During the most recent GDC event, Blizzard Entertainment's Michael Chu talked about the "Overwatch" and its 24th hero Orisa. Gameplay videos of the new character in the game's Public Test Region (PTR) show her as a horned four-legged robot tank character with mid-range attacks. It was surprisingly revealed by the developers after a series of teases that hinted on Doomfist as the next character, but it appears the robot is the games newest hero.
Chu said that the new tank "was a character that emerged from game design", which he described as an alternative to Reinhardt. Jeff Kaplan had reportedly said that the developers wanted her to be an anchor tank hero, which he describes as a tank character that can support the team. Kotaku notes that the developer's art team wanted to do something unconventional.
Kaplan apparently wanted his team to design a female character, which does not follow the usual slim and feminine appearance of most game models. With Orisa, the Blizzard Entertainment game director for "Overwatch" apparently did not want her to look the game's other robot characters. Chu describes her personality as a cross between GlaDOS and Robocop. Additionally, she was meant to have a technological advantage over other robots.
Prior to her announcement, the developers had revealed a new character called Efi Oladele. She was a tech-savvy girl who reportedly won a grant. Her story noted that she wanted to create something that will help people like the game's OR15 defense robots. According to Express, Efi was considered a curveball by most players as the months prior to her reveal mostly hinted about Doomfist.
Blizzard Entertainment notes that despite their challenges with Orisa's design, the 24th "Overwatch" hero somehow "clicked" almost immediately with the game. They went on to describe an easier character to pick up and play compared to Sombra, which was a reportedly "trickier character to figure out the place of," says Michael Chu.
