Art director Bill Petras explains the thinking behind the look and feel of Blizzard Entertainment's first franchise in 17 years.
Overwatch's characters exhibit a refined version of Blizzard's trademark exaggerated art style
Attendees at BlizzCon 2014 were first to hear that Blizzard Entertainment is to release its first new title in almost two decades. Overwatch is a multiplayer online battle arena game that introduces 12 new characters and a whole world for them, and gamers, to explore.
Blizzard, the team behind the World of Warcraft franchise, unveiled an action-packed theatrical trailer in which its stylised, cartoonish characters showcase their skills during a standoff in a museum.
Overwatch is set on a near-future Earth and battles take place in real-world locations such as London and the pyramids of Egypt
"We wanted to establish something new, but still keep to Blizzard's heritage of exaggerated style," art director Bill Petras says.
"Ultimately, the Overwatch art style is focused on readability of gameplay. We strove to create a handcrafted look for the materials, combined with exaggerated silhouettes for the heroes."
Blizzard artists have been tasked with creating something new that also keeps to the company's heritage
The trailer tells us there was an elite international task force – soldiers, scientists, adventurers, oddities – that "restored liberty to all nations".
Lena Oxton, known to her Overwatch colleagues as Tracer, is able to teleport and pull off a passable Cockney accent
But their watch is over, it's said, even if the ensuing shootout proves otherwise. The game will be available for PCs – though there's no release date yet – with a beta version coming in 2015.
"We're excited to finally be able to share this new universe and these awesome heroes with everyone," Bill says. "It's been great to hear the community's feedback so far, and we're looking forward to sharing even more of our work when the Overwatch beta begins in 2015."
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This article originally appeared in ImagineFX magazine issue 117.
Beren has worked on creative titles at Future Publishing for over 13 years. Cutting his teeth as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, he moved on to edit several creative titles, and is currently the Ecommerce Editor on the most effective creative website in the world. When he's not testing and reviewing the best ergonomic office chairs, phones, laptops, TVs, monitors and various types of storage, he can be found finding and comparing the best deals on the tech that creatives value the most.
