PlayStation Blog interviews Michael Chu about D.Va and her surrounding lore in the game (New lore about D.Va)

[Kaedi-11739]

The official U.S. PlayStation Blog posted a new article interviewing Lead Writer Michael Chu about various questions about D.Va, how she relates to Overwatch and what may be coming up for her in the future.

D.Va Deconstructed: How Blizzard Created One of Overwatch’s Most Iconic Heroes

Here is the article in its entirety:

D.Va Deconstructed: How Blizzard Created One of Overwatch’s Most Iconic Heroes

In celebration of Blizzard’s newest animated short, learn more about the fan-favorite MEKA pilot.

Hi Sony players! I’m Michael Chu, the lead writer for Overwatch! In honor of the release of our new Overwatch animated short, “Shooting Star,” which centers around D.Va, I’m answering a few frequent questions about our favorite mech pilot!

Why do you think D.Va is on top of a lot of fan popularity polls?

Lots of reasons! D.Va’s a gamer like all of us. She has a great visual design (including her mech) and fun gameplay. Her strength, attitude, and personality make her an appealing character who also occupies an interesting part of the Overwatch universe that we’re excited to continue to explore.

How did she go from playing professional esports to piloting a mech on the battlefield?

Since the end of the Omnic Crisis, the Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army (MEKA) has defended Korea against attacks by a massive omnic colossus (known as the “gwishin”) that rises from the sea from time to time. Originally, they utilized drone mechs, but MEKA were forced to turn to human pilots once the gwishin evolved to disrupt their networked control systems.

MEKA turned to one of Korea’s greatest resources: the pro gamers (in addition to standouts from other fields with similar talents) who had the necessary reflexes and skills to operate the mechs. And that’s where Hana Song came into the picture.

Will she ever join Overwatch? Is she the new generation of Heroes that Winston and Tracer talk about?

Time will tell if D.Va joins up with Overwatch, but she is definitely part of the new generation of heroes, alongside others like Lúcio, Brigitte, and Mei.

How did you come up with D.Va’s character design?

We knew we wanted to make a hero that piloted a mech. We went through a lot of iteration on how exactly the gameplay between the pilot and the mech played out, but it was always a constant we wanted to have both. Eventually we settled on a pilot that would fight inside the mech, and then eject and fight on the battlefield as an unprotected pilot. Our Assistant Art Director, Arnold Tsang, took inspiration from mech anime and manga for her visual look.

One thing I’m often asked is where the bunny motif came from. Originally, D.Va had more of a cat theme, but after we gave her the Boosters ability (which enables her to fly around) we thought about theming the whole package as a bunny hop.

Here’s a burning question from fans around the world: Where do all the extra mechs come from?!

The MEKA base in Busan. Dae-hyun (D.Va’s mechanic) and Myung (her commanding officer) would really like everyone to take it easy on those Self-Destructs though. The budgets get scary quickly!

Who is Hana Song? What is her connection to the heroes of Overwatch?

Hana Song is a world champion esports star who was recruited by MEKA to be one of their new squad of pilots. Her immense talent, fast reflexes, and natural skills made her an ideal candidate. Growing up in the shadow of the gwishin, she felt the responsibility to serve and protect her homeland. She wanted to do her part to defend her country, but also to test her abilities in a new arena. (Not to mention proving that she was the best of her other extremely talented squadmates.) Having conquered the landscape of esports, D.Va is looking to prove herself where the stakes are immeasurably higher. While the five main pilots of MEKA are all standouts in their own right, Hana is unquestionably the star.

Does she care about Overwatch and its mission or is it more about national pride for her?

Korea is actually more pro-Overwatch than most countries, in part because the threat of omnic war is ever present to them (and they never suffered a big falling out with Overwatch like Russia). But at the moment, D.Va is more focused on protecting her country than the situation for the whole world.

How impactful was creating the Busan map and was D.Va’s kit a focal point in its design?

The team was extremely excited to do a map in Korea, as Blizzard and Korea have always had a special relationship. In creating the Busan map, we had a number of goals: we wanted to show an Overwatch vision of future Korea (complete with karaoke, video games, and PC bangs), we wanted to show the home of D.Va and of MEKA, and we wanted it all to feel authentic and appropriate. We even went as far as to record audio from Busan for some of the sound effects in the level.

Does she have ties to any of the other characters in the game?

Though she sometimes seems like a solitary character, she’s supported by a lot of people around her. D.Va inherited her love for gaming from her father (who had been a professional gamer when he was younger). Of the MEKA personnel, she has known her mechanic, Dae-hyun (who appears in “Shooting Star”), the longest—they’ve been close friends since childhood.

D.Va also has close ties to the rest of her squad, who include her former main esports rival Kyung-soo (“King”) and one of her former clanmates, tough and protective Yuna (“D.mon”). The other two members are the squad’s maknae, Seung-hwa (“Overlord”) and the flashy Jae-Eun (“Casino”, a former racing driver). Finally, there’s their commanding officer, Captain Myung (who you hear over the comms in the MEKA base part of the Busan map).

What’s next for D.Va within the story of Overwatch?

For now, D.Va is working to rebuild and continue to protect Korea against the gwishin omnics. They’re still very much learning how to perform at a high level as a team, and D.Va’s at the center of that effort. D.Va takes her role on the team extremely seriously, trying to help the team effectively carry out their missions and utilize everyone’s strengths to the fullest.

What inspired the new Nano Cola skin? What’s the story around its creation?

Back when we were getting ready to release Overwatch, we made an ad that featured D.Va as a spokesperson for “Nano Cola.” When we were looking at something in “Shooting Star” to highlight her status in the country, we decided to bring it to life.

To celebrate the new animated short, we’re kicking off D.Va’s Nano Cola Challenge running from today until September 10, where you can unlock the Nano D.Va skin and other D.Va-themed rewards.

[SunDragon-11945]

This is great. Now if only we could get more questions about other heroes answered or about the lore in general. Please Mr. Chu we know you have lore, let us hear it.

[Lambal-21137]

I DONT WANT TO HEAR IT FROM SOME MAN. I WANT TO SEE IT. I WANT TO EXPERIENCE IT REEEEEEEEEEEE

This is so frustrating! Blizz! Stop messing up!!!

[Kaedi-11739]

I don’t think anything posted here is too spoiling, at least not comic or cinematic worthy. I also will note, D.Va has a lot of new interaction voice lines popping up in game.

[Xaron-1831]

It’d be really cool if there were a tab in game where Lore was introduced like this. Most people don’t use the forums, and would never have known about this

[Maverick-24296]

this is great!
i wish we could have something in a shape of ‘diary’ or something like that, where people responsible for lore could publish short texts that include lore bits

like sub-site on OW site simmilar to comixes… where you could click on hero or organisation and read about it

this could be updated whenever they feel like… and a lot of people could be happy that lore is beeing activley updated, we wopuld get some details that didnt fit in to a cinematic, etc.

[Chess-11652]

@Kaedi-11739

Korea is actually more pro-Overwatch than most countries, in part because the threat of omnic war is ever present to them

This part confuses me.

I’d think the initial reaction of a group under attack by Omnics might be positive towards the people that “saved the world from them” but, I think after a few years it’d get quite negative. D.Va for example is around 19. During the “Golden Age of Overwatch” her country was still getting attacked and some of the non-cannon voice lines suggest that significant damage was taken at some point with Eichenwalde reminding her of home.

It’s also odd from the Overwatch angle. Would they really not prioritize dealing with an Omnium that is still attacking without a reason?

[righthere-11972]

I wonder if they yelled the questions at him at an ear splitting volume? Would be appropriate considering how Blizzard messed up in game volume on the PS4. And still haven’t fixed it.

Would have been nice if they asked about the other issues specifically impacting consoles, but probably not the right guy.

[Kaedi-11739]

@righthere-11972

Would have been nice if they asked about the other issues specifically impacting consoles, but probably not the right guy.

Nope not the right guy. Michael Chu is responsible for curating and managing the brand’s “story content”, he also posts lots of pictures of Ramen on his personal Twitter feed.

[filshirt-1926]

Casino used to be a race car drivr…this dude just gets cooler and cooler the more I find out about his char. lol

[Sly-13591]

Thanks for the transcript!

I’ll be completely honest, though.

@Kaedi-11739

Though she sometimes seems like a solitary character, she’s supported by a lot of people around her.

This one in particular feels like a cop-out answer.

It basically amounts to “No. As of right now, she has no relation to anyone in-game. She’s still the standout odd ball that she’s always been.”

[Hornet-21526]

Pretty cool to learn a little bit more about the squad. So King was her former esports rival, D.Mon is tough and protective (so much for the talon or rivalry theories lol), and Casino was a racing drive (his meka design kinda hinted at this imo).

Also while not stated here, Overlord might have been a former StarCraft Pro. You can see a StarCraft backpack next to his bedroom door. Since they retconned this part in D.Va’s lore I’m guessing they decided to make him the SC pro instead. The question still remains tho, wth did D.Va play. Maybe a secret sauce upcoming Bliz game?

[Kaedi-11739]

@Hornet-21526

Also while not stated here, Overlord might have been a former StarCraft Pro. You can see a StarCraft backpack next to his bedroom door. Since they retconned this part in D.Va’s lore I’m guessing they decided to make him the SC pro instead.

I also will note Overlord’s Mech is suspiciously familar to that of a Banshee, a Terran flying unit that attacks ground units in StarCraft II.

Not to mention his BattleTag “Overlord” is the same of a Zerg Unit.

[Hornet-21526]

Lol I don’t play SC so I didn’t know that, but yeah the hints are real haha.

[Kaedi-11739]

@Hornet-21526

Lol I don’t play SC so I didn’t know that, but yeah the hints are real haha.

Well, I will note that StarCraft (non-Remastered) and StarCraft II (Wings of Liberty campaign) are free to play.

/shameless plug

[Hornet-21526]

Yeah I know, but I have enough games as is. Maybe some day…

[Joelwino-1632]

@Kaedi-11739

squad’s maknae, Seung-hwa (“Overlord”)

The MEKA squad is actually a K-pop group confirmed

[Dawn2Dusk-11706]

yeah yeah nice but what about that Mercy cinematic?

[Fireboy769-11416]

WILL. YOU. PEOPLE. STOP. WASTING. NECORMANCY. SPELLS??

Clear Sentence!

[britzy-21475]

why the necro though
i got excited thinking we had more lore