Overwatch 2: Invasion, the biggest revamp since its launch, is coming on August 11. Before the game was released, some media interviewed the production team of Overwatch 2 and asked them to talk about the design of the game.
The following members of the development team were interviewed:
- Daniel McGowan Environmental Graphic Designer
- Dylan Snyder Senior Game Designer
- Jorge Murillo Mission Designer
- Josh Zhang Story Designer
- Monika Lee is a game design producer
- Piero Herrera hero designer
- Ryan Smith Level Designer
- Scott Lawlor Director of Sound and Technical Story Design
- Rakan Khamash Senior Character Art Designer
Q: Can you reveal a little bit of the official story of Smartphone Invasion? What old friends will we meet? Will the progress of the official story continue to be released in the form of the season in the future?
Scott Lawlor: The story takes place after the point in time of the "Time of Action" animation, where the zero quadrant is attacking Paris. Players will see heroes like Winston and Reinhart fend off this attack, interact with Lucio, Sojeon, and even see what happens between Tobion and the fortress. We're excited to see the story progress in the coming seasons, but we don't have much more to say at the moment.
Q: The story will start with "Summoning", what plot lines will be included in the current design? For new players who may not have seen past anime or novels, will the team respond to this?
Scott Lawlor: During the first mission, Rio, we played an animation to let players know what had happened, and the development team wanted new players to play these missions without having to watch all the animations or read the comics and novels.
Q: The production team said that this "Smart Device Invasion" has more content than the past "Defend the Secret Order", how much more? How many missions are there, and how long do you play?
Monika Lee: The average gameplay time of each of the three new missions is about 30 minutes, and each mission has several animations added to it. Missions such as "Defend the Secret Order" are mini-battles that render the history of the Defenders, but the most exciting thing about this new mission is that you can advance the story through hundreds of new voice lines, while also fighting more powerful enemies, and the overall experience is more complete and large.
Q: Overwatch has had a lot of plot details hidden in the battle map since the first generation, and it has always been a topic of discussion in the player community, this story mission, although not a story mode, but also the first time to explain the story clearly, is there a story Easter egg for players to focus on, can it play a role in the story mission?
Jorge Murillo: These missions are part of Overwatch 2's larger story, and it's the first time we've really told the story of the defenders through the game. Players can find a lot of interesting Easter eggs inside, but we don't want to reveal too much.
Q: What rewards can players expect to earn after clearing PvE mode? Is the clearance event limited or continuous?
Scott Lawlor: These missions are not limited-time content. Once you've completed the mission, you can unlock the next stage of the story in Winston's lab.
Q: Can players explore the personal story of heroes in Hero Specialization Missions?
Dylan Snyder: Hero Specialization is a solo map where you play as each hero to complete challenges. These challenges are designed to help players improve their skills while letting people know how good you are.
Q: Will there be a new story mission every season in the future? Will there be a separate charge? Will I see more PvE story content in future new in-game animations?
Scott Lawlor: We can't reveal the timing of the next launch of the story mission at this time, but we'll share it with you when we're ready. These stories will be told in the future through more animations and other means.
Q: This PvE story mode is launched on a paid basis, and many players are disgusted by this, especially those who have purchased a generation of games, and they have expressed strong opposition, why did Blizzard make such a decision?
Scott Lawlor: We're confident in the quality of these story missions, and we believe the pricing is reasonable for the experience players get from the game.
New core game mode: Lightning Point
Q: Is the lightning point mode open randomly, is it different every time you enter, or is there a fixed pattern? Why was this design added in the first place? Did you encounter any difficulties during the development process?
Ryan Smith: The first stronghold will definitely be in the center. In order to give players a different combat experience in each Blitz Point game, we wanted to make the locations where other strongholds appear more random.
Q: Will the large blitz point map and the addition of randomness affect the player's preference for using output type characters, resulting in tanks and auxiliaries becoming useless?
Daniel McGowan: Every hero has a role to do on every map. Each map is large and has a unique design, so heroes who are suitable for snatching one stronghold may not work as well in others. One of the best things about Overwatch is that players have all kinds of ideas to use heroes in different situations, and Blitz Point makes that the most out of it.
Q: Is there a possible future version of the Blitz Point mode for existing maps? How many Blitz Point maps are officially expected to be updated in the coming year?
Ryan Smith: These are the largest PvP maps we've ever made, and we spent a lot of time making them. When developing future maps, we wanted to hear what players liked the most, so we didn't have any news to share about the launch schedule or location of the new map for the time being.
Q: How long is the game duration of each Blitz Point game? Are there any special considerations and adjustments for such duration? Is the rhythm much different from existing multi-objective maps? What kind of players are expected to play? (Casual / Teamwork or... ）
Ryan Smith: The battle time is not much different from the previous captured strongholds and hybrid maps. We've increased the map size and the number of strongholds, but we've also reduced the time it takes to capture a stronghold from 120 seconds in other modes to 70 seconds for blitz points.
Q: Have you improved it by inheriting the development experience of the previous map mode?
Ryan Smith: Every time we create a map, we get more aware of how to make it interesting for players. We're also looking forward to receiving feedback from players on the BlitzPoint mode.
Q: Are the points of Lightning Points and past points calculated independently or combined? Will Lightning Point mode be added to esports tournaments?
Daniel McGowan: BlitzPoint will be added to competitive battles during the season, and this season's Overwatch Pro Esports League will also feature BlitzPoint Battles in the future.
Q: Overseas live master KarQ previously shared the game's experience on social platforms, and the snowball effect mentioned in it made many players quite concerned, how should the party who did not get the advantage in the early stage recover the disadvantage, and what are the views or adjustments that the development team plans to make? The previous Capture Mode orientation was removed due to the snowball effect, can the blitz points be truly balanced?
Ryan Smith: One of the best ways to turn things around at Lightstrike Point is to know the map and team combinations. Every stronghold and every map is different, so being able to adjust your team and tactics in time will be the key to lagging behind. After launch, we'll review player feedback and performance data from different heroes to see if any adjustments are needed.
New Hero: Ilari
Q: Why did you choose Peru as your backdrop? What kind of Peruvian culture is inspired by? What is the specific connection or impact of Ilari's identity with this story mission? Is there anything impressive about studying the Peruvian setting? What power does the sun actually bring to this hero?
Piero Herrera: We like to explore new cultures and countries through heroes, and Peru is a country I am particularly looking forward to. My family is from Peru, and I have a few pictures of my grandmother that we use to get inspired and communicate with cultural experts.
For the Peruvian natives, the sun is a very important symbol and a great fit for designing a hero who can harness the power of the sun to help fight while supporting their team. You can feel this in her big moves, and her weapons are also full of the power of the sun.
Josh Zhang: Ilari isn't part of Overwatch 2: Invasion of the Mind story quest, but we're excited to share her connection to the Defenders and other characters in the future.
Rakan Khamash: Grandma Pirio's picture is really beautiful. In Ilari's original design, she only had one braid, but the cultural advisor told us that in general there were actually two. When we made this change, Grandma Pileo's picture was a great reference, because Illari's hairstyle is exactly like hers.
Q: What is the biggest difference between Ilari and other supporting heroes? Is its character positioning more inclined to active and aggressive gameplay?
Piero Herrera: She's more aggressive and belligerent than the other support characters. You can deal a lot of damage, then use her healing tower to save teammates located elsewhere on the map, while also fighting enemy teams.
Q: Although Ilari is positioned as an auxiliary, it seems to be very aggressive, does this mean that Blizzard officials have begun to focus on the output ability of auxiliary characters, rather than letting the auxiliary only focus on auxiliary functions like Angels and Lucio in the past?
Piero Herrera: When we look at the various combinations of heroes, we need to find the right balance. Ilari may be more aggressive than the other auxiliary horns, but her healing is the key skill to become a strong member of the team.
Q: Does the Healing Tower change as the role of the Healing Tower increases? For example, the number of replies per second
Piero Herrera: "The therapy tower fires therapeutic projectiles to treat a single target."
Q: Is the building where Ilari can pose the healing tower like a machine gun an attackable target? Can the enemy destroy the healing tower?
Piero Herrera: The healing tower has 150 health points and can be destroyed.
Q: Ilari has a healing tower building, and the balance of the building has always been a problem, especially after the console version has been balanced many times, will it be too capable?
Piero Herrera: From recent playtests, we think her balance is great. We're always happy to hear from our players and make adjustments if necessary.