Overwatch Introduces Workshop Game-Making Feature to PTR

Blizzard revealed a new game-making Overwatch feature called the Workshop in a developer update with game director Jeff Kaplan on Wednesday. The feature lands on the Public Test Region the same day.

The Workshop, which will be available through the Overwatch games browser, is a scripting mode that allows players to build custom game modes. It is far more powerful than the custom game-making options currently in the game, allowing players to do things like design and prototype entirely new heroes and more.

Although the Workshop was designed to be as accessible as possible, Kaplan described the feature as more for so-called “power users,” meaning those with experience using scripting engines or programming backgrounds.

The Workshop releases alongside a new forum section for players to ask Blizzard questions about it and custom debugger called the Workshop Inspector. The Inspector can be used to debug player-made scripts or to examine Blizzard scripts to understand how they work.

Blizzard has included example game modes of what’s possible through the workshop on the PTR’s game browser. The first, Molten Floor, is a kin doc Overwatch “Floor is lava,” game. The second, Mirrored Deathmatch, is free-for-all deathmatch in which all players play the same randomly chosen hero, which changes every minute. Kaplan says Mirrored Deathmatch may make an appearance in the Arcade in the future.

Work created on the PTR will be easily transferable courtesy of a new share feature, making it simple to share and try out Workshop creations.

Kaplan stressed that the Workshop is not a map editor. Players won’t be able to create custom geometry or import art the way they’ve been able to in past Blizzard classics such as Warcraft 3, where Dota was first created.

Once finished with testing, the Workshop will be available on both PC and console.

Photo courtesy of Blizzard