Overwatch

Guys, Soldier 76 is now Overwatch's second LGBT character right now.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/7/18172470/overwatch-soldier-76-gay-bisexual
Since it's Polygon I expected a 'tism storm in the comments but to be honest I can't even see how people could muster hate. 76 is the most bland character in the game by design because his personality is supposed to be easy for the new player to get into hero shooters as well as his kit. It doesn't seem so much as forced but just like the Tracer thing or the Symmetra thing I feel they just sling it in there and close the door behind it to fend on its own. It's just put there and that's it not so much forced but just kind of there even with a spotlight trying so hard to make it seem deep it's just vapid and not worth any outrage.
 
Now that I think about it the two characters that everyone seems to gravitate to for dumb headcanons (76 and Reaper) are two of the most bland characters on the roster.
Yeah that was my point above too. They did this kind of diversity appealing thing with the worst character who is purposefully made to be the bland soldier guy character. In terms of how it's played out Blizz seems to write new history just so they can make a point and claim it to be canon as there is no hints or build ups to this (Considering how little of the lore there is) it just happens because this is what a small group of people want or even care about.
 
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I don't care about gay76 update. It's how Chu is congratulating himself on being so #woke that gets me. How are we ever supposed to be normalized if every inclusion of a gay character is treated like a special event?

It will continue as long as wokeness is a market demographic for trendy products. Overwatch is a product and Blizzard a company so this inclusion is a PR/Marketing thing, same as it was last time.
 
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I don't care about gay76 update. It's how Chu is congratulating himself on being so #woke that gets me. How are we ever supposed to be normalized if every inclusion of a gay character is treated like a special event?
Tanner put it best but I don't see that as the same fanfare as Tracer who is pushed to be the mascot of Overwatch. It seems the team makes it specifically for people like Chu to promote the brand and try to be as loud as possible with it even if it isn't supposed to be a big deal or like I said seems like an empty ploy to try and make the most boring character something else but in doing so they made the other extreme. On both sides I don't see why anyone would hate this or overexert themselves to scream and praise about it as it seems so blandly put together.
 
Dirty Bomb is gonna die at the end of the year but Overwatch gets to continue being a mediocre eSport eating away at coverage and being constantly touted as a piece of shit competitive game by excusing itself with shit like gay76 since their idiot fanbase will clap and bray all day long about it.


What a downer.
 
Dirty Bomb is gonna die at the end of the year but Overwatch gets to continue being a mediocre eSport eating away at coverage and being constantly touted as a piece of shit competitive game by excusing itself with shit like gay76 since their idiot fanbase will clap and bray all day long about it.


What a downer.
Overwatch is a pandering mess with colorful characters all focus grouped and lab tested to appeal to at least one person or fetish. Blizzard dumps money into their esports so I expect it to work because nowadays no matter how good the product you can at least get it off the ground if you just shove money down its throat. I don't see a lot of the fandom even caring about the esports as the devs force you to care by shoving it in your face every time you want to play the game.
 
It's really easy to tell when a game has little to no content - it tries to convince you it's worth playing because it is "diverse" or has the correct politics.
 
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It's really easy to tell when a game has little to no content - it tries to convince you it's worth playing because it is "diverse" or has the correct politics.
As of now content is still a slow little stream I think (Correct me if I'm wrong) there was a new map and like three characters last year Brigette, Hammond, Ashe but other than that the same old events that are jam packed with cosmetics Blizzard wants to dangle in your face. As a lore guy it's pretty lacking in that as well considering it's either hamfisted or emotionally manipulative in order to trick you into thinking how "deep" it is which is a common practice with people who can't make something interesting so they'll try to play with your feels and go "LOOK AT HOW SAD THIS IS! ISN'T IT SAD!?"
 
As of now content is still a slow little stream I think (Correct me if I'm wrong) there was a new map and like three characters last year Brigette, Hammond, Ashe but other than that the same old events that are jam packed with cosmetics Blizzard wants to dangle in your face.

Three maps, three characters, and a few new play modes (including more competitive arcade modes). The Retribution event was the only event that got a major update with a brand new story mission.

I understand where people are coming from in regards to the slow content stream, but at the same time, its an arena shooter, not an MMO. You already have capture the flag, Lucioball, several PvE modes, elimination, deathmatch, king of the hill, objective maps, and the ability to design your own match in the custom game creator. There's nothing radical there, but they got all the staples of the genre down pat.
 
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Three maps, three characters, and a few new play modes (including more competitive arcade modes). The Retribution event was the only event that got a major update with a brand new story mission.

I understand where people are coming from in regards to the slow content stream, but at the same time, its an arena shooter, not an MMO. You already have capture the flag, Lucioball, several PvE modes, elimination, deathmatch, king of the hill, objective maps, and the ability to design your own match in the custom game creator. There's nothing radical there, but they got all the staples of the genre down pat.

The reason the fanbase constantly asking for more content is a big deal in Overwatch is because the base game pisses them off and isn't fun because the design is pants-on-head stupid. More modes is a band-aid at this point that the fans don't want to admit.
 
The reason the fanbase constantly asking for more content is a big deal in Overwatch is because the base game pisses them off and isn't fun because the design is pants-on-head stupid. More modes is a band-aid at this point that the fans don't want to admit.
Cooldowns were a mistake
 
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Three maps, three characters, and a few new play modes (including more competitive arcade modes). The Retribution event was the only event that got a major update with a brand new story mission.

I understand where people are coming from in regards to the slow content stream, but at the same time, its an arena shooter, not an MMO. You already have capture the flag, Lucioball, several PvE modes, elimination, deathmatch, king of the hill, objective maps, and the ability to design your own match in the custom game creator. There's nothing radical there, but they got all the staples of the genre down pat.

I'm not overwatch's core audience, but I would imagine that people would like innovative content instead of rehashed staples of existing modes that are arguably done better in other games.

I hate to keep being the Valve is better than Blizzard guy, but TF Classic has assassination mode, CS has defusal, hostage, and VIP maps, and TF2 has payload, payload race, PVE single and group content. I realize Overwatch has a version of some of this stuff, but nothing that really jumps out as something to call it's own. Not only are the gameplay mechanics frustrating but most of the systems are lifted directly from games where they make more sense and don't mesh well in overwatch.

For example - the character matchup/switching mechanic is lifted straight from MOBAs where there are a number of mechanics that means different heroes are fare better or worse against other heroes (like a fighting game matchup). However, in MOBAs these choices are a) permanent for the duration of the match and b) Heroes are picked in a way that makes sure that all players know what team has what heroes on it. In MOBAs an exorbitant amount of time is spent on this step because it's going to be the foundation for the match about the play out.

In overwatch hero choices are never permanent and the game never overly lets you know when an enemy player has switched heros (I believe there's a chat notice and you can constantly mash the leaderboard, IIRC) even though this is frequently vital information (Example - when playing as Pharah you absolutely need to be aware when there is an enemy capable of sniping (Mcree, Ana, Widowmaker) and the game is literally full of these matchups). In MOBAs there's no level of sneakiness about character picks so even if there's someone on the enemy team that has an advantage over your character (Ex - a long range sniper vs a slower melee character) you aren't surprised by it and your team can come up with a plan to handle it (Ex - an ambush or a feint). In OW the tactic becomes "just pick someone else" which starts the cycle over again.

Blizzard (in my opinion) used to be a pretty innovative studio and some of their games have drastically changed the gaming landscape (Diablo for ARPGS, WoW for MMORPGS at least) but Overwatch isn't coming close to changing the landscape and I think that's what has most people disappointed. I personally wasn't excited for overwatch and had little faith in Activision-Blizzard but the OW team citing Team Fortress 2 as a "masterclass of design and gameplay" led me to believe that they were at least aware enough in the game they were making to have more than a shitty TF2 knock-off at release. They weren't.
 
Three maps, three characters, and a few new play modes (including more competitive arcade modes). The Retribution event was the only event that got a major update with a brand new story mission.

I understand where people are coming from in regards to the slow content stream, but at the same time, its an arena shooter, not an MMO. You already have capture the flag, Lucioball, several PvE modes, elimination, deathmatch, king of the hill, objective maps, and the ability to design your own match in the custom game creator. There's nothing radical there, but they got all the staples of the genre down pat.
Thing is all of those things are implemented in better games which reminds me of how people view the Battle Royale genre. Black Out is Battle Royale in Call of Duty and people think just because it is in a game they like it makes it unique and fresh when in other times they'd blast another game for doing this and call it a trend chaser. Back to Overwatch a lot of its implemented game modes aren't unique and even with that most of those modes you listed like Lucioball or the PvE modes are event exclusive not main staying modes people can mess around with. Capture the flag is done better in other games, Elimination and deathmatch are done better in other games and the game browser is criminally under utilized as you're not making your own games you're just changing sliders on a menu to make numbers different. These new "modes" are just the illusion of choice and most like stated before get yanked away because they are event exclusive and serve as an anchor for them to show off new skins.

TL;DR Just because Overwatch is doing it doesn't make it innovative especially when other hero shooters have already done it....
 
TL;DR Just because Overwatch is doing it doesn't make it innovative especially when other hero shooters have already done it....

That's why I referred to them as "staples of the genre." Overwatch launched with two game modes, escort and king of the hill. Over the last 2 1/2 years it added a half dozen more game modes plus significant variation within those modes. If you're a fan of Overwatch's fundamental design (simple classes, team-based game modes, high/constant variation in team composition), then you're not missing out on anything other shooters have. But the fact stands: you have to be a fan of Overwatch's design to enjoy the game.
 
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