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| 10s | Hello. |
|---|---|
| 11s | I'm Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie, |
| 12s | Lead Narrative Designer |
| 14s | for the Overwatch team, |
| 15s | and I'm here to explore the past of our newest hero, Lifeweaver. |
| 19s | Hi. I'm Kenny Hudson, |
| 21s | Hero Producer for the Overwatch team, |
| 22s | here to talk to you about Lifeweaver's gameplay kit. |
| 25s | Hi, everybody. |
| 26s | My name is Daryl Tan, |
| 27s | and I'm the Lead Character Concept Artist |
| 28s | on the Overwatch team. |
| 30s | Hi. I'm Takki. |
| 31s | I'm a Senior Character Technical Artist |
| 33s | on the Overwatch team. |
| 35s | And for our Thai audience out there... |
| 37s | [in Thai] Hello. I'm Tak. |
| 38s | I'm the Senior Character Technical Artist of Overwatch. |
| 41s | Today, we're getting to know more about Niran, our Lifeweaver. |
| 47s | [Lifeweaver] Huh. Now, this is a development. |
| 49s | In the beginning phases, |
| 51s | we like to base our heroes off of popular and recognizable archetypes. |
| 55s | From the early run of sketches, |
| 56s | the silhouette of a plant-type character caught our eye, |
| 59s | as it inspired ideas of a sci-fi druid. |
| 62s | With the idea that our hero would heal with plants, |
| 65s | we explored how we could visually represent this. |
| 67s | We landed on the idea that he channels the healing properties of nature |
| 71s | into these hard-light flowers which he uses to heal his allies. |
| 75s | We coined this tech bio light. |
| 78s | For the visual language of his bio-light constructs, |
| 80s | we wanted it to feel very designed |
| 82s | and not have it simply be a hard-light version of organic plants. |
| 87s | We were very inspired by mandalas, |
| 89s | and this heavily influenced the look of his kit, |
| 92s | from the healing blossom, to his gauntlet, |
| 94s | to the lifting platform, |
| 96s | and even to the canopy of the tree. |
| 98s | We wanted Lifeweaver to present himself as a beautiful character |
| 101s | who also endeavors to find beauty in the rest of the world. |
| 105s | Thus, we landed with the combination of gold, white, and an elegant pink. |
| 110s | His long, silvery hair and chiseled features |
| 112s | also help sell that idea. |
| 115s | While we were figuring out the various aspects of Lifeweaver, |
| 118s | Takki here burst onto the scene. |
| 120s | He had a really cool presentation for us. |
| 123s | The Character Concept team and he presented to us many Thai skin ideas, |
| 127s | and after his presentation, we were wondering, |
| 130s | "What if our hero was Thai?" |
| 132s | I did not expect a Thai hero to come out of that meeting. |
| 135s | I'm still blown away by it. |
| 136s | So, from that, we have our first Thai hero. |
| 139s | We don't often see a Thai character in a video game in general, |
| 143s | so you'll be hearing him speaking his native language in-game as well. |
| 146s | And on top of that, he is released on Thai New Year. |
| 150s | How cool is that? |
| 151s | [Lifeweaver, in Thai] Put ourselves in their shoes. |
| 154s | So, when it comes to his design, the team wanted to use this chance |
| 157s | to represent Thai culture as much as possible, |
| 159s | so Lifeweaver comes from a traditional family, |
| 162s | so his design is heavily influenced by traditional Thai garments. |
| 165s | Take a look at his pants, for example. |
| 167s | The pants he's wearing are called chong kben. |
| 170s | It's technically a huge sheet of cloth that you wrap around your leg. |
| 173s | It's a type of garment we would see in Thailand and its neighboring countries. |
| 177s | Last thing worth mentioning |
| 178s | is that it's also very common for Thai people to have a nickname. |
| 182s | Lifeweaver has a nickname. |
| 183s | In this case, his nickname is Bua, |
| 185s | and Bua also means lotus or waterlily. |
| 189s | [Daryl] Every aspect of his kit presented unique challenges |
| 192s | that the team had to figure out. |
| 194s | [Takki] Every time we played as this hero, a new scenario kept coming up |
| 198s | that was, like, fun, that made each game feel different. |
| 202s | Yeah. There are many ways to use his kit that I think we don't even know about. |
| 205s | Exactly. I am sure players will discover even more. |
| 209s | -I think so, too. -And more that we don't intend. |
| 212s | Yeah. I am excited to see that happen. |
| 220s | Born in Chiang Mai, Thailand, |
| 222s | his full name is Niran PruksaManee. |
| 225s | He's confident, brilliant, warm, and witty. |
| 231s | He grew up going to botanical festivals and wandering his compound's vast garden, |
| 236s | mending plants alongside his family's gardeners. |
| 239s | Soon, that vast garden would be too small for him. |
| 243s | His parents, desperate to instill order in their middle child, |
| 247s | sent him to the prestigious Vishkar Architech Academy, |
| 252s | where he met Satya Vaswani, |
| 254s | otherwise known as Symmetra. |
| 257s | As he grew older, |
| 259s | during breaks at school, he used his parents' wealth to travel. |
| 264s | In those journeys, he was struck by the turmoil that existed. |
| 268s | All around the world, |
| 269s | people needed help. |
| 272s | Illness, injury, and many other ailments riddled communities with pain - |
| 277s | a pain Niran grew determined to fix. |
| 281s | Using this original design and his fascination with botany, |
| 285s | he created something new. |
| 287s | While hard light made inanimate material, |
| 291s | Lifeweaver's new and unstable invention, called bio light, |
| 295s | created organic material |
| 296s | that could heal terrible wounds in the blink of an eye. |
| 301s | He held Vishkar and its rigorous structures |
| 304s | in great contempt. |
| 306s | Lifeweaver wanted to provide bio light freely to the world. |
| 310s | Vishkar quickly took issue, |
| 312s | arguing that by discovering this technology |
| 315s | with Vishkar property, on Vishkar's time, |
| 318s | it belonged to the company. |
| 321s | Lifeweaver refused and fled the academy with his primitive technology, |
| 325s | hunted by Vishkar's lawyers |
| 328s | and, unofficially, other, more dangerous forces. |
| 332s | We aimed for players to feel comfortable and supported around him, |
| 337s | to feel included in the circle he's creating, |
| 340s | and learning how he sees the world. |
| 343s | We're also excited because he's an openly pansexual character, |
| 346s | and you'll see this reflected in his voice lines, conversations, |
| 350s | and other content. |
| 352s | [Lifeweaver] Aha. |
| 354s | You're better off with me. |
| 356s | Lifeweaver is a support hero that focuses on ranged healing, |
| 359s | with a playstyle that most closely matches that of a main healer. |
| 362s | Lifeweaver has an alternate weapon, similar to Mercy and Torbjörn, |
| 366s | so he technically has two primary fires, the most important being Healing Blossom, |
| 370s | which is a bio-light flower bud held in his right palm. |
| 374s | Holding primary fire will rapidly bloom the bud, |
| 376s | increasing the amount of healing it can provide. |
| 379s | Releasing primary fire will send the blossom to the targeted hero. |
| 383s | His alternate primary fire is called Thorn Volley, |
| 385s | and is available after swapping to the alternate weapon, |
| 388s | mostly as a means of emergency self-defense. |
| 390s | When Lifeweaver switches to this weapon, |
| 392s | his right forearm rotates to reveal bio-light thorns |
| 395s | that he's then able to fire rapidly from his palm in a scattered pattern. |
| 399s | Secondary fire is an interesting ability called Pedal Platform. |
| 402s | When used, Lifeweaver throws a pod |
| 404s | that blooms into a flower-shaped platform upon landing. |
| 407s | This platform is pressure-sensitive and will lift into the air |
| 410s | when an ally or enemy steps on it. |
| 412s | Once lifted, the platform will stay airborne for a short time, |
| 415s | before fizzling out. |
| 416s | A well-timed jump at the apex of the platform's ascent |
| 418s | will result in greater height. |
| 421s | The first ability is called Rejuvenating Dash. |
| 424s | When used, Lifeweaver instantly dashes |
| 425s | in his traveling direction, |
| 427s | while also lightly healing himself, |
| 428s | allowing him to react to dangerous situations, |
| 431s | or simply to get to places faster. |
| 433s | Combining this with Pedal Platform |
| 435s | can result in covering much larger distances. |
| 438s | Rejuvenating Dash is also able to be used while charging Healing Blossom. |
| 442s | His secondary ability is very unique. |
| 444s | It's called Life Grip, and it envelops the targeted ally |
| 447s | in a protective shield of bio light, |
| 449s | before then pulling them to the cast position. |
| 452s | His ultimate is called Tree of Life. |
| 454s | When activated, Lifeweaver enters a targeting mode, |
| 456s | allowing him to place and grow a large tree |
| 458s | that pulses with healing energy. |
| 460s | The initial placement of the tree heals a substantial amount, |
| 463s | followed by continued pulses of lesser healing. |
| 466s | Tree of Life also provides cover for your team, |
| 468s | acting as a blocker for the movement and attacks of all. |
| 471s | There are a few unique abilities here |
| 473s | that stretched our imaginations during development. |
| 476s | Life Grip giving players the ability to save allies by shielding and pulling them |
| 479s | is something that can lead to some very heroic moments in team fights, |
| 483s | and can also pair with some ultimates very well. |
| 486s | Tree of Life being able to turn team fights around |
| 488s | by providing cover and healing for your team |
| 490s | is something that the team worked very hard on getting right, |
| 493s | both in function and in looks. |
| 495s | I can't wait for players to find new ways |
| 497s | to combo Lifeweaver's abilities with their teammates'. |
| 500s | It should lead to very exciting gameplay moments. |
| 505s | [Lifeweaver] Life protects life! |
| 506s | Overwatch has always been about imagining the bright and optimistic future, |
| 511s | and few heroes exemplify this more than Lifeweaver. |
| 516s | We are so excited for players to meet him, to learn how he sees the world... |
| 519s | ...and see all the work the team has put into bringing him to life... |
| 523s | ...and we can't wait to share more. |
| 525s | [in Thai] See you in the game, everyone, and thank you. |
| 529s | [dramatic Overwatch fanfare] |
| 536s | [Lifeweaver] I've never been more ready for adventure. |