If you thought the Overwatch crew got down to make variety their purpose, Jeff Kaplan says you’re manner off.
Jeff Kaplan took to the stage on the D.I.C.E summit final week to speak about Overwatch and world constructing throughout improvement of the sport.
Partway by means of his speak, Kaplan discusses the heroes and their backstories, saying, “Overwatch started to spark lots of discussions about diversity. It was a very hot topic during development…it’s still a very important topic in today’s gaming world.”
He goes on to level out that the builders have been each praised and criticised relating to the topic.
“I think it’s really interesting that people think that diversity was the goal of the Overwatch team when it was not. What we cared about was creating a game in a game universe in a world where everybody felt welcomed. And really what the goal was was inclusivity and open mindedness.”
Even in case you really feel such as you’re not represented within the recreation, Kaplan says “you could imagine there being an Overwatch hero or an Overwatch map from your area and it seems totally plausible. It seems like at any time I could be represented in the game.”
Kaplan makes use of the examples of Ana, Symmetra, Zarya, Mei, and Sombra for instance how, regardless of being restricted by setting the sport on Earth, versus a fantasy or sci-fi universe, the crew nonetheless challenges stereotypes.
Moving onto the reveal within the Reflections comedian of Tracer having a girlfriend again house, he says that “this is all part of what we on the Overwatch team think of as ‘normal things are normal.’ It’s important to show normal things as normal, so they become more normal.”
The “trend [of] ‘grizzled soldier dude’” on online game field artwork reveals “just how different Overwatch was in so many ways,” he continues, “that when I look back on the past 10 years of great shooters… It’s very different to have an LGBT character on the cover, and also one who’s a female, so it’s something that we’re pretty proud of.”
Wrapping up the presentation, Kaplan states that “In no way do we aspire to be a political game. We have no political motivations whatsoever, but it’s fascinating to see that the values of the Overwatch team are being embraced and owned by the community in their own sort of positive way.”
