Overwatch: this Junkertown map preview gives us backstory and some cool sound design tips
The folks at Blizzard have shown off some of the features of their next map, Junkertown, a Mad Max inspired map set in Australia.
Junkertown, currently available on the PTR, is an escort map where the attackers start on Roadhog's farm, wind through the town itself, and eventually end up in the gladiatorial 'Scrapyard' arena.
As an Aussie I can confirm that, yes, battling in a Thunderdome-esque arena called the Scrapyard is a great Australian tradition, on par with knifey-spoony and 'the boot'.
This is apparently 'a really important area' in Overwatch, and we're given some of the town's backstory. After the Omnic Crisis, the Australian government allowed the Omnic people a certain tract of land in the hopes of appeasing them. This displaced the solar farmers who lived out there, and the displaced people fought back, eventually blowing up the Omnium Factory that had been built there.
Junkertown was formed over the wreckage of that factory, and is run by 'The Queen', who is a 'charismatic and skilled fighter' (it's not clear if she will make an appearance in the game or simply remain a part of its lore).
It's all very Mad Max, basically. The designers watched the Mad Max films and said 'let's do that', one imagines.
The video also shows how they recorded the sound effects for Junkertown, which involved a trip out to an old ghost town to twang rusty metal poles and let flies buzz up against their microphones. It's a cool, interesting little look into the processes involved in game making.
It's not yet clear when the map will be widely available, but expect it soon.