Art Style Analysis
Gif Version
INSPIRATION
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Originally to be Blizzard’s new IP, Titan
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MMO and FPS mix
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Was canceled after 6 years of development
Designed to draw a gigantic fanbase like World of Warcraft
Abilities and skill tree development led to a variety of skill
combinations that were too overpowered
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Results were too cluttered and confusing
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Had 6 weeks to think of a new idea
Inspired by existing Blizzard IP, Hearthstone, to make a smaller,
self-contained game
Took inspiration of team based shooters from TF2, the
popularity of MOBAs, and existing assets from Titan to create a
prototype game
When the prototype was
“If people compared us to Team
successful, Overwatch was
Fortress 2, we would be honored
approved as Blizzard’s
because we love that game!”
fourth major IP
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Jeff Kaplan
Game Director Overwatch
MOOD
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Players of all skill levels feel welcome
A vision founded from the world around us
Many problems we face today are solved
Robot/Human rather than Human/Human Conflicts
Inspiring Stories
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Lead Writer Overwatch
Hopeful Future
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- Michael Chu
Diverse Plots, Characters, and Gameplay
○ Allow players to create their own connections
○ Globally Diverse Characters/Locations
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“A world that is welcome and inviting,
but not sterile and perfect”
Super Speed, Time Travel, Teleportation, Flight
Inspire players to see the World how it could be
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Dynamic Heroes and Locales
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All races and nationalities
Larger than life personalities and abilities
Embrace humor and excitement
Handcrafted, lived-In World
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Small details hint at story relationships
Each object/ element of design serves a purpose
CHARACTERS
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Lead character concept artist, Arnold Tsang, says: “The key to creating the
game's instantly identifiable characters lies in their silhouettes.”
Arnold Tsang says that the running animation is the next step to
differentiating in game recognizability. "We go into animation... and we try
to push the silhouette of that character running in the game to be as
different as possible from the other heroes so they stand out."
The art team rallied behind the heroic feel of Tracer, applying that feel to
the rest of the world/ characters
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Designs for each character define their
abilities and function in the game.
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Smaller characters are more
mobile, and easier to defeat.
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Larger characters have more
health, and take more effort to
take down.
“Reinhardt Wilhelm styles himself as a
champion of a bygone age, who lives
by the knightly codes of valor, justice,
and courage.”
“[Tracer is] One of the most important characters,
if not the most important character in the
Overwatch line-up, because she embodies the
spirit of Overwatch, as a game, and as a universe.”
- Arnold Tsang
ENVIRONMENT
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Looks
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Many organic and natural surfaces
Soft, bright color tones are used throughout the game to have
a more cartoon like style
There are no sharp or beveled edges
There are no 90° corners
All the edges in the scene have highlights to appear softer and
rounder than they really are.
Over exaggerated fake light painted on all edges to make the
environment seem softer.
Levels
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A wide range of diverse environment and immersive
experiences.
Map contains open areas for sniping heros and hallways for
close range fights so there are many possibilities for different
player styles and skills.
Easy to navigate around the maps and understand the flow of
the level.
Each map has you immersed at a different exotic location in
the world.
SHAPE LANGUAGE
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Silhouettes
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Character designs are heavily based around unique
silhouettes.
Composition
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Each character and silhouette is composed of shapes to give
each character a unique and easily recognizable look.
These traits run through each of the game’s four class sets,
allowing players to recognize not only a character but also
their class from a distance.
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Environment Design
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Each level uses shape design to continue Overwatch’s story into the
levels themselves.
Curved shapes are used in futuristic settings while squared shapes
are used for classic architecture and design.
These design choices combined with other storytelling elements
give each level a unique atmosphere.
Inspirations
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Each level pulls from the architecture and shapes of the real world
locations they are based on, giving each map a level of authenticity
that helps keep it grounded in reality.
LIGHTING/ATMOSPHERE
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Colorful and Well Lit Environments
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Most of maps are outdoor environments with bright sunlight.
Indoors are also well lit with ambient light and other sources.
Even the night time maps have lot of street lights and bright signs which
makes it easier to spot things and doesn’t hinder gameplay
Abilities and effects have colorful and distinctive lighting style that grabs
your attention and easily helps you identify it.
Overall the Atmosphere and lighting is very well done and improves the
overall quality of the game.
Night Time maps are clearly lit.
Sometimes the bright lighting and bloom effects
make it hard to see clearly.
Bright and colorful abilities makes it
easy to distinguish them
Dynamic and Real Time lighting effects
VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects in Overwatch stick to the over-the-top cartoon theme and that’s shown in the stylized
explosions and muzzle flashes in the game.
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The muzzle flashes are brief and appear to be emitted on quads or a premade spiky mesh.
These meshes are most likely rotated and scaled every time they are spawned.
Explosions often use a combination of parts, from unique mesh assets to particle VFX. This is
shown in the series of frames showing Junkrat’s Wheel exploding.
The visual effects for hitting a wall follow similar guidelines to that of the muzzle flashes.
Hit flashes start small, and scale up over time and then start fading away.
Muzzle flashes
Junkrat’s Wheel Explosion Breakdown
Hitting a wall
ANIMATION STYLE
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Animation Techniques
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Use of smear frames to convey speed and to
maximize animations in engine.
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The use of Noodle joints for higher fidelity
of characters’ movement animations.
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Attention to subtle detail
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Adherence to fundamental animation
principles.
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Animations follow a non-linear path from
pose to pose.
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Conveyance of attitude
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Each character’s animations are uniquely
created to fit their aesthetic
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Maintaining recognizable silhouettes of
the character
Behind the Scenes: Mei
Overwatch Highlight Reel
Animation
TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
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Game needs to feel Polished, Bright and Colorful
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Achieved with consistent level of detail
Bright, exaggerated effects yet they are balanced
well enough to not feel overly distracting or
overpowering on the screen.
Diverse, well balanced set of heroes to fit a variety
of playstyles.
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Player needs to feel Immersed yet must be able
to instantly recognize what is going on
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"Bastion is not OP."
-Bruce Wilkie, Principal Software Engineer, Blizzard
Player learns to recognize what’s going on
through the unique visual and audio cues.
Unique characters with unique forms, movement
and VFX for visual recognition
Unique sound effects linked to every ability for
audio recognition
ICONOGRAPHY
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Readable
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Minimalistic
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In-game UI is kept to a minimum to not distract
the player
Outside of the black and white icons, the rest of
the UI is highlighted by four colors: orange, cyan,
blue, and red
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Orange and Cyan are personal to the player’s UI
Blue and Red are battle indicators for allies and
enemies
Able to obtain all necessary information at a glance
Unique
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Needs to be intuitive to both veteran and newer players
No icon is the same
Matches each Hero’s personality and character
SPECIAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
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Heroes First
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The Heroes are the lead actors in our movie and the maps are
there to support the Heroes.
Each level should be built in a way that allows players to figure out
awesome sandbox moments.
The maps should create as much opportunity as possible for player
creativity with hero abilities.
Diversity of Experience
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Wide Range of environments and experience in maps
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Maps must have a good mix of fight hallways for our close range
heroes contrasted with long range areas for our sniping heroes.
A map should feature as many areas as possible for heroes to shine.
Clarity of Space
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We should strive to design levels to be as simple
and elegant as possible.
Play spaces should be uncluttered and details
should be pushed against the edges of an area.
Within a map there should be clear and simple
points of interest
Mechanics in our maps should remain
consistent.
Immersive World Fantasy
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The goal of each map should be to put you into
an epic, awe-inspiring environment
While playing our game you should feel
immersed in some of the most exotic locations
in the world, making this a truly global game.
CREDITS
Zach Ricketson: Characters
Sebastian Ribas: Inspiration
Raunak Vikas: Visual Effects
Elaine Del Rosario: Iconography
Gabe Espinosa: Mood
Titanya Claridge-Walker: Environments
Spencer Hodgkins: Shape Language
Jordan Brown: Animation
Lohith Haresh: Lighting/Atmosphere
Karthik Srinivasan : Technical Considerations/Special
Design Considerations