Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Earlier in the year, the “Overwatch” team talked about one of the scrapped hero characters back when the game was being developed. A panel at the annual Blizzard fan convention BlizzCon 2017 revealed some of the designs for the now legendary Jetpack Cat.
During the Overwatch: Archives Panel, lead concept artist Arnold Tsang and game director Jeff Kaplan talked about the beginnings of “Overwatch.” They showcased various concept art including the artwork for “Jetpack Cat.”
Kaplan first talked about “Jetpack Cat” in an interview with Gamespot back in April. The game director was asked whether the team considered making a cat hero, to which he answered yes.
“It was this jetpack and it had this cat that laid in it, like a cat does. Then every once in awhile it would paw at the controls. It was a cat in a jetpack,” said Kaplan in the interview.
Kaplan further explained during the panel discussion how “Jetpack Cat” was conceived when they assigned people to submit character ideas, to build up what would eventually become “Overwatch”.
Jetpack Cat didn’t make the hero lineup because Kaplan said it “felt like we were slipping out of the universe.”
On the other hand Winston, a jetpack-wearing gorilla scientist from the moon has been happily electrocuting and slamming players since “Overwatch” debuted.
Image: Overwatch official website
Blizzard staffers also played with other animal-based concepts for heroes. There was a flying alligator, a monkey with a flamethrower, and a simian mech.
Kaplan did not say whether or not Jetpack Cat would one day be added into the game. However, a new hero called Moira was revealed, and players can try her out on the PC public test realm.
The hour-long “Overwatch: Archives Panel” can be watched through this link. JB
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