So if some of you may or may not have heard. Blizzard, makers of Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft is working on a first person shooter. The name of it is Overwatch.
Now for Blizzard to do a new IP is cool. Its also just in Alpha/Beta so they're making things...things are in the works. Well today they just released gameplay footage of a new character.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq4OlEDiCi8
Remind you of anyone you know?
Oh, yeah, McCree is definitely Chrono. Also, Tracer is Tachyon, Hanzo is like Parse, and Widowmaker is like The Wraith.
I am SUPER hyped for Overwatch. It looks like TF2, but with even MORE diverse characters and a cool superhero theme. I don't even care for any of Blizzard's other IPs, but it looks exciting.
I definitely thought that as soon as I saw him.
My only real concern about this is will this cause any kind of IP infringement case down the line. The characters have such similarities that it makes me wonder if one company would say something to another.
Unless that cowboy travels through time i dont really see that being an issue...even then, comic tropes are not IP enforceable. I mean, much of the SotM lineup have clear homages to existing characters.
But we are talking about a cowboy bounty hunter with the same hat, cigar problem, shoulder poncho, favors a pistol, uses grenades, and has a robotic left arm.
There is a big difference between playing with comic tropes and flat out copying characters. I'm not saying that Blizzard is stealing Chrono Ranger here, but there is a lot more than just a passing resemblance there. Certainly calls it into question.
These are not even remotely close to the same ballpark as the Chrono similarities.
If that is true, then people at Blizzard are playing SotM!
Oh, look. Jim found Mr. Fixer. http://io9.com/5254880/first-look-at-time-traveling-ghostbusters-and-the-new-she-buster/
eh. That 'look' of the poncho, hat, cigar ect with 6 shooters is a classic Western Movie look. Its not unique to Chrono Ranger, its a pretty common trope.
The robotic arm and the general facial look, though...
It's not just little bits and pieces. It's the entire character's look and backstory and weaponry. The only difference between the two characters is time travel. Thats it.
I'm not saying its a ripoff here, but it's a little more than sharing a few western tropes.
Is "Western shootyman with robot arm" a classic trope? I've never seen that combo before, but then I'm largely ignorant of the genre.
The same could be said of other SOTM characters themselves tho... Child of millionaires has Tragic Event and fights crime from the shadows while running the Company during the day. Are we talking about Batman or Wraith? Or The Arrow? Or Mister Terrific?
Comics characters have a lot of overlap and the very comic-y style of Overwatch is bound to have a few similarities here and there.
Hell, wasn't Jonah Hex a horrifically scarred old west gunslinger who had a time-travel adventure or two a long time before Jim turned up? ;)
And technology + cowboys comes up all the time. Sure maybe not the robotic arm, but tech+cowboy is a pretty big thing. And there is only so many backstories a cowboy type character can have.
I get a much more Clint Eastwood meets tech vibe than chrono ranger. But I suppose it comes from what you have more familiarity with
Wraith is essentially female Batman- she even has Batarangs!
Omnitron X's appearance heavily draws from Mega Man X- right down to using the same font for their names (look at O-X's character card, then look at the title screen from the first Mega Man X game. Same exact font, no mistaking it was meant as an intentional allusion).
I don't know if Overwatch takes inspiration from Sentinels or not- but if it does, then just remember, all art is derivative. As long as no one is saying "I'm the first one to ever have this concept." then those that inspired others should be honored, not offended.