Overwatch: Ein neuer legendärer MVP-Skin für Zarya
Im Jahr 2019 wurde der damals für San Francisco Shock spielende Jay “Sinatraa” Won für seinen hervorragenden Umgang mit dem Charakter Zarya mit dem T-Mobile OWL MVP Award ausgezeichnet. Wie es mittlerweile in der Overwatch League üblich ist, sorgte der MVP-Status von Jay “Sinatraa” Won irgendwann dafür, dass die Mitarbeiter von Blizzard Entertainment ihm einen speziellen MVP-Skin für seinen favorisierten Helden widmeten. Aus diesem Grund brachte der gestern Abend für Overwatch veröffentlichte neue Patch unter anderem auch den brandneuen legendären Alien-Zarya Skin mit sich, der von daran interessierten Personen jetzt bis zum 30. Juni 2020 für den Preis von 200 Ligamarken erworben werden kann. Diese Ingame-Währung kann aktuell entweder durch Echtgeld oder das Verfolgen der Overwatch League auf ihrer eigenen Internetseite erlangt werden.
Was die Optik von Alien-Zarya betrifft, so haben die Verantwortlichen sich laut Concept Artist David Kang an drei wichtigen Faktoren orientiert: Ein Alien (ein wichtiger Aspekt von Sinatraa), die 50er Jahre (wegen Sinatraas Namen) und dem Brauch von San Francisco Shock vor einem Match auf Holz zu klopfen. Am Ende entstand dadurch dann eine Version von Zarya, die körperlich zwar eindeutig ein violett angehauchtes Alien darstellt, aber trotzdem einen aufwendigen schwarzen Anzug mit passender Krawatte trägt. Zusätzlich dazu besitzt dieses Outfit eine Reihe von dekorativen Elementen, die die Siege von Jay “Sinatraa” Won aufzeigen und an seinen Status als MVP erinnern.
The Making of the Alien Zarya MVP Skin
Combining a unique range of aesthetics that mirror the personality of its real-life inspiration, the Alien Zarya skin celebrating 2019 Overwatch League MVP Jay “Sinatraa” Won has finally been revealed.
According to Overwatch senior concept artist David Kang, the game team approached this skin with three different concepts in mind: an alien (a signature reference of Sinatraa’s), a 50s crooner (inspired by Sinatraa’s name), and a “knock on wood” themed design (a homage to the San Francisco Shock’s well-known superstition).
In the end, the first two concepts were merged into one final design to create Alien Zarya: her extraterrestrial form features nodes that respond to Particle Cannon charge, tentacles and facial antennae that glow in her signature pink, and sleek retro-style suiting. There’s also a badge on Zarya’s sleeve that honors Sinatraa’s MVP and championship accomplishments.
“When we decided on the initial direction of an alien in a suit, we knew it was going to be a little bit goofy, so the main focus here was to make her look as cool as possible and not as generic as other people would think,” Kang explained.
As with all heroes, there are aspects of Zarya’s design that can’t be changed, so the design team focused on adding unique details where they could.
“One of the main things that we had to consider for this skin was the energy nodes on her thighs, her shoulders, and her backpack,” assistant art director Arnold Tsang said. “You’ll see these nodes glow with energy [as she gains charge], which increases her damage.”
Another detail immediately caught Sinatraa’s eye when he first saw the design over a conference call a couple weeks ago.
“The eyes are actually crazy,” he said, referring to Zarya’s sideways blink, a creepy-cool addition to the design. “It’s crazy how they made Zarya an alien like I wanted, but still kept the suit part I wanted and made it look good. In my head it felt really goofy, but they somehow made it go together really well.”
Sinatraa insists the Alien Zarya skin is “definitely for the fans,” and along with the Thunder Doomfist skin that was created to honor San Francisco’s championship, it serves as a lasting reminder of everything he and his team accomplished during a dominant 2019 season.
“It feels good. I get a skin in the game—obviously that’s crazy—and it being an alien skin is even crazier,” he said. “And it’s funny, too.”
For Kang and Tsang, creating the Alien Zarya skin was yet another opportunity to incorporate Overwatch League history into the game itself.
“It’s not every day that we get to immortalize not only a person but a moment into the game,” Tsang said. “When we have those opportunities, those skins mean so much more to us and I think they’ll mean more to our players as well.”
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