4/24/2023 0 Comments The last bastion blizzardIt's not the most heinous move, but it does seem like an odd move for Blizzard. With all of Overwatch 2's cosmetics costing an even number of coins, this makes it impossible for players to be able to spend that uneven number of coins, and in some cases, this could force players to purchase another set of Overwatch Coins just so they have an even number needed for a future purchase. If players purchase the Bastion skin for one Overwatch Coin, they'll then have an uneven number of coins. However, there's a little more to this than meets the eye. Players get a Legendary skin, and an event-exclusive one no less, for just one Overwatch Coin, which works out essentially as just one cent. On paper, this sounds like an incredible deal. Now, Blizzard is offering the exclusive Winter Wonderland Bastion skin for just one Overwatch Coin. While this is much more reasonable, these prices are still pretty high, and Blizzard didn't do itself any favors with Overwatch 2's shaky, controversial launch. In response to widespread backlash, Blizzard dropped the store prices by quite a bit, reducing Legendary skin prices to 1000 coins, and Epic skins to just 250. When the game first launched, Legendary skins cost a whopping 1,900 Overwatch Coins, and an Epic skin cost 1000, this basically translates to $19 and $10 respectively. To make matters worse, Overwatch 2's store has some pretty insane prices. One of the most divisive aspects of Overwatch 2 has been its removal of loot boxes, essentially forcing players to buy skins or purchase the Battle Pass, as there's simply no alternative. Players could directly purchase the skins they wanted from the Overwatch store, they could try their luck at opening loot boxes, or they could unlock some for free by playing the game's many limited-time events. Yvain Gnabro passed away this past June. His public Facebook profile is absent most personal information, but he regularly shared stills, clips, and articles relating to animation, right up to the time of his death. It’s wonderful to browse through, if you enjoyed “The Last Bastion” and want to learn more about some of its influences.In the first Overwatch, players could unlock skins through several different means. Who is Yvain Gnabro? He was one of Blizzard’s cinematic animators, an industry veteran with over 12 years experience who was part of the team creating the Overwatch animated shorts. Lastly, you might have noticed the short is dedicated in memory to Yvain Gnabro. But it’s nice to see Blizzard drawing upon the talents of skilled animated storytellers to convey something sincerely moving, even if it’s just for something meant to sell a game. It’s fine to just appreciate the animation as a piece of entertainment. You don’t have to hold to a PTSD/anti-war interpretation of the short, obviously. Overwatch has toyed with its “post-war, reignited conflict” narrative setting in a few ways, but a former combat robot experiencing flashbacks because of gunfire-like noises? That’s a pretty powerful means of driving an idea home. Thematically, “The Last Bastion” is also pretty complex! On the surface it’s telling the story of a lone robotic unit overcoming its old combat-based programming, but you can also interpret Bastion’s responses as representing post-traumatic stress disorder. The dense forest of Eichenwalde (‘oaken woods’) in Germany, near where Overwatch‘s upcoming castle map is set. And keep an eye out for a few visual nods to classic animated films, particularly Bambi (the low angle shot on the fallen tree bridge) and the long shot in the field (which we see in quite a few of Studio Ghibli’s features). As you might know, fur, feathers, and water effects are some of the hardest things to pull off in computer generated animation, and you can see a few places where the animators cut some quick corners - the bird doesn’t appear to get wet during rainfall, for instance - but in general these are all handled beautifully. You can dive right into the short embedded above, but I also want to point out a few interesting touches this video has. Those roots (pun?) could not be any clearer in the latest Overwatch animated short showcasing everyone’s favorite anthropomorphic turret, Bastion. Overwatch is a fun, colorful game, in part because it has a strong foundation in classical animation - especially Disney, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli.
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