On the 20th, Blizzard held a’The Hidden Story of Overwatch 2’session through its online conference BlizzConline. As the opening ceremony did not include the contents of Overwatch 2, the attention of fans was focused on this session that followed.
Jeff Kaplan, Blizzard’s vice president and director of the Overwatch series, conducted this session, expressing gratitude to the fans who have been waiting for Overwatch 2 for so long. it started. In this session, developers exchanged opinions in the form of video interviews at their homes.
First, an introduction to the new battlefield to be revealed through Overwatch 2 followed. Director Aaron Keller unveiled Rome and New York City as new and upcoming battlegrounds.
Art Director Dion Rogers, the Roman battlefield, is a place where traces of the ancient city of Rome remain intact, and contains classical Italian architecture and monuments such as the Colosseum and the cobbled plaza. Of course, the futuristic appearance of a holographic statue or a giant hover train was also equipped to fit the worldview of Overwatch.
The development team actually visited Rome to create a Roman battlefield, taking thousands of photos of the Italian region and collecting data. In addition, the existing buildings went through the process of constructing a new, but familiar, to match the game environment.
The New York City battlefield is one of the key locations in Overwatch 2. From the 1920s to the 1050s’ fire departments, pizza shops, and other symbolic monuments of New York City, to the small elements of the town, they melted into the unique world of Overwatch. Players can encounter a modern interpretation of the classic New York compressed in the game.
Meanwhile, Director Jeff Kaplan also hinted at the development of more battlefields.
Like the existing Overwatch, Overwatch 2 has PVP as one of its main contents. However, the development team tried to reorganize the PVP sense of Overwatch 2.
First of all, there are passives that affect the character class. The assault hero’s knockback decreases and the attacking force’s movement speed increases. There is also a slow auto-healing of support role heroes.
Meanwhile, the tanker’s role will be completely rebuilt. It’s an experimental step, but Reinhardt uses Flamestrike as a charge twice in a row, or makes cornering more flexible, making it easier to chase and hit enemies.
These changes are still in development and may change, but the focus is on making the overall team combat action more organic.
In addition, the actual in-game sound is also improved by improving the sound system introduced as Weapon 2.0 Sound. The shooting sound, which was completely changed by recording it using real firearms, tried to make the same weapon feel completely different from the outside, in the city center, in a huge interior, in a small room, in a tunnel, etc.
Meanwhile, the new character Sojeon uses a railgun that focuses on reviving the feel of a classic shooting game. In particular, the Railgun of Sojeon can do powerful damage by hitting the enemy exactly as it did in other games.
Hero Mission, a PVE mode that will be the main game mode along with PVP, is a game mode for new players who struggle with PVP. This is one of the key features that makes Overwatch 2 feel not just a new game mode level, but a sequel and an original game.
Hero missions that provide co-op experience are one of the main places to accumulate hero experience in a repeatable mode. In particular, there are hundreds of hero missions, and game types are also prepared accordingly. In addition, each mission includes some story elements, so you can enjoy a new story.
Existing battlefields are included in the hero mission, but in actual gameplay, you can see a completely different appearance. In the case of King’s Road, for example, during gameplay, the road suddenly opens and you can proceed to new locations and new routes that you have never seen before. Here, even on the same battlefield, you can experience a completely different gameplay from Overwatch 1.
Meanwhile, on the Anubis battlefield set in the Giza region of Egypt, sand storms sometimes rage on the battlefield, while heavy storms rush on other battlefields, giving a dynamic presentation. In addition, the changed battlefield forms at sunset, daytime, and night appear.
Accordingly, players can enjoy the night view of Hollywood or enjoy the sunset in each region, and play with a completely different feeling even in the same region.
We made a composition suitable for each character in each region and redesigned the map for this. For example, in certain areas where a sandstorm is raging, Hanzo or Widowmaker’s play is more useful.
The hero level-up system, first introduced at BlizzCon 2019, has grown further and has grown into a skill tree for each character.
In the case of the Soldier, there are elements to invest 17 to 18 points in each skill composition divided into three categories: Commander (Commdander), Rifleman, and Vigilante. Accordingly, even the same hero can have a completely different play experience depending on the skill tree.
By raising the Soldier 76’s new abilities, it is possible to push enemies within his healing range and Mercy to push them away. Ultra-long-range respawns that reinforce existing roles can also be changed through Steel Tree. In addition, it is possible to grow according to the player’s tendency, such as changing Reinhard’s Flame Slam to Ice Slam and Junkrat firing multiple grenade.
After the first release, the appearance of the enemies who had been regretted has also been greatly improved. The feminine omnic called Fuller is flowing and moving and only gives a bizarre feeling compared to other omnics. However, it shoots a ray that pulls the player from a long distance, pulls the hero, and then delivers a powerful blow with a hair-shaped weapon.
In addition to this, Breacher, who has a huge bomb in his body, is one of the enemies that must be quickly defeated in preparation for the attack by applying a slow but powerful blow. In general, humanoid omnics with guns have also evolved both design and attack form, such as powerful melee attacks at close range.
The attack motion and animation have also been improved.Some of the enemy’s head and the legs that support the body are also weak points, and when attacking a weapon attached to both arms, only one weapon is destroyed and moves separately.
In addition, the enemy’s body is cut in half by a blow, and at the same time as death, it is pushed back and attacks other enemies. Various play is possible according to the situation.
On this day, the development team brought up a story about the heroes whose appearance changed and introduced the changes of Macree, Para, Ripper, and Widowmaker.
In the case of McCree, we tried to implement a new look while maintaining the classic cowboy character. Therefore, technical wear and tech fabric suitable for Overwatch 2 were arranged to match the new outfit.
Farah uses more of the signature colors blue & white on the existing Overwatch. In addition, the transparent visor helped to confirm Pharah’s expression.
The Ripper added more metal properties to the cape and armor, and the overall color was improved. Widowmaker added a cyberpunk outfit concept to the characteristics of Treasure Hunter. However, the long ponytail hair was further strengthened.
In addition, through advanced technology, more realistic expressions of heroes in the game, including cinematic images, became possible.
The story, which has been pointed out as a regret of Overwatch, is also improved. In the campaign mode, which deals with the story of the 2nd Omjik Rebellion and the content of the heroes gathering again, you can check various cinematic videos along with in-game cut-ins.
The developers of Overwatch 2 drew several scenes on the storyboard to see what could be covered in the story campaign. Through this, we opened up various possibilities for the character concept and focused on development. By freely combining these stories to suit the situation, Overwatch 2’s story worked hard to build an interesting story structure that fits the worldview but was not covered.
The Indian region included in this campaign is a map that makes the feeling of escaping from the temple, and boasts a huge size and a suitable amount among Overwatch regions.
The regions within the campaign not only embodied the appearance, but also included the stories behind each region resonating in the story. For example, Toribyon’s furnace is included.
Despite this, the in-game team and the cinematic team worked together organically for the single goal of gameplay, and new and improved technology enabled the realization of a story like never before.
In addition, in the campaign’s story mode, you can select a hero to play directly from within the set hero pool. Various dialogues occur according to this combination of heroes. In fact, in this announcement, the player could confirm their relationship through the conversation between Genji and Mercy.
The development team announced that they will pay more attention to the acting of actual voice actors for this diversified dialogue branch.
Director Jeff Kaplan was pleased that their game could convey emotion and new emotions to the player, and ended the session in anticipation of new skills, changes, and stories from Overwatch.
※ BlizzConline 2021 will be held online from February 20 to February 21 through the official BlizzCon website. We will deliver even a small piece of information without losing it. ▶ Inven BlizzConline 2021 News Center: https://goo.gl/gkLqSp
– .
