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  • Essay / Exploring In-Game Narrative Overwatch

    Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment, 2016) is an online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) game, premiered at Blizzcon 2014 as Blizzard's first original franchise in ten -seven years. The story of this game is that a group of heroes were brought together because of a robot uprising known as the Omnic Crisis. Overwatch was the name of the task force assembled to try to stop the Omnic Crisis. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Set in the future, about 60 years from now, but the actual story behind the game begins 30 years from now. Humanity has developed all kinds of technology: flying cars, laser guns and artificial intelligence; but not just any artificial intelligence, they created sentient robots. They called these robots Omnics. The installations were called omniums. These omniums were common all over the world. For a time, humans and Omnics coexisted. Of course, this union has not always been perfect, but it has been peaceful. The peace did not last long, the Ominums suddenly turned against the humans and the Ominums began making weaponized omnics. These armed Omnics quickly began brutally attacking the humans in hopes of overthrowing them. Because all over the world it was difficult for every nation to try to contain the problem, it was not a simple attack, but a large-scale threat. The United Nations had to try to find a solution, something they could do. to help. Gabrielle Reyes, Secretary General of the UN, formed a team of the world's best soldiers, hoping that this team would be able to come together and take on the Omnic Uprising, thereby reducing the threat. They called this team Overwatch. “Overwatch was filled with soldiers from all over the world. The appointed leader was a military veteran and member of the Soldier Development Program called Gabriel Reyes (AKA - Reaper). His second in command was another member of the same Soldier Development Program and a close friend: John “Jack” Morrison (AKA – Soldier 76). Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison lead the team with Gérard Lacroix, Torbjörn Lindholm, Reinhardt Wilhelm, Ana Amari, and Liao in the ranks. Of course, over time the team grew, but they were the original seven and were considered the original founders of the Overwatch team. The team's mission was to work together and end the Omnic Uprising. They fought valiantly and ultimately triumphed. While Gabrielle Reyes was given command of Overwatch, Jack Morrison was the man who shaped Overwatch's structure and helped transform it into an effective fighting force. Morrison has the ability to bring out the best in those around him. Jack Morrison's services did not go unnoticed and when the Omnic Crisis was over, Jack Morrison was promoted to become Overwatch's first official commander. Overwatch's success brought them instant fame, the world loved the team, and Overwatch quickly became an international peacekeeping force taking down terrorist organizations and fighting criminal gangs. The team recruited more agents. And as they recruited more agents, they decided to expand and do more than just peacekeeping, the team began to explore areas such as medical research, space travel and exploration and climatology. She wanted to improve the world she lived in and took an active role in monitoring the world. The terrestrial ecosystem. The Fall of OverwatchAll Good Thingscome to an end, Gabrielle Reye was upset that she was left out when the command post was given to Morrison. Gabrielle and Jack's friendship dissipated, leading to struggles within the Overwatch team. Tensions increased as the Overwatch team split, with some team members siding with Gabrielle Reyes and others with Jack Morrison. And as if the inner conflict wasn't bad enough; the Overwatch Organization was now under attack from an unknown outside force. Allegations accusing the team of corruption, mismanagement and human rights violations took place and suddenly the once-loved heroes were viewed with suspicion. A series of investigations have been launched in order to hopefully put an end to the terrible allegations surrounding the team. Unfortunately, before the United Nations could reach any conclusion, tragedy struck the team. Overwatch's Swiss headquarters was destroyed in what was called an accident. This “accident” unfortunately cost the lives of Gabrielle Reyes and Jack Morrison. The United Nations said there was no criminal wrongdoing involved in the attack. People wondered if the constant arguing within the team had reached some sort of explosion. Between Overwatch's investigations and the deaths of Gabrielle Reyes and Jack Morrison, the Overwatch organization fell apart. Twenty Overwatch stopped the Omnic Crisis, the team disbanded; its members, once considered heroes, are now disgraced. The game begins with a cutscene, Winston makes a video addressing the former Overwatch agents, asking them to step up and fight. Crime is at an all-time high and Winston points out the good that Overwatch was doing, what Overwatch stood for. However, by doing this because Overwatch has been disbanded, any activity carried out by the group is considered illegal; the group is still considered outlaws. Right now in gaming, Overwatch exists as an independent organization of heroes, some new and some old. They all play their part in the hope that they can make the world a better place again. Why is storytelling important? In terms of storytelling in games, most of the time it's not important. Normally, the story is only there to move the game forward in a way that makes sense. Simply put, narrative in games is a means to an end. Especially with first-person shooters, in these kinds of games, if a developer doesn't need to include a narrative, they won't. Overwatch's narrative remains largely open-ended despite a few events given to us in one part of the world by the developers. even though we're told about the Omnic Crisis and why Overwatch was created, much of the story is left up to the community. And that's an intentional part of the design. Game designer Michael Chu (2016) said: “We just wanted a big universe that people could interact with. » Allow the gaming community to create Fan-Art, Fan-Fiction, Fan-Theories. The game was left open-ended in order to inspire the creativity of its players. And it's an amazing feature that can bring people together. Websites like Tumblr, DeviantART, Archive of Our own. Full of active, passionate people creating Overwatch-based content. People who love the idea so much create fan art and stories for fun and post them for other people to see. This is something I personally like to see with movies or games, but it doesn't happen often. Normally, when there is a defined story, people get defensive about it..>.