Overwatch 2 is adding its second Chinese hero as part of season 18, and everything from the character's backstory and design helps his nationality and heritage shine through.
In a recent interview with Blizzard Entertainment devs, I learned more about the new support character named Wuyang ahead of his hero trial this weekend, including his abilities, kit, and a little bit of his backstory and design philosophy.
"It was really important to a lot of Chinese devs on the team, myself especially, that we take an opportunity to explore a different facet of China that we haven't had the chance to touch on yet," said senior narrative designer Joshi Zhang, also of Chinese descent, whose face visibly lit up while describing the new hero.
Backstory-wise, Blizzard explained how Wuyang is a member of the prestigious Wuxing University, a set of Chinese schools in Overwatch lore based on the five elements of fire (martial arts and defensive strategy), water (traditional medicine and medical advancements), earth (agriculture and sustainability, wood (civil and environmental engineering), and metal (robotics and technology). As you may guess by Wuyang's aesthetic and role, he is a member of the water college, a distinct choice in itself.
"Having this university and this Wuxing philosophy be at the center point of what we wanted to portray was just really important in terms of diversity and showcasing beautiful parts of Chinese culture that I don't think often have a chance to shine through," Zhang said, adding that the goal was "showing parts of a Chinese experience that I think will resonate strongly with a lot of players."
Zhang, who also worked on the narrative for OW2 heroes Illari and Juno, told me how Wuyang's story purposely "touches on a lot of those themes that I think would be very poignant to a lot of our players, but also especially our East Asian players."
"We wanted to represent this side of Chinese culture because this is a concept that dates all the way back to the Han dynasty," Zhang said of the university and its five elements. "It's present in things like music, astrology, martial arts, military strategy, traditional Chinese medicine. So there's a whole bunch of things that this philosophy touches, and we wanted to really take that traditional root this time when we were exploring what it means to represent China as a country."
Zhang explained that Wuyang's family "made a name for themselves" as part of the fire school, and it created pressure for young students at the school to live up to that legacy. And as bad luck would have it, Wuyang failed to make it into the fire college, failing his parents' expectations, and having to go with his second choice, the water college.
"The way that this school works is that it sort of pioneers new technology and new strategy, so Wuyang's parents [and sister] were in the fire college," Zhang said, which is responsible for things like martial arts and defense strategy, and they were "pretty relevant" during the Omnic Crisis "in terms of defending China" during that era.
"His story is one where he's trying to find his own path, he's really struggling with these feelings like he let his parents down because they worked so hard to defend his country and train him up to be this fire college guy to carry on this idea of protecting the people he loves, and he wasn't able to live up to that," Zhang said.
The dev also noted how the game's first Chinese hero, Mei, is on a "global adventure" by comparison, so Wuyang's story takes root in China as opposed to hers as an Overwatch member and a bit of a globetrotter. Wuxing University, as a new faction, feels important in that regard.
Wuyang's heritage shines through in his design and kit, too. His main weapon is his Xuanwu Staff, which he uses to condense the water in the air around him to both wield it as a weapon and heal his allies. The weapon is named after Xuanwu, a high-ranking deity that's revered in the Chinese religion of Taoism, and is a sort of black tortoise and snake creature.
Utilizing his water tech in the staff but also his gloves, Wuyang is able to bend water projectiles around obstacles, create waves to knock enemies back, surf on water he creates at his feet, and heal himself or his allies with his ultimate. There's no magic involved here, either; Blizzard explained that everything he's able to do he can do because of hard work and training.
Blizzard was so detailed in Wuyang's portrayal that Zhang said the team had interest in having Wuyang speak in a Sichuan dialect (the region he's from), but ended up not being able to do so properly because the regional voice actor for the hero (Howard Wang) is not from the region and couldn't speak the dialect.
After speaking with the developers, it's clear Blizzard brought much care and passion in designing Wuyang with China in mind, and the devs said they worked closely with NetEase and Blizzard China to help bring him to life. Watching back my recording of the interview, it's hard not to get a little emotional watching Zhang's visible excitement for the hero, celebrating their heritage together with Wuyang in a way that only a game as diverse and representative as Overwatch can.
Wuyang's hero trial is available from Aug. 14 to 18, and the new healer drops in the live game later this month on Aug. 26 alongside season 18.
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