Crazy hero concepts in Overwatch are nothing unusual. During the “Overwatch Archives” panel at Blizzcon 2017, Jeff Kaplan and Arnold Tsang also talked about concepts that were too wild even for the hero shooter, such as the legendary Jetpack Cat.
There is no secret that Overwatch has adopted many concepts from the former Project Titan. In particular, many of the original heroes were once classes from the MMORPG. However, after Titan was canceled, existing concepts had to be completely revised.
The heroes and their characters are a core element for Overwatch. Their features make the game so special and give it a high recognition value. However, during the development of the game, there were also some ideas that were too crazy even for those who say to a talking gorilla scientist: “Welcome to the team, Winston! Here is your jetpack.”
Jetpack Cat – the never born meme
A particularly wild early concept is the “Jetpack Cat.” The flying cat originated during the time between Titan and Overwatch, when as many new impressions were to be gathered as possible.
Two versions prevailed in their idea: A heroic comic cat that actively uses its jetpack, and a perhaps somewhat more realistic one that relaxes in its jetpack chair and attacks from above out of boredom.
Although the Jetpack Cat was very popular with the team at the time, it was deemed “too ridiculous” for Overwatch. Its concept felt as if they would “glide out of the universe.” Interestingly, it was not the only flying animal…
Gargoyles, monkeys… alligators?
While Winston had relatively early on found his place as a character in Overwatch, flying animals were not entirely off the list yet. The crew’s minds were filled with (robot) monkeys, gargoyles, alligators, or creepy guys with goatees and flaming hair.
The idea behind the characters was heroes that could move freely in the air (similar to Mercy today). They were supposed to distinguish themselves from Winston’s jump module and Pharah’s (then still “Rocketdude”) rocket pack. In the end, however, the team decided that the ideas were certainly great, but better suited for another game, not Overwatch.
From hockey players to permanent concepts
In addition to animals, other non- (or only limited) human characters were shown as early ideas. A strange alien and a giant robot, whose control status is ambiguous, are just two of them. The latter idea may have found its way into the game in the form of D.Va.
Kaplan’s favorite among the never-released heroes is Hockey Hero. There is no exact concept behind the hero, but he still likes the idea very much today – probably the reason for Lúcio’s legendary skin.
Right after the end of Titan and the start of Overwatch (then operated under the name Prometheus), there was a concept board with 50 heroes – some of which made it into the game one way or another. So it is not unlikely that some of the earliest ideas will be revisited at a later point!
