by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

The third of the Heroes of the Storm Q&As just wrapped up, shedding light on a number of different topics fans presented questions about. Q&A regular Kevin Johnson was joined by Senior Art Director (and beard enthusiast) Samwise Didier and Senior Artist Phill Gonzales. The trio mostly talked art, from origins of specific maps to the decision making process when it comes to skins.

While it was initially difficult to make out because of some audio issues, Sam and Phill began by discussing the recently updated Dragon Shire map and just how the map’s aesthetics affected the populace. The humans sport a classic Lord and Ladies getup, while the mercenaries feature armor comprised primarily of pieces taken from dead knights. Both groups clearly have more gold than they need.

This mercenary is decked out in stolen armor.

Cursed Hollow presents things in a decidedly darker light. That makes sense considering that the major map objective is the Raven Lord’s Curse. Dragon Shire seems to live in the light, while Cursed Hollow exists in darkness. The civilians do their part to reflect this stance, appearing far less wealthy than their noble Dragon Shire counterparts. Mercenaries also seem to survive with considerably less, eschewing their cousins’ gaudy design for a more bare bones aesthetic.

Times are leaner in Cursed Hollow.

The discussion really drove home that on all of the maps, the denizens would be directly influenced by original Nexus lore. Civilians will not be the only ones affected by specific maps, however. The team explained that unique, mapcentric character skins will also be available, with art inspired by maps such as Cursed Hollow. Countess Kerrigan and Vampire Hunter Valla were both shown off, along with concept art for future skins.

Countess Kerrigan looks quite a bit different from normal Kerrigan.

We also got a chance to see a sneak peak at the visual upgrades in the most current alpha build. Colors are a lot crisper, and characters are receiving upgrades to their appearance to make them look sharper. Uther and Nova were used as examples, with both featuring more definition in their faces and armor sets.

Nova’s looking a lot better in the current alpha build.

Uther’s sporting some grey hair these days.

The actual Q&A portion of the show did not last long, but here’s a quick rundown of what answers were given:

• We can expect to see more skins produced in the future that mesh the Starcraft, Diablo and Warcraft realms.
• When designing skins for characters, the Heroes of the Storm team considers tone. Arthas is a more serious character and thus will likely receive more serious, ‘badass’ skins than Stitches, who Samwise himself called a ‘big ol’ goofball’
• The team is very excited about the opportunity to mix and match the various Blizzard universes.
• There are plans for unique voices for skins that call for them. The example given was Murkablo, who will likely command something different than the standard Lord of Terror voice pack. Conversely, Judgment Uther will likely not require additional voiceover work.
• There will be seasonal skins, as well as ones based on pop culture references. It was explained that, with pop culture skins, respecting boundaries was important.

The afternoon ended with a dev match on the Dragon Shire map casted by Q&A mainstay Dustin Browder and Blizzard’s own Kevin Knocke.