TALKING THINGS OVER( WATCH) By Ash Mahtani
We had the chance to talk to Aaron Keller, the Assistant Game Director of your latest gaming obsession, Overwatch!
Q: First things first: Overwatch is a really interesting take on the arena shooter genre. What was the inspiration behind Overwatch and the long roster of characters?
A: I love all of the heroes in Overwatch. Not only do they each have their unique set of over the top abilities and weapons, but they all have these great stories and personalities. At the end of the day, for each hero, we just wanted to make someone really cool and inspiring that resonated with the team. We figured if we loved our characters then everyone else would too!
Q: How does Overwatch stand out in the genre of arena shooters?
A: Overwatch’ s roster of heroes is part of what makes the game so exciting and compelling. At its heart Overwatch is a team based shooter. Each of the heroes on your team fulfill a specific role and it is through combining different hero compositions that a team can achieve victory.
At launch, Overwatch will have 21
heroes that each have their own unique abilities and roles. Tracer is a fast moving, twitchy hero who relies on her movement abilities to harass the enemy team, while a massive character like Reinhardt uses his shield to protect his team and at opportune moments uses his rocket hammer to devastate enemies. Players can choose whichever hero they feel best fits their playstyle as well as is most suited to take on the heroes that the enemy team has selected.
Also, the world of Overwatch is Blizzard’ s first new and exciting universe in almost 20 years. It’ s a near future Sci Fi setting and we’ ve put so much work into developing the stories and characters that fill it. I’ m eager for players to fall in love with the heroes of Overwatch the same way our team has.
Q: Do you have a favorite character? A favorite map?
A: Lately I’ ve really been enjoying Junkrat. He’ s our demolitions expert from Australia. His primary weapon is a grenade launcher, one of his
6 JUNE / ARENA