Was talking about the chance of seeing a South-East Asian character in the game with someone, when they said that Echo counts. Her creator, Mina Liao, is Singaporean, and Echo was created in Singapore. But does this mean that Echo is technically Singaporean too? So if someone asks for a South-East Asian hero to be added to the game, could people just say “you have Echo”? If Echo got her own recipes in the OW cookbook, would she be listed under ‘Asia’?
I dunno i see Echo as a robot omnic same with bastion and Orisa who is from africa.
But i think if they were made in their respective country so they kinda are.
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She is just as much of a Singaporean as Bastion is German/Swedish or Zenyatta is Nepalese. I wouldn’t call any of them by human nationalities.
Orisa I would.
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We don’t know where Echo was created. It would make more sense for her to be created in Switzerland at the Overwatch Swiss HQ.
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I think when people use the term “Asian” they’re generally referring to the race/ethnicity.
Of course, vernacular is very subjective that’s influenced by personal opinion and the surrounding culture. The term “pants” is used differently in the US and the UK for example.
imo Echo isn’t Asian or any other race/ethnicity besides being a highly advanced omnic. I could see someone saying she’s Asian based on being designed by a woman that’s racially Asian, and how the robot copied her face and personality. But I can see what people are saying above, where if Echo was built in Switzerland, then she is considered Swiss due to being “born” there.
Tough question though, but a very good one.
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To me:
Bastion behaves like baby,
Orisa behaves like kid,
Echo behaves like teenager,
Zenyatta behaves like adult.
And that’s all about omnics to me.
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I don’t consider Echo as representative of a Southeast Asian woman, just as I don’t consider Orisa representative of a black African woman or Zen a Nepali man. They represent the culture, sure.
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I own a Chevy that was made in Mexico.
Is it Mexican? Or an American vehicle?
I personally would categorize her as a Singaporean. shares the memories of Dr. Liao, and her voicelines are references to Singaporean terms.
It makes sense, it is the only cultural connection it has in her archives of “imitative” memory.
I would say Echo is from Singapore, just like Orisa is from Numbani
I think she would be considered Singaporean if they had given her a name from that nationality. Instead, she’s a direct reference to a Greek myth.
It just confirms even further that her character is just a collage of things the devs liked, with her “nationality” being something added much later.
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She’s a robot…
She doesn’t really have a “race” so nah she ain’t asian.
She was created by asians, but she, herself, is not one.
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The difference is, Orisa was built in Numbani by a Numbanian to be the protector of Numbani. Echo was built in (presumably) Switzerland by a Singaporean to be protector of the world.
Echo is as much of a Singaporean as Bastion is German.
I don’t think she mirrors that myth well, that is just two characters with the same name who both “echo” things.
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What’s more necessary for it to be a direct reference than the name and what the character does?
The only other thing that her name could be a reference to is the NATO phonetic alphabet, which we know it isn’t.
But if you want more reference to the myth, here are some:
Echo was a nymph and the ow Echo is very nymph-like in her design, very feminine, delicate looking, curvy body, soft and innocent voice.
Arthemis would take her to hunts, the same way the strike team took Echo to missions.
Because Zeus liked to fool around with the nymphs, Echo’s job was to keep talking to Hera to create a distraction to avoid the conflict, similarly, ow Echo was created to prove that artificial intelligence can help out humanity.
When Hera discovered what Echo was doing she cursed her with repeating what others said. Ow Echo had also her abilities restricted by failsafe and limiters.
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Seeing how she is a machine…I would say no she’s not an Asian charcter. Her creator was. But not her. She is nuts and bolts.
This is my favorite answer tbh