Oh hey, new Overwatch short.

[happyninja42]

Snip

I'm not crazy about Widowmaker, but according to her backstory she was kidnapped and brainwashed.

This makes her sexualization kind of freaking creepy to be frank.

It doesn't make it any less sexualized.

 

[KaraFang]

... why is Widowmaker grey?

She's actually kind of blue-ish. She probably looks grey in the short because it's night lighting.

Anyway, apparently [http://us.battle.net/overwatch/en/heroes/widowmaker/] it's because her heart beats really slowly which makes her emotionless to be a better assassin and turned her skin blue as a side effect.

Yes, I realise that makes no sense at all. Somehow I doubt a physiology expert was consulted when they were writing the lore.

Actually that does make a kind of sense; if her heart is beating slower she might be getting a lack of oxygen, which causes a blueish-gray discoloration of the skin, because iirc blood is blue unless oxygenated.

That's super unhealthy though <_<

Yeah, but heart rate doesn't control emotion. If I do star-jumps for a few minutes and get my heart rate up I'm not making myself more emotional. Likewise if I sit still and do breathing exercises to lower my heart rate (although I suppose that is kind of calming).

Plus someone whose blood was so de-oxygenated that their skin went blue wouldn't be in any condition to go running across rooftops.

I know, I know, I'm overthinking this.

I am too, wish I wasn't but I can't stop >.<

I know hormones and other neurochemicals are transmitted through the bloodstream, but I'm pretty sure you're right about the emotions part, at least the majority of them, I think are primarily intrabrain reactions.

(although in the case of star-jumps and breathing exercises, that's definitely related to heart-rate dependant chemicals like adrenaline and the ones that affect metabolism. So if you count "excited" and "calm" as emotions than yeah those ones would be affected.)

And yeah, everything else is basically nonsense regarding athleticism while under such conditions.

Why, Overwatch, why you do this to me.

Well, her Bio says she's blue due to the SIDE effects of the genetic and chemical manipulations Talon did to her to:

a) slow her heart rate to improve accuracy
b) enhance her reaction times, vision, and strength.
c) provide her immunity to the poisons she uses in battle

So that's why she's blue. However, you are correct that it could be a side effect of slowing her blood flow, but I think it could also be if they forced her body to change it's oxygen carrier from iron to copper. It's possible that, with some other chemical changes, could increase her cell oxygen transfer ability and how her cells chemically use the oxygen to generate energy to allow her athleticism without a high heartrate - Oh! Possibly adding Anaerobic function - gene biochemistry degree here peeps.

As an aside, Zhukov, what was cheese in the dialogue? She's explaining her original fears of spiders and now comparing herself to one? Was that what you meant? I thought that was rather good myself, explains why she goes to such lengths for the kill...

(but my god, could Blizzard ship them any harder? Widows sniper rifle looks more than powerful to shoot through tracers head and kill her actual target, but no she shoots through the time anchor letting tracer live. Are they going for the "erotic hate" thing? - all I know is prepare for Deviant art to get swamped again.)

Overall, I really liked this one as much as Recall... I think they're damn good world builders. (PS- did anyone see the blue hatted sniper in the picture Winston was looking at? Is that Marie before she was captured and brainwashed to killer her husband. If it is, man she looks awesome, I want that as a Widow-maker skin and voice change pack)

PS - Blizzards Overwatch creator may have issues with butts, the guys at Blizzards CGI scenes team (plus the new guys added from Pixar) apparently love them. as a grown man in his 30's I will simply say... I enjoy the eyecandy.

 

[Erttheking]

Snip

I'm not crazy about Widowmaker, but according to her backstory she was kidnapped and brainwashed.

This makes her sexualization kind of freaking creepy to be frank.

It doesn't make it any less sexualized.

Well I'm not claiming that she isn't, just that she isn't the old "Killing makes me feel alive" thing.

Fucking freaky when you think about it though...

 

[KaraFang]

Well I'm not claiming that she isn't, just that she isn't the old "Killing makes me feel alive" thing.

Fucking freaky when you think about it though...

I dunno... Soldiers report that they get that elated feeling wen fighting combatants and killing the enemy to keep them and their squad buddies alive.

sort of the old "I'm alive and you're not" thrill that Romans used to go for when watching death battles in the Colosseum.

 

[Ishigami]

Well I'm not claiming that she isn't, just that she isn't the old "Killing makes me feel alive" thing.

I was very, very disappointed by the backstory of Widowmaker on the homepage.
Because it was first of all a somewhat rehash of Kerrigan, which at that time wasn't that long ago, and secondly a female victim trope.
It was like the writers at Blizzard think women can't be evil or something.
Back then I proposed a rather small change which would avoid the victim trope with the same outcome and just so you know I'm not talking out of my ass here is the post: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.864725-The-female-characters-in-Overwatch-look-pretty-darn-cool?page=4#21611435
So yea I like that the Alive short kind of goes more into that direction.
I'm also pleased that Tracer does not win despite being made the face of Overwatch.
Also if you want to build a villain than he or she has to pose a threat, having them defeat a hero once in a while is what keeps the tension.

As for the game itself... I won't play it.
MP shooters are simply not my thing anymore. If it had a campaign then maybe, but MP only? Pass.

As for the aesthetics. I like it. I like Disney 3D animations as well and this is pretty close.

 

[TravelerSF]

(but my god, could Blizzard ship them any harder? Widows sniper rifle looks more than powerful to shoot through tracers head and kill her actual target, but no she shoots through the time anchor letting tracer live. Are they going for the "erotic hate" thing? - all I know is prepare for Deviant art to get swamped again.)

Huh, I assumed she targeted the anchor on purpose to fool Tracer into dodging the shot, thus hitting her actual target and getting the kill.

 

[KaraFang]

(but my god, could Blizzard ship them any harder? Widows sniper rifle looks more than powerful to shoot through tracers head and kill her actual target, but no she shoots through the time anchor letting tracer live. Are they going for the "erotic hate" thing? - all I know is prepare for Deviant art to get swamped again.)

Huh, I assumed she targeted the anchor on purpose to fool Tracer into dodging the shot, thus hitting her actual target and getting the kill.

I just re-watched it to double check and ran that scene in slow mo.... Tracer looks shocked that she's fired at her, yes, but doesn't from my viewing trigger blink like she normally does. She actually looks helpless in that scene.

When she "blinks" back to the rooftop, she's frantically patting herself down and looks very confused at the time anchors primary energy front port. I think she expected to have been shot... and was very confused as to why she wasn't.

I don't think she blinked herself, I think the time anchor did that itself, maybe due to how it works when the shell hit the centre of the anchor?

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong, but the body language seems wrong...

 

[Redryhno]

As an aside, Zhukov, what was cheese in the dialogue? She's explaining her original fears of spiders and now comparing herself to one? Was that what you meant? I thought that was rather good myself, explains why she goes to such lengths for the kill...

Personally it's more everything they said. Explaining her fear of spiders, fine, but it wasn't needed to go as far into detail and draw as much time out of it as they could. Tracer in the orignal trailer with her "watcha lookin' at?" thing was well-done I thought, same with Winston as he was blocking the shots with "enjoying the exhibit?".

But this...Tracer going over the comms like that just felt out of place and she and Widowmaker's accents have always seemed like they were trying too hard so the more you hear of them that isn't some manner of grunt just sticks the point home more and more. And as I said in another post, the overdramatic "NOOOO" at the end. Just alot of it was unnecessary and felt like it took away from the sequence more than added to it.

 

[Zhukov]

As an aside, Zhukov, what was cheese in the dialogue? She's explaining her original fears of spiders and now comparing herself to one? Was that what you meant? I thought that was rather good myself, explains why she goes to such lengths for the kill...

If you don't consider the "spideehr" bookends to be cheesy then I don't think we're going to agree on this.
But aside from that there was the, "Trying to crash another party, love?" and "Looks like the party is over."

The exaggerated accents take it well and truly over the line. Over my line at least.

It's not really a criticism, just a matter of taste. Besides, a bit of cheesiness won't kill me.

(PS- did anyone see the blue hatted sniper in the picture Winston was looking at? Is that Marie before she was captured and brainwashed to killer her husband. If it is, man she looks awesome, I want that as a Widow-maker skin and voice change pack)

99% sure that's actually Pharah's mother.

There's in-game dialogue between Winston and Pharah that indicates that Pharah's mum was a founding member of Overwatch. Winston refers to her as "an inspiration to us all" or something like that. However, he does so in the past tense, implying that she's dead. The woman in the picture looks a bit like Pharah, same build, skin tone and hair colour.

Fairly certain Widowmaker wasn't a combatant before she was brainwashed.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

Fairly certain Widowmaker wasn't a combatant before she was brainwashed.

According to her bio on the Overwatch website, Widowmaker was the (civilian) wife of an Overwatch member. She was kidnapped and brainwashed into assassinating her husband (after several previous assassins failed), and then defected to the bad guys, where she underwent her transformation into her current form.

 

[Zhukov]

Fairly certain Widowmaker wasn't a combatant before she was brainwashed.

According to her bio on the Overwatch website, Widowmaker was the (civilian) wife of an Overwatch member. She was kidnapped and brainwashed into assassinating her husband (after several previous assassins failed), and then defected to the bad guys, where she underwent her transformation into her current form.

Yeah, I know, but it doesn't actually refer to her as a civilian. It doesn't say what she was or did before being brainwashed.

However, since they only refer to her as someone's wife I'm assuming she was a civilian.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

Fairly certain Widowmaker wasn't a combatant before she was brainwashed.

According to her bio on the Overwatch website, Widowmaker was the (civilian) wife of an Overwatch member. She was kidnapped and brainwashed into assassinating her husband (after several previous assassins failed), and then defected to the bad guys, where she underwent her transformation into her current form.

Yeah, I know, but it doesn't actually refer to her as a civilian. It doesn't say what she was or did before being brainwashed.

However, since they only refer to her as someone's wife I'm assuming she was a civilian.

I got the impression that it was implying that she was chosen because she was close to the target and was not someone who would ever be suspected of being a double agent. While it doesn't explicitly say so, it feels fairly strongly implied (IMO).

 

[KaraFang]

As an aside, Zhukov, what was cheese in the dialogue? She's explaining her original fears of spiders and now comparing herself to one? Was that what you meant? I thought that was rather good myself, explains why she goes to such lengths for the kill...

If you don't consider the "spideehr" bookends to be cheesy then I don't think we're going to agree on this.
But aside from that there was the, "Trying to crash another party, love?" and "Looks like the party is over."

The exaggerated accents take it well and truly over the line. Over my line at least.

It's not really a criticism, just a matter of taste. Besides, a bit of cheesiness won't kill me.

I thought that was due to the comic book feel they are going for? IE, the exaggerated- stereotyped -accents and dialogue fitted. I suppose they were "cheese" but personally I found they fit well.

Maybe it is personal taste. S'all good.

PS - I can confirm they do not say Marie is a civilian, just easier to obtain than her husband. So, if she was just an ordinary Overwatch soldier then she "could" be the sniper. Who knows. (I just think the sniper in Winston's photo looks awesome)

 

[TravelerSF]

(but my god, could Blizzard ship them any harder? Widows sniper rifle looks more than powerful to shoot through tracers head and kill her actual target, but no she shoots through the time anchor letting tracer live. Are they going for the "erotic hate" thing? - all I know is prepare for Deviant art to get swamped again.)

Huh, I assumed she targeted the anchor on purpose to fool Tracer into dodging the shot, thus hitting her actual target and getting the kill.

I just re-watched it to double check and ran that scene in slow mo.... Tracer looks shocked that she's fired at her, yes, but doesn't from my viewing trigger blink like she normally does. She actually looks helpless in that scene.

When she "blinks" back to the rooftop, she's frantically patting herself down and looks very confused at the time anchors primary energy front port. I think she expected to have been shot... and was very confused as to why she wasn't.

I don't think she blinked herself, I think the time anchor did that itself, maybe due to how it works when the shell hit the centre of the anchor?

I dunno, maybe I'm wrong, but the body language seems wrong...

Just rewatched it myself, you seem to be right. Though it still doesn't seem to me that Widowmaker purposefully let Tracer live. Either she

A) Aimed at the anchor, somehow knowing it'd teleport Tracer out of the way, thus allowing her to hit the... robot monk guy. This is assuming that her weapon couldn't accurately hit both of them.
B) Aimed at the anchor purely because of her position in air and the trajectory of the bullet, trying to shoot both Tracer and her target with the same shot. This is assuming, of course, that she could accurately hit both of them with a single bullet. I'm not a weapons expert, I don't know which is more feasible.

Overall I don't see them having that kind of relationship. Widowmaker seems more indifferent, and sometimes slightly amused by Tracer, nothing more.

 

[KaraFang]

Just rewatched it myself, you seem to be right. Though it still doesn't seem to me that Widowmaker purposefully let Tracer live. Either she

A) Aimed at the anchor, somehow knowing it'd teleport Tracer out of the way, thus allowing her to hit the... robot monk guy. This is assuming that her weapon couldn't accurately hit both of them.
B) Aimed at the anchor purely because of her position in air and the trajectory of the bullet, trying to shoot both Tracer and her target with the same shot. This is assuming, of course, that she could accurately hit both of them with a single bullet. I'm not a weapons expert, I don't know which is more feasible.

Overall I don't see them having that kind of relationship. Widowmaker seems more indifferent, and sometimes slightly amused by Tracer, nothing more.

Oh, believe me, I don't see the Tracer/Widowmaker "romantic" pairing myself either. (Although I am in the minority compared to Dev Art and the internet in general )

I do think that this movie may suggest Widow let Tracer live because she finds her a challenge during the chase and it makes her feel alive - She almost seemed amused/fond of her foe. Maybe they're Frenemies? Is that the word? LOL.

 

[TravelerSF]

Oh, believe me, I don't see the Tracer/Widowmaker "romantic" pairing myself either. (Although I am in the minority compared to Dev Art and the internet in general )

I do think that this movie may suggest Widow let Tracer live because she finds her a challenge during the chase and it makes her feel alive - She almost seemed amused/fond of her foe. Maybe they're Frenemies? Is that the word? LOL.

Foe-bros? Well, the story is still thin, I suppose we'll get a better understanding of Widowmaker and her relationship with other characters in the future. Biggest question being if she even has any, does she form any sort if opinions about them, or if she's just always focused on the next kill.

 

[Bombiz]

So overwatch in general is animu girly FPS. great!!

@B-Cell how is Overwatch animu or girly? also when does using melee only in Shadow warrior get fun?

 

[KaraFang]

Oh, believe me, I don't see the Tracer/Widowmaker "romantic" pairing myself either. (Although I am in the minority compared to Dev Art and the internet in general )

I do think that this movie may suggest Widow let Tracer live because she finds her a challenge during the chase and it makes her feel alive - She almost seemed amused/fond of her foe. Maybe they're Frenemies? Is that the word? LOL.

Foe-bros? Well, the story is still thin, I suppose we'll get a better understanding of Widowmaker and her relationship with other characters in the future. Biggest question being if she even has any, does she form any sort if opinions about them, or if she's just always focused on the next kill.

She DOES joke (even if it is cruel) with Tracer that "ze party appears to be over.." when she could have simply shot her. Instead she just slings her gun into a relaxed pose...

Oh, and lets not forget the "Au Revior Cherie" and then she slammed her into the wall -she could have killed tracer easily as the british lass was out of it. Instead, she simply leaves smiling.

They have "something" going on. I just dunno what it is.

Immature aside! - I'm going to be VERRA immature and say that if they "were" a couple, the angry sex would be incredible .

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

So overwatch in general is animu girly FPS. great!!

@B-Cell how is Overwatch animu or girly? also when does using melee only in Shadow warrior get fun?

melee is not only fun in shadow warrior despite it has best meelee in FPS game. its fast paced old school badass game. and sequel looks even bigger.

 

[Bombiz]

So overwatch in general is animu girly FPS. great!!

@B-Cell how is Overwatch animu or girly? also when does using melee only in Shadow warrior get fun?

melee is not only fun in shadow warrior despite it has best meelee in FPS game. its fast paced old school badass game. and sequel looks even bigger.

@B-Cell When is it fun to use melee only though? Or for that matter at all? Feel like I need to get half way through the game before I can do anything remotely fun that isn't just 'slash slash stab slash block slash'.