'Overwatch' game developers find creativity in diversity

(AP) — When the makers of the globe-hopping video game "Overwatch" were coming up with the backstory for a character with the ability to freeze enemies and erect ice walls, their initial inclination was to make her homeland a stereotypically chilly place, someplace like Iceland, Canada or Norway.

Inspired by Chinese ice sculpture festivals, "Overwatch" lead character concept artist Arnold Tsang crafted a look for Mei, the bespectacled climatologist among the 21 characters of various races, genders, nationalities and sexual orientations which players can portray in the superhero-inspired multiplayer game out May 24.

For years, the video game industry has been criticized for relying on stereotypes and not depicting a wider array of characters.

Many games invite players to construct their own avatars, but a new wave of multiplayer games such as "Battleborn,""Paragon" and "Overwatch" are providing dizzying rosters of defined characters — each with different looks, abilities and histories.

Kaplan said the top three most popular "Overwatch" characters in the game's open beta, which was played by 9.7 million people earlier this month, were nefarious French female assassin Widowmaker, hardened American male vigilante Soldier: 76 and high-flying Egyptian female security chief Pharah.

Kaplan said the studio didn't use any player demographic data gathered by publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. over the years to conceive characters that might generate more sales in particular regions of the world.

While the game's focus is more on squad-based action than a detailed storyline, Blizzard is expanding on the fiction in animated shorts, comics and other material outside the frenetic matches that make up "Overwatch" gameplay.