00:00.
00:02We knew when we started making Overwatch
00:04that the game was going to be this
00:06action-packed, 6v6
00:08team-based shooter, and there wasn't going to be
00:10a lot of room to do tons of
00:12great storytelling, yet at the same time
00:14we wanted to introduce the world to a whole new
00:16universe. Animated
00:18shorts were one of the most exciting
00:19avenues that we had to tell a lot
00:22of story. These shorts
00:24are very important for Blizzard because
00:26all the players, especially
00:28the Blizzard fan base, and all the people that weren't familiar
00:30with Blizzard's games, got emotionally
00:32connected to characters through the
00:34storytelling that we create. May's
00:36story is actually one that we've really been excited
00:38to tell. We're trying to find a hook into
00:40this character and what makes her tick and what
00:42would be an interesting struggle for her. She has
00:44some characteristics which are very obvious. She is
00:45cheerful, she is optimistic, she's extremely
00:48cute, but we've always had these ideas about
00:50what lies beneath the surface, the
00:52tragedy and her backstory, and
00:54this piece is a lot about finding out
00:56what those characteristics are when it comes
00:58to May. It was extremely important
01:00to dig into who is
01:01May the human being and how did she
01:04become the hero that she is.
01:06All of that is as important
01:08as, you know, how much damage
01:10does the left click
01:11on her gun do. When we wake up
01:14I'll have a whole new data
01:16set to examine. May!
01:18You're holding up nap time!
01:20Sorry! Bye!
01:21When we first see May in this piece, she's
01:24more of an observer, kind of a support character.
01:26Through the course of the piece, she's
01:28forced to become a much more active
01:29character and becomes the May we know
01:32and love today. We have a lot of these
01:34sort of epic, over the top
01:36heroes who are constantly exuding
01:38confidence. They're clearly action heroes
01:40where in May you
01:42have something very unique. She's
01:44that more normal person
01:46who is put into a situation
01:48which makes her realize that she is
01:50in fact a hero. She kind of proves
01:52out that any one of us could be a hero
01:54at any time. We can't all
01:56be, uh,
01:58Reinhardt, but we all have a strength.
02:00Her superpower is really
02:02the ability to persevere
02:04and to be optimistic in the face of
02:06overwhelming odds. Come on, Snowball!
02:08We're not on ice yet!
02:10May is one of the scientists of Overwatch.
02:12She is primarily a climatologist.
02:14Overwatch is a story about soldiers,
02:16scientists, adventurers, and oddities.
02:17So, we've done a couple stories about soldiers.
02:20We've done some oddities.
02:22So, I think it's time that we give the scientists
02:23some due. Science is part of the story
02:25because it's inherent to
02:27who May is and
02:29who Overwatch is as an organization.
02:32Science is part and parcel
02:33of what they do and how they
02:35think and how they solve problems.
02:38That's why heroes
02:39like May and Winston are so important.
02:42They show us through their science
02:43and intelligence that
02:45that they can overcome problems
02:47as easily as heroes like a Reinhardt
02:50or 76 who do it with brute force.
02:52Creativity, it plays a
02:53huge part in our story.
02:56May is a super creative character.
02:58She uses creativity
02:59to think her way out of an
03:01impossible situation.
03:03Everybody has that deep down
03:05but it takes a lot
03:07for someone to dig it out.
03:09We put her in this emotional crucible.
03:11It seems cruel, but for storytelling purposes
03:13it's great. It's like, we took everything from her.
03:16Like, we took her friends.
03:17We took her family Overwatch.
03:20We took her sense of place and time.
03:22The place is shutting down.
03:24There's no communication. There's no heat.
03:26That's where you want to put any character
03:28to see what they do.
03:30Oh, no.
03:30Do they rise to the challenge?
03:31Do they buckle? Do they change, etc?
03:34I just needed a little more time.
03:39The power! Snowball!
03:41What?
03:45No! Snowball!
03:47Snowball's sacrifice is very important for her
03:49because I think Snowball is her safety blanket.
03:52With Snowball, she's never truly alone.
03:55Snowball's absence is that final thing
03:58that makes May realize,
04:00I have to step up now.
04:01I can be as heroic as anybody else.
04:04I don't pretend to be able to get into Snowball's circuits,
04:08but there's no way for him to know
04:10that he's ever going to be revived.
04:13He's giving his life for her.
04:15He has an emotional journey,
04:17and he kind of sees the bigger picture before May does,
04:20and that's why he makes the choices that he makes.
04:23Thank you, my friend.
04:27May isn't a typical blizzard piece
04:30where there's water-to-wall action and explosions.
04:33It's brand new territory that we sort of venture into.
04:37It's something that we sort of want to prove to ourselves
04:39and to the audience that we can actually make a piece
04:43that's about a girl and a robot
04:45in a very simple setting with pretty much no action.
04:49Not every one of these animated shorts
04:52is a bombastic combat piece
04:54with, you know, orcs and protoss warring against each other.
04:58Let's get inside of a human being's head
05:02and really show their character
05:03and show their motivations
05:05and show a totally different emotional side
05:08of the storytelling capabilities of Blizzard.
05:11It's about exploring characters.
05:13It's about finding out what makes our heroes tick,
05:15and it's about testing them,
05:17having them face up to challenges,
05:19and then hopefully overcoming them.
05:21It's a journey from sleep to wakefulness.
05:24It's a journey from innocence to loss of innocence.
05:28The internal journey from scared and uncertain
05:31and not really believing in herself
05:33to, holy crap, I did it.
05:38It's a mini-movie.
05:39It's got act one, act two, act three.
05:41It draws you in.
05:42It gives you emotion.
05:43It makes you laugh.
05:44It makes you cry.
05:45That's kind of our mission statement.
05:47That's our battle flag.
05:48Did we connect with our players?
05:49Did you feel something?
05:51Are you moved?
05:51If this collection of pixels that's moving around on a cell phone
05:55can make you feel something,
05:57then we've done our job.
06:00Rise and shine, Snowball!
06:02We're on our way!
06:22I'm losing my hands.
06:25Do we need something?
06:26We have a wrong way.
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