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  1. - Top - End - #1
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    Default An Overwatch Movie?

    https://dotesports.com/overwatch/new...m-series-19564

    Blizzard is apparently "very, very" interested in creating an Overwatch feature film or episodic series, according to Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan.
    The last we heard of the possibility was in early November when an Activision Blizzard executive spoke about the company exploring the idea. Now, Kaplan has stepped in to express interested in an Overwatch movie.
    "We would really love to make something like a feature film or an episodic series," Kaplan told Game Reactor at the Fun & Serious Game Festival in Spain. "These are things that we're very, very interested in."

    And please convince me why I should play Overwatch!

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    Go bug the people in http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...Overwatch-Boop!, they'll be able to put together a good pitch for the game with far more active knowledge about its current meta-environment to back it up.

    As far as a movie...I dunno. Warcraft has a lore so long complex that it's the fodder for countless jokes, and all they managed was milking a pretty and very mediocre movie out of it. Overwatch's lore is haphazard and fragmented; relatively coherent if you take the time to piece it all together, but with gaping holes still all over the place. There's just not enough of it, and the cast is too big to focus on more than a handful of them with any development. An episodic series is better, but still suffers the 'too many characters' problem. Single focused episodes would mean you'd wait a very, very long time before any one character got to be featured a second time, and split focus is its own obvious issue.

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    It sounds fine. It's certainly starting at a better place than Warcraft which required a brushfire to clear out enough space to tell a more coherent tale.

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    As far as a movie...I dunno. Warcraft has a lore so long complex that it's the fodder for countless jokes, and all they managed was milking a pretty and very mediocre movie out of it. Overwatch's lore is haphazard and fragmented; relatively coherent if you take the time to piece it all together, but with gaping holes still all over the place.
    That sounds like the perfect opportunity to insert something without worrying about purist complaints or continuity nonsense. It's not like this needs to be another adaption. An independent tale of an idealistic pixar-esque superhero team up doesn't seem that difficult considering the current environment with the MCU, an Incredibles sequel or even the fairly forgettable Big Hero 6.

    As for the cast, meh, not everyone usually gets to be in a first film. That's just what happens with any sprawling ensemble.

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    I would be glad to see Warcraft episode per each year than this thing.

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    Go bug the people in http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...Overwatch-Boop!, they'll be able to put together a good pitch for the game with far more active knowledge about its current meta-environment to back it up.

    As far as a movie...I dunno. Warcraft has a lore so long complex that it's the fodder for countless jokes, and all they managed was milking a pretty and very mediocre movie out of it. Overwatch's lore is haphazard and fragmented; relatively coherent if you take the time to piece it all together, but with gaping holes still all over the place. There's just not enough of it, and the cast is too big to focus on more than a handful of them with any development. An episodic series is better, but still suffers the 'too many characters' problem. Single focused episodes would mean you'd wait a very, very long time before any one character got to be featured a second time, and split focus is its own obvious issue.
    I think the latter might make it harder to make a movie about something. Warcraft has a very rigid, very well defined, and very complex story which is in all honesty, not that great. Like its not bad, but I wouldn't rate it as one of my top stories in video game history.

    Overwatch is much looser defined and there is a lot more room for new stories as a result. You could make up a story without having to worry about breaking canon.
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  6. - Top - End - #6
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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    As far as a movie...I dunno. Warcraft has a lore so long complex that it's the fodder for countless jokes, and all they managed was milking a pretty and very mediocre movie out of it. Overwatch's lore is haphazard and fragmented; relatively coherent if you take the time to piece it all together, but with gaping holes still all over the place.
    As someone else has already said, this would be exactly what you want if you wanted to make a movie to fit into the lore. That isn't actually what they wanted with Warcraft. Warcraft was, or at least claimed to have been, a re-start of the lore. Treading the original story with "appropriate changes" to make a "true lore".

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    The major issue with Warcraft was that it was premised on an early 90's RTS with 99% of the narrative contained within a few pages of the manual. They retroactively added some depth to that story with it novelization by placing it in the context of the wider narrative of Warcraft and giving some of the proper nouns mentioned in that game something to their existence. Still, there's no real emotional investment to be had really, just lore for the curious.

    Warcraft III, after they spent years learning from Starcraft in how an RTS narrative can add to the gameplay experience rather than merely be a perfunctory aspect of it, is when they started giving their fantasy world any sense of personality and attempted to have memorable characters. Even taking the concept of a Hero character and making it a significant aspect of WC3's overall gameplay and campaigns rather than just doing a more powerful version of a generic unit you're told you can't let die again.

    Overwatch moves the arc of Blizzard as a whole to a sort of end-point by making the characters first and then really designing the game around which they can function. The story of Overwatch being called haphazard - while fair technically - is looking at the forest while they only care about the trees. The world of Overwatch only expands to fit more character-relevant elements within it, everything exists to that end because Overwatch as a game and brand literally doesn't need anything else to enable it to function. This is why a movie or television series would mean a substantive shift in their basic philosophy, the story would need to exists for the sake of having a story rather than appealing these Heroes to general audiences. Just writing up a narrative wouldn't be hard in the least - Overwatch isn't terribly different from G.I. Joe - it's changing their intent with what this IP is to them as a business which is more difficult.

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    I'd absolutely be down for a short Netflix-style miniseries. Castlevania and Stranger Things have proven there is appetite for things like that and that they can be profitable.

    There is simultaneously too much and not enough there for a movie. Way too much from a character and setting standpoint, not nearly enough from a plot standpoint.
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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kitten Champion View Post
    The major issue with Warcraft was that it was premised on an early 90's RTS with 99% of the narrative contained within a few pages of the manual. They retroactively added some depth to that story with it novelization by placing it in the context of the wider narrative of Warcraft and giving some of the proper nouns mentioned in that game something to their existence. Still, there's no real emotional investment to be had really, just lore for the curious.

    Warcraft III, after they spent years learning from Starcraft in how an RTS narrative can add to the gameplay experience rather than merely be a perfunctory aspect of it, is when they started giving their fantasy world any sense of personality and attempted to have memorable characters. Even taking the concept of a Hero character and making it a significant aspect of WC3's overall gameplay and campaigns rather than just doing a more powerful version of a generic unit you're told you can't let die again.

    Overwatch moves the arc of Blizzard as a whole to a sort of end-point by making the characters first and then really designing the game around which they can function. The story of Overwatch being called haphazard - while fair technically - is looking at the forest while they only care about the trees. The world of Overwatch only expands to fit more character-relevant elements within it, everything exists to that end because Overwatch as a game and brand literally doesn't need anything else to enable it to function. This is why a movie or television series would mean a substantive shift in their basic philosophy, the story would need to exists for the sake of having a story rather than appealing these Heroes to general audiences. Just writing up a narrative wouldn't be hard in the least - Overwatch isn't terribly different from G.I. Joe - it's changing their intent with what this IP is to them as a business which is more difficult.
    That's the ticket, yes. Overwatch lore is entirely in service to the gameplay, which is a bunch of colourful superheroes fighting on a variety of maps.
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  10. - Top - End - #10
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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    I would be interested in an Overwatch movie or series, provided that it's animated rather than live-action, and voiced by the same actors that are in the games.

    The characters are interesting and the lore is wide open, so this seems like a good fit as long as it's handled well. If they go the movie route, they should focus on only the characters that are needed to make a particular story, rather than trying to shoehorn in a cameo from every character on the cast. Alternatively, they could do a series with a bunch of mini-arcs, like the Clone Wars CGI show. I think that probably be the best fit, provided they can get the actors booked long enough.

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    I think they have a strong starting position to work from. The lack of an established narrative means that they can get away with telling a story without it falling into the trap of "the exact story that the game told but worse" that most video game movies fall into. On the other hand, it would probably also center around the exploits of a core cast of the iconics (Tracer, Soldier, etc.) while all my favorites would either be bit characters or Not-Appearing-In-This-Film.

    UNLESS they turned it into a series following different characters on all sides (i.e. Game of Thrones, duh) that eventually all tied together for the conclusion. But that's easier to accomplish in an hour-long episode format rather than the standard 11-22 minute format that most animated series follow (because animation is expensive).

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    Quote Originally Posted by Chromascope3D View Post
    I think they have a strong starting position to work from. The lack of an established narrative means that they can get away with telling a story without it falling into the trap of "the exact story that the game told but worse" that most video game movies fall into. On the other hand, it would probably also center around the exploits of a core cast of the iconics (Tracer, Soldier, etc.) while all my favorites would either be bit characters or Not-Appearing-In-This-Film.
    Agreed. The lack of a centralized plot to the game is actually an advantage in terms of adaptation, because they don't have to worry about repeating the story or deviating too much from it. As long as it fits with what we know about the universe and the characters are adapted faithfully, they have a whole lot of room to tell whatever particular story they'd like. However, because of the spread out timeline and the fact that certain characters have little or no connection to the original Overwatch, plus the fact that the cast is getting pretty large, means that it would be difficult to include everyone in a single movie. Which is why I think they shouldn't try, and should go for a series instead.


    UNLESS they turned it into a series following different characters on all sides (i.e. Game of Thrones, duh) that eventually all tied together for the conclusion. But that's easier to accomplish in an hour-long episode format rather than the standard 11-22 minute format that most animated series follow (because animation is expensive).
    I like the idea of doing a feature film as a launch point for a series. They could do the Omnic Crisis and the formation of the original Overwatch as a movie. Then a series could pick up later, either as episodic adventures of Overwatch prior to their dissolution, or fast forward to the time period of the game. From there they could have a bunch of episodic mini-arcs, similar to how the Clone Wars show did, and either slowly tie them together or not, depending on the direction they want to go.

    My main concern about a series is that some of the more in-demand voice actors like Matthew Mercer might not be available for the larger commitment that would be required, relative to the game. However, if they can make it work, I think this would be the best way to do it.

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    Wasn't the whole point of Overwatch to make piles and piles of money so they could make a movie?
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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    Quote Originally Posted by Giggling Ghast View Post
    Wasn't the whole point of Overwatch to make piles and piles of money so they could make a movie?
    The point of Overwatch was to make some kind of return on investment off of a failed new MMO-styled game that never got off the ground. Which, I assume they have.

    They managed to get beyond that by really, really, really knowing their market and how to get them to not merely buy their product but invest in it personally.

    Quote Originally Posted by Velaryon View Post
    Agreed. The lack of a centralized plot to the game is actually an advantage in terms of adaptation, because they don't have to worry about repeating the story or deviating too much from it. As long as it fits with what we know about the universe and the characters are adapted faithfully, they have a whole lot of room to tell whatever particular story they'd like. However, because of the spread out timeline and the fact that certain characters have little or no connection to the original Overwatch, plus the fact that the cast is getting pretty large, means that it would be difficult to include everyone in a single movie. Which is why I think they shouldn't try, and should go for a series instead.
    It's also that the characters are purposefully done with as wide a spectrum in mind, referencing different works from numerous genre in games and other media. They have some level of cohesiveness gone into their design - they've obviously got an extensive "this is an Overwatch character" bible they consult - but it's nearly as eclectic as the Marvel/DC universes.

    Taking what they're doing with the animated vignettes, adding in some of the narrative of the (also rather short and sporadic) comics, beefing it up to fit a longer running time, and you have a solid basis for a Netflix-length series.

    Edit: If you want a good basis for an Overwatch series, the first series of episodes of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes where they introduce the characters and all the major aspects of the world is where I'd look.
    Last edited by Kitten Champion; 2017-12-20 at 06:46 PM.

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    Default Re: An Overwatch Movie?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kitten Champion View Post
    It's also that the characters are purposefully done with as wide a spectrum in mind, referencing different works from numerous genre in games and other media. They have some level of cohesiveness gone into their design - they've obviously got an extensive "this is an Overwatch character" bible they consult - but it's nearly as eclectic as the Marvel/DC universes.
    Overwatch is absolutely a superhero franchise, even if most of the characters use firearms instead of mutant powers. And in classic Blizzard fashion, they borrow elements from all over the place to make it work.

    The basic element of the lore - that of a super-team who was forced to disband after losing the public's trust - is straight out of Watchmen.
    To say that the gameplay is heavily influenced by Team Fortress 2 is a massive understatement.
    Soldier 76 is basically "if Captain America turned into Batman" in terms of his personality traits.
    I'm sure there are more obvious nods to other properties, but you get the point.

    Right now they have 26 major characters, plus any secondary characters they want to include (Efi, Tracer's girlfriend, that other guy from the original team whose name I can't remember, either of the previous Doomfists, and so on). That's a LOT to try and do in one film. Look at how bad films like Street Fighter turned out to be, trying to cram in a cast half the size of this one. This again is why a series makes more sense to me than a movie, because most of the characters would necessarily be sidelined in a story that's limited to roughly 2 hours. Either you shoehorn in brief cameos for like 18 or so characters, or you leave a bunch of them out entirely. It's lose-lose.

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