Tag: Overwatch
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Soldier 76, Gay Icon
Blizzard recently brought Soldier: 76 out of the closet. A new short story, Bastet, brings new lore about two fan favorites, Ana and Jack Morrison (or Soldier: 76). This comes a little over two years after Tracer was the first Overwatch character to become canonically LGBT+. In this story, it’s revealed that Jack gave up a life…
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The Weirdness of the Ellie Controversy
If you’ve been on the internet in the past week, you may have heard talk about “Ellie.” Ellie started out being the first female player on Second Wind, an Overwatch Contenders team. Contenders is essentially the Minor League of Overwatch esports, and to add a woman to Second Wind was a pretty big deal. The…
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Ashe Announcement Means More of the Same
The creative team at Blizzard Entertainment has done it again! Announced at Blizzcon, a new character is joining the Overwatch roster. Elizabeth Caledonia “Calamity” Ashe (what a name) is the 29th hero. She’s a snarky, badass lady. She founded the Deadlock Gang and rules by the policy “her way or the highway.” She gives more…
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The End of Telltale’s Story
By now, it is well-known that Telltale Games is ceasing its operations. This is a sad loss for the gaming world as it not only means the death of a celebrated developer who brought well-beloved franchises but it also potentially foreshadows something even more tragic; the death of the story driven game. It’s something that…
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New Normative Comment Clinic: Don’t Worry N4G, We’re Here to Help
It’s been a sad week here at New Normative. As I’m sure you’re all aware… we’ve been banned from N4G. Good old N4G, the “Hottest Game News and Rumors” site. I know it’s a tragedy, but it’ll be okay, because our N4G friends can still find us here. With this in mind, we’d like to…
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Overwatch League May Get First Female Competitor Soon
The Overwatch League is currently male dominated, with not a single woman on any of the 12 teams’ rosters. That all might change soon, as Korean streamer Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon has reportedly said during a Twitch stream that she’s accepted an offer from a foreign team. Living in Korea, the “foreign” part likely means it’s…
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Overwatch League’s Felix Lengyel Response Points to Systemic Problems
Felix Lengyel, a professional Overwatch player known as xQc, was suspended from the Overwatch League last week and fined $2,000. Lengyel made homophobic comments toward a competitor while on a livestream. In a statement on the Overwatch League (OWL) website, Blizzard said: As of Friday, January 19, Dallas Fuel player Félix “xQc” Lengyel is suspended…
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Make Your Characters Overweight, You Cowards
We all grew up gaming but some of us grew up overweight. As we all know, an immersive experience in a game can be a liberating one, it’s escapism. A lot of the time its much needed. Every so often though, we all need a nudge to remind us that it’s okay to be who you…
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When the FPS for “Everyone” Goes Pro
Back in 2016 Overwatch was marketed as the FPS for everyone. The game featured racial and ethnic diversity far beyond most other first-person shooters. Beyond that, it was a game casual and hardcore gamers could enjoy. This marketing scheme has been an enormous success with Overwatch selling over 35 million copies as of October. But…
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Overwatch Finally Sent Me A Notification About an Abuse Report
Overwatch finally sent me a notification telling me that my reports led to some action taken against a player. It’s been 20 months since the game’s release, and one since the notification system was patched in, and finally, finally, I have some sense that the reporting system might actually be doing something. Here’s the message.…
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Overwatch League Skin Unlocks Have a Dumb ‘Easter Egg’
The first season of the Blizzard-hosted eSports tournament) Overwatch League has now begun. With it, hundreds of skins based on each League team’s colors are available for players to unlock in-game. You get one free, but the rest will cost you. When players unlock one of these Overwatch League skins, the game will play a…
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Selling Games & Making Money Without Loot Boxes
Log onto any gaming news site or type in a specific hashtag on Twitter, and you’ll get the impression that these are the end days for gaming. While some players frequently cry wolf about the medium’s death, it would be remiss to discount the level of discussion and spite being thrown in the direction of…
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The Problem With Subtle LGBTQ Characters in Games
Over the last few years, we have seen a steady increase in LGBTQ characters in games both as little-known NPCs and as characters at the forefront of the action. Tracer, the most well-known Overwatch character (she’s the only hero on the box art) is a lesbian. Destiny 2 NPC, European Dead Zone vendor Devrim Kay,…
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Halloween Events: A Great Way to Thank Your Fav Devs
It’s easy to burn out on your fav game if you play it non-stop. One way game devs work to bring you back is by giving you sweet n’ spooky events. I personally can’t get enough of the Halloween Overwatch skins. Sure, some of the events cost irl money, but hey – if you like…
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There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Good’ Loot Box
In the last few weeks, much has been written about video game loot boxes. The articles and social media posts have raised some pertinent questions: ‘are loot boxes gambling?’ and ‘is it right that children have access to them?’ being just a couple of examples. But time and time again I’m seeing the argument come…
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What Can We Do About Dev Crunch?
Blizzard’s Jeff Kaplan recently made a forum post talking about the dedication of the Overwatch team. Most read it (correctly) as a statement of enthusiasm or a discussion of the entitled mentality of a segment of the fanbase. But Kaplan also mentioned that “Overwatch is a 24/7, 365 day year affair for us…[it] doesn’t stop…