creative choice they originally chose to explore as it would explain “Jeff’s famous retcon.” Previously the only information on Gabriel and Jack’s relationship pre-Zurich was from the Fading Glory article by Olympia Shaw where she said the promotion caused a rift between the two, there’s even a quote by Angela talking about how it ruined their friendship. "After Morrison's promotion to strike commander, his relationship with Reyes changed. The tension became more pronounced as time went on. I tried to mend things. We all did. Sometimes when the closest bonds break, all you can do is pray you stay out of the cross fire." Jeff then came out with the giant bombshell that the promotion actually wasn’t what broke their friendship. “Reyes was relieved that Morrison had to have the more political role”. If the text is saying that the promotion caused tension but the creative head says that’s false then could the text be an unreliable narrative? Gabriel could have been genuinely upset about the promotion while not actually wanting it. If he was expecting it due to his qualifications but was then blindsided by not receiving the credit he thought he deserved then of course he had a right to be mad whether he would have taken the promotion had he been offered it or not. It’s a way to make both things true. If this was Blizzard’s original intention to take the story it is currently unclear if they have chosen to continue down that narrative, however if they have adjusted their story then it leaves their set up in a right and slightly problematic spot.

Jack and Gabriel’s characters actually parallel and juxtapose each other very carefully. Jack’s current character state is as the vigilante Soldier:76. After watching the collapse of Overwatch Jack takes matters into his own hands to hunt down the people he deems responsible for the downfall of Overwatch now that he’s no longer restricted to acting within the law and approval of the UN. But don’t worry, he’s a good guy. He has a whole short where he saves a little girl. Gabriel has a similar story. Code of Violence confirms that after working first as an LAPD officer and later in the American military, then Overwatch, and seeing corruption and injustice continue to happen no matter what he did, Gabriel decides that he needs to take matters into his own hands to enact proper justice. Except Gabriel is a bad guy, so much so he’s working with the terrorist organization Talon … the same terrorist organization that took down Overwatch. If fact the first instance of Gabriel’s rebellion, the Venice Incident in Retribution, Gabriel shoots Talon leader Antonio Bartalotti because he doesn’t think he would’ve faced justice for attempting to assassinate Gerard otherwise. However Gabriel’s actions are the start to the downfall of Overwatch as Antonio’s muder is what exposes Blackwatch to the rest of the world. Jack and Gabriel are two sides of the same coin, really it only seems like circumstance that makes Jack a good guy and Gabriel a villain. They both have the same goal, to achieve justice by any means necessary where they deem the establishment has failed to enact justice itself.

Now Blizzard did give differences between Jack and Gabriel to distinguish why Gabriel turned down the path of villainy. In another article by Olymia Shaw she said that Blackwatch became corrupt and committed “aggressive and repeated violations of many countries' sovereignty.” Cole Cassidy’s backstory states “as Overwatch's influence waned, rogue elements within Blackwatch sought to bring down the organization and turn it to their own ends.” In “Jeff’s famous retcon” he says “that relationship [between Reyes and Morrision] actually was Morrison's downfall because for so long, Morrison would actually defend Reyes's questionable actions.” However Gabriel is the leader of an elite international covert operations unit. His job was to lead an elite covert ops team (covert operations which famously have histories of being abused, specifically American) sanctioned under the United Nations. Unless the Overwatch universe exists in a universe where gross corruption and abuse of the military  literally just doesn’t happen I don’t know why Blizzard would expect us to believe that Gabriel could be involved in a covert operations unit (“Covert operations may include sabotage, assassinations, support for coups d'état, or support for subversion. Tactics include the use of a false flag or front group.”) while not being involved in corruption. Don’t get me wrong, fuck the military industrial complex. This is not me saying that any crimes against humanity are justified, fictional or real. I’m just saying  we were presented with a character whose job it was to do illegal activities that often included war crimes then we’re supposed to be surprised when said character was revealed to be involved with war crimes? 

And secondly even if we’re supposed to believe that Jack remained innocent of Gabriel’s actions (besides the point that he purposefully remained ignorant so he could claim plausible deniability) why the fuck are we expected to act like no one else was implicabile in Blackwatches war crimes? Overwatch is sanctioned by the UN. Unless I missed something and Overwatch somehow became completely independent of any international government oversight post omnic war, both Gabriel and Jack are getting their orders in the very least abstractly from the UN or something along those lines. And if that is not the case that is STUPID, no country in their right mind would ever allow an official military organization to exist without any technical oversight or accountability. Jack is technically a military leader, Overwatch is technically a military organization, in what universe would he be able to call shots without the consultation and approval of other world leaders. That’s why Gabriel didn’t want the job! He didn’t want to have to put up with bureaucracy and public relations! They promoted Jack! That has to mean that Overwatch in some form answers to the UN! Angela even commented in her short story Valkyrie “When I looked at Morrison… all I could see was a soldier… A soldier with the gift of believing in his orders.” That’s why Jack was promoted! Because he’d blindly take orders where Gabriel wouldn’t!

I find it very weird the specific framing Blizzard has given Gabriel that either implies that Gabriel either lives in a world where he is held to different standards that are probably rooted in racism existing in the OW universe or the writers have made a really really bad Freudian slip and they have accidentally written a main POC character problematically.  And on top of that they keep changing their minds on what they want the character of Gabriel Reyes to be. Because he ultimately ends up joining the terrorist organization Talon and his reasons and motivs behind that action still remain very unclear.

Narrative A: Fading Glory where Gabriel got so bitter and jealous over the promotion incident that he turned to the dark side, he became corrupted by envy and power that he eventually lead an attack against Jack at the Zurich base that got the building collapsed in on them, and then joined Talon presumably to continue his vendetta against Overwatch which he felt had overlooked him. Narrative B: The Retcon where Narrative A is a smear campaign against him for either racist reasons or… I don’t know another reason it would be happening, and no actually he didn’t want to be Strike Commander he just became disillusioned by the system’s inability to fully annihilate corruption and crime, he either did or did not instigate a fight at the Zurich base, and then joined Talon for… reasons and is still going after corruption. Or Narrative C: The Conspiracy! where the actual answer is “Gabriel was brainwashed or is a double agent” because things actually didn’t start to go tits up until Moira came around and experimented on him with possibly questionable consent and that’s why Gabriel joined Talon. Both parts of Narrative C have technically (for all intents and purposes) debunked by Code of Violence even though it causes more problems then it potentially fixes and still doesn’t explain the Talon issue.

The Talon issue being: WHY THE FUCK IS HE IN TALON?!! I don’t know if Blizzard had a reason and changed it and has just forgotten to tell us, or if they’ve fucking forgotten their own canon. Because they have offered no valid reason why Gabriel decided to join. After anassasination attempt was made on Gerard LaCroix, Blackwatch was sent to arrest then Talon leader Antonio Bartalotti. After realizing that Antonio was too powerful to face consequences for his actions Gabriel shoots him point blank in the face, killing him. Gabriel Reyes shot a man, the then leader of the terrorist organization TALON, because 1. his friend was nearly killed and 2. he knew the person responsible would not face justice. Why would he then join that same organization? The organization that then went on - might I remind you - that said friend’s wife, brainwashed her into successfully killing him, and then continued to use brainwashed as an assassin, whom he then works with after he “joined”. Gabriel’s murder of Antonio is what lead to the downfall of Overwatch. In what world would Gabriel Reyes go on to work with the terrorist organization that he once sought to take down, alongside the brainwashed widow of one of his closest friends?!! And no! Code of Violence is not an answer! ‘They have resources and I’m bitter now’ does not answer the Amelie question! The only plausible answer I would accept is Gabriel does exhibit possible memory loss in CoV, he keeps flashing back to a specific memory of him with his family and it’s constantly distracting him during his first mission for Talon and maybe? he’s forgotten chunks of his memory like what happened to Gerard. BUT THAT DOESNT MAKE THINGS ANY BETTER.

But if we were to take Blizzard incomplete good faith and ignoring all the narrative problems, they have written a brown latino character who eventually resorts to violence to seek justice after losing faith in a system in which they deem is corrupted and lets the rich and powerful evade consequences. And I’m sorry but this “woke but too woke/is right but going about it the wrong way [choosing violence]” is something that I’m really tired of at this point. And not to tangent into how that’s actually a narrative to suppress and criminalize oppressed groups, but having a character of color eventually resorting to “unnecessary violence” is maybe not a narrative you want to be portraying. Furthermore said character canonically was passed over in their field of work for a younger less qualified white person, was later criticized for doing their government sanctioned job (again FUCK THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX just pointing out within the narrative of the story), which then possibly lead to a smear campaign in the wake of his presumed death (which also at the time preserved the memory and legacy of a white man). Both within the universe and narratively Blizzard has said “this character is a villain, they are the bad guy unapologetically, and unjustifiably.”

It seems what happens is that Gabriel Reyes was a villain first and his character  second. And when you’re writing a story, specifically in the way that video game developers might with character designs and concepts first and backstories second then that’s not an inherently bad thing. But you’re not writing in a vacuum and to have a non-white character be a villain before their own humanity (as much as you can give to a character who is not a real person) you are contributing the the perpetuation of harmful narratives. Regardless of your intent.

And I think what makes it worse is that Jack and Gabriel are the exact same character, except Jack gets to be an anti-hero. I talked earlier about how Jack and Gabriel’s backstories parallel and juxtapose each other very carefully. They’re two sides of the same coin and ironically have ended up in the exact same place except completely opposite of each other. Jack is fighting alone (until he meets up with Ana in Cairo) while Gabriel has attached himself to Talon. Both are seeking vengeance against those they perceive have wronged them out of a sense of justice and embitterment at how they were forced into their current predicament. Except Jack gets to remain a good at heart saver of little girls, while Gabriel seems to be out to murder all his friends for reasons that remain unexplained just like his reasons for working with Talon. For whatever reason Blizzard feels the obsessive need to explain and justify Jack’s character. He has an origin story (which by the way doesn’t mention Gabriel’s tenure as Strike Commander making Jack infer that he lead Overwatch through the omnic crisis, I’m just saying), his animated Hero short, the Bastet short story where he shares a perspective with Ana, the Old Soldiers comic, and the Uprising comic. All there to show Jack beleaguered as he might be, still a good person trying to do the right thing because don’t worry he’s still a good guy. Gabriel gets no origin story, no dedicated short to himself, just the comic Retribution alongside the archives event, and finally in 2022 6 years after the game release the short story Code of Violence which turns Gabriel into the Punisher. Sure Gabriel is involved in a lot of stories, but we don’t much get his perspective on events and for someone who’s apparently the linchpin in the whole Overwatch story (being what really happened between him and Jack at Zurich), I kind of think there’s a discrepancy in point of views provided.

Okay I know that was 3000+ words of me complaining so thank you if you actually read the whole thing, this is longer than papers I have written for college… I want to make it clear that I adore Overwatch and its characters, I wouldn’t be this invested if I didn’t care even if I seem a little ambivalent about it all. Gabriel is my favorite character and that’s part of the reason it’s so upsetting to see what I consider the mismanagement of his character. I love the little tidbits they give us, how he’s into costuming and is a Halloween enthusiast, or how he’s probably a theater kid (based on his costume of the Red Death having uncanny resemblance to the costume from Phantom of the Opera), and an edgy dork who likes Edgar Allen Poe. I am - for all intents and purposes - way too invested and I get if you’re like “so what?”. Like I said in the beginning this was not throwing any type of accusations towards anyone at Blizzard (or who have now left). I just want Blizzard to do right by Gabriel’s character, and I hope this non-comprehensive ramble of a list does at least a little to impart my feelings. Thank you for indulging me.

[nitewrighter]

hi, i'm not sure if anyone's asked you to do these two specifically yet for some interactions but i would like to see some between soldier 76 and symmetra, if you'd be willing! they literally only have one line between each other and it's so dry. if you wanna build off of that or write totally different ones i'd like to see what you can come up with :) thank you in advance

I mean it's a pretty solid statement of how they're opposed, but also Symm's had some character development since then, and Jack's kind of... continued being stuck in his weird isolationist macho mode, so it would be interesting to play with that.

----

Symmetra: You know, most vigilantes are more... disorganized in their activity. Most of your targets seem to have had some dealings with the defunct Overwatch, in one way or another.

Soldier 76: You're an expert on vigilantes, now?

Symmetra: I've been trying to gain a better understanding of people's motivations. To better persuade them to Vishkar's vision, you understand.

Soldier 76: *scoff* Of course.

---

Symmetra: So... you are investigating Overwatch, but you are not associating with the gorilla. Why?

Soldier 76: Figure I should figure out what went wrong before we go about repeating history.

Symmetra: 'We?' So you were with Overwatch before?

Soldier 76: I don't owe you an explanation.

Symmetra: Well, you started.

----

Soldier 76: Vishkar's personal shielding technology could save a lot of lives if they didn't hoard it all to themselves.

Symmetra: If everyone has shielding, then that means people would be buying more arms to break that shielding. Vishkar keeps its shielding out of mainstream markets to keep from heightening an already ongoing arms race.

Soldier 76: And you think you can just judge the whole world like that?

Symmetra: If the world is not ready for our vision, then it is hardly ready for our technology.