由前 Blizzard《魔兽世界》创意总监 Rob Pardo 近日宣布获得美国硅谷创投公司 Andreessen Horowitz、Riot Games 共同投资了 2500 万美金,在位于美国加利福尼亚州成立独立上市公司 「BONFIRE STUDIOS」。
BONFIRE STUDIOS 目前旗下核心成员包括前 Blizzard 曾担任《星海争霸》艺术总监的 Nick Carpenter、过去担任《暗黑破护神 3》首席设计师的 Josh Mosqueira、前 Battle.net 设计总监 Matthew versluys 以及前美国 Nexon America 执行长 Min Kim 所共同组成。
据 Rob Pardo 表示,「之所以命名为 BONFIRE STUDIOS ,是因为希望我们能把亲朋好友互相链接再一起,并且紧紧围座营火旁讲故事以及分享愉快经历为目的。 同时为了确保我们的工作室更够具有很大的影响力,我们团队是一个小而强大的组织,如同复仇者联盟的「超级英雄团队」一样,藉由成员的独立自主开发才能,让团队与玩家们相互链接的再一起,共同为了游戏来作出最佳的决策,以至于发展一个不依靠「中层管理人员」以及「上下阶层体制」的小团队。 」
We’re going to be transitioning away from using the Battle.net name for our gaming service and the functionality connected to it. Battle.net technology will continue to serve as the central nervous system for Blizzard games—nothing is changing in that regard. We’ll just be referring to it as Blizzard tech instead. You've already seen this recently with things like "Blizzard Streaming" and "Blizzard Voice," and more changes are on the way.
When we created Battle.net, the idea of including a tailored online-gaming service together with your game was more of a novel concept, so we put a lot of focus on explaining what the service was and how it worked, including giving it a distinct name. Over time, though, we’ve seen that there’s been occasional confusion and inefficiencies related to having two separate identities under which everything falls—Blizzard and Battle.net. Given that built-in multiplayer support is a well-understood concept and more of a normal expectation these days, there isn’t as much of a need to maintain a separate identity for what is essentially our networking technology.
We just wanted to make sure everyone was aware as we moved forward with this change over the next several months; we’ll provide any relevant updates as the transition progresses.
Heroes Beware! Overwatch Halloween Terror Begins Today…And It's Time for a Scare!
When the shadows grow long and the nights grow cold ...
And witches’ cauldrons bubble with potions untold ...
When spirits and ghouls and abominations appear ...
It can mean only one thing: Halloween is here!
The fright for the future has begun, heroes, and for the next three weeks, we’re celebrating the spookiest time of the year in true Overwatch fashion—with a brand new seasonal event! Explore the haunted streets of Hollywood, expand your collection of themed holiday items, and relive a chilling tale in our first-ever PvE brawl: Junkenstein's Revenge!
Welcome to the Overwatch Halloween Terror.
Trick or Treat
Starting today, all in-game Loot Boxes have been replaced with special glowing jack-o'-lanterns, and they're filled to the brim with over 100 new cosmetic treats! As with our previous events, any Loot Box you earn or purchase from now until the event concludes will contain at least one item from our Halloween 2016 collection—including profile icons, sprays, victory poses, emotes, highlight intros, skins, and more!
While the contents of each Halloween Loot Box are random, you can unlock a variety of these creepy customization options with credits in the Hero Gallery throughout the event's duration.
Once you've unlocked a Halloween item, it will be yours forever, which means that you can look terror-ific all year round. The collection will be crawling back into the vault on November 1, however, when the event concludes, so be sure to fire up your favorite gaming machine and dig in before it's too late!
Double-Double Toil and Trouble
During this year's Halloween Terror event, you'll also be able to participate in Overwatch's first-ever co-op PvE Brawl: Junkenstein's Revenge. Team up with three other players and face off against a host of eerie enemies, including Dr. Junkenstein himself, Junkenstein's Monster, the Reaper, a mysterious witch, and host of shambling zomnics.
As told in our "Junkenstein" digital comic, this terrifying tale follows Dr. Jamison Junkenstein, an inventor and scientist who was once employed by the Lord of Adlersbrunn. Junkenstein's dream was to create artificial life, but the Lord of Adlersbrunn mocked the scientist and his creations, calling him a fool and dismissing him from service. Slighted, Junkenstein vowed to prove the lord wrong, and when an unexpected visitor showed up and offered the key to perfecting his creation, Junkenstein’s Monster was born.
Now Junkenstein plans his revenge against the Lord of Adlersbrunn, and only four heroes stand in the way.
Players will choose from the Alchemist (Ana), the Archer (Hanzo), the Gunslinger (McCree), or the Soldier (Soldier: 76) and defend Adlersbrunn castle’s doors against Dr. Junkenstein's onslaught! Heroes will need to work together and develop strategies to withstand not only the advances of his macabre entourage, but also wave after wave of zomnic attacks.
Something Wicked This Way Comes...
We're also getting a little spoopy on our social media pages, so don't forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profiles for a steady stream of Halloween goodies—and be sure to keep an eye on playoverwatch.com for updates on future seasonal events!
In the meantime, Overwatch Halloween Terror is live RIGHT NOW on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, so grab your largest candy bag, put on some spine-chilling music, and get ready to test your mettle against Junkenstein's metal minions.