Hero Concept - Elin “Justify” Niska
Designing this character allowed me to practice developing narrative through the confines of game mechanics. Everything about Elin’s gameplay — from her barks to her weapon to her character model — is a tool for developing the player’s understanding of the character’s background. Integrating her into a preexisting story was challenging, but it offered valuable experience with working on established IPs.
Description
“TIME TO LAY DOWN THE LAW!”
Elin “Justify” Niska joined Overwatch as one of the few lawyers capable of handling the organization’s never-ending trail of lawsuits. With property damage, assault, and medical claims dragging down her caseload, she eventually took to the battlefield to properly document the trail of destruction left by her fellow agents.
Though known to complain about her legal workload, Elin grew to love the thrill of battle and the drama of the aftermath. Settling into her identity as an adrenaline junkie, she insisted that she needed to be deployed on any and all missions possible in order to effectively build legal defenses for Overwatch, though this was just thinly veiled excuse for her to keep wreaking (controlled) havoc in active combat zones.
When Overwatch disbanded years later, Elin was desperate to bring some action and intrigue back into her life—so long as it didn’t mean actively violating the law herself. She soon found her niche as the willing lawyer for some of the world’s most morally bankrupt villains. Nowadays, she lives vicariously through her clientele, from Deadlock’s gangsters to Talon’s terrorists.
General Info
Name: Elin “Justify” Niska
Age: 45
Sex: Female
Nationality: Norwegian/Saami
Role: Support
Affiliation: Overwatch (formerly), Talon, Deadlock
Occupation: Lawyer
Kit
Hero Interactions
Barks & Voice Lines - Soldier: 76 & D.Va
D.Va is an excitable pro-gamer and teen mecha pilot. Soldier: 76 is a grizzled old war veteran. These characters couldn’t be more different. Looking at the barks I wrote for them side-by-side offers some insight into the wide range of character voices I’m comfortable writing in.
Soldier: 76
Chatter
Callouts
Eliminations
Event Voice Lines
Barks
General
Abilities
D.Va
Chatter
Callouts
Eliminations
Event Voice Lines
Cosmetic Names - Bastion, Junker Queen, Kiriko, Juno
Narrative design isn’t all about dialogue and plot — it also requires the ability to author supplemental text. Here, I’ve come up with names for hypothetical cosmetics, taking special care to follow preexisting themes established for different characters.
Bastion
Cosmetic names usually reference nature or tech.
Junker Queen
Epic skins named after radioactive elements. Other skins generally follow [noun] [verb]-er format.
Kiriko
Epic Skins use Japanese flower names. Multiple skins based on Japanese fashion + tradition. Anime trope references in a few sprays.
Juno
Epic skins named after planets.
