Weekly-ish Recall: Always Climb, Never Fall

Some Heroes enter the Overwatch universe cloaked in darkness, sneaking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Sierra Woods? Not so much. If the hot pink drone didn't get your attention when Season 2 debuted, her sparkling grenades and sugar-sweet Southern drawl should do the job. Whether she's facing a steep peak or Talon's newest agents of misery, Sierra carries her responsibilities-and her own mysteries-with whimsy and a healthy dose of confidence.

I talked to the narrative team to learn how they wove this streak of sunshine into the tapestry of Overwatch lore with the help of collaborators, unraveling a mystery that could have long-standing effects in the story ahead.

A Common Thread

Early concept meetings for Hero 51 included a pitch for a US-based damage Hero with a military background. Senior narrative designer Jude Stacey saw a valuable opportunity to explore a foundational piece of Overwatch lore: the Soldier Enhancement Program. Going back to Overwatch's announcement in 2014, it counts Jack "Soldier: 76" Morrison and Soldier: 24 (better known as Reaper nowadays) among its alumni.

"We've delved into it with Illari and Soldier: 76, who are now on their own little adventure, but we wanted to dive into the history of that program," Jude said. The untold story of Soldier 00-the first recipient of the enhancement serum-intrigued the narrative team, especially the idea of what her post-experimental life might have looked like.

When we meet Sierra in the current story, she's twelve years into a search for her missing mother. It's a journey the Overwatch community gets to join by putting pieces together through in-game lore tidbits and Sierra's motion comic. Unveiling the history of Kendra Woods (or Banks, before she went on the run) through her daughter allowed the team to tell the story of a next-generation Overwatch agent from a unique angle.

Sierra is blissfully unaware that she has any special abilities for most of her life, attributing her quick reflexes and sharp mind to her mother's teaching. She didn't need years of education like Wuyang and Anran and doesn't hail from another planet like Juno; Sierra inherits abilities as well as the danger that comes from having them. The way she handles the mystery and consequence of her origin-with confidence and joy-becomes the core of her story.

Woven Together With Pride

Sierra explored the United States with her mother, scaled the highest peaks with her father, and stepped into her full confidence surrounded by her Summit Squad teammates. She's proudly a patchwork of people who inspired her and, as it often goes, art imitates life: the vivacious Sierra Woods is a product of many, many collaborators across the Overwatch team and beyond.

Adding a vibrant, realistic Black-American Hero has been one of the Overwatch community's most passionate requests over the years. There's been a desire for a Black-American Hero on the dev team as well and Hero 51 offered the perfect opportunity to craft a heroine shaped by her culture and family.

Several designers on the narrative team either resided or spent time in the American South and lent their experiences to Sierra's overall story. To ensure cultural accuracy, they invited Blizzard's Black Employee Network to review and collaborate on everything from Sierra's style to her hair and dialect, which draws from both African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Southern regional tones.

Sierra's region of origin was initially kept vague until casting for a voice actor was complete; once Khaya Fraites-a native Virginian-was cast, Sierra finally began to find her true voice on multiple levels. The team opted to have Sierra settle with her father in Virginia once her mother disappeared, giving her a canon reason for that specific accent to shine.

Both Khaya and the Black Employee Network had extensive input on Sierra's voice lines. You'll see this in the way Sierra code switches depending on her conversational partner. If she's talking to a Hero she's comfortable with or those who have a Southern accent, like Ashe or Cassidy, her accent will be more prominent than it would be around someone she doesn't particularly like. (No offense, Reaper.)

"[It was] Important for us to make sure that she felt authentic and young and modern like how a young Black woman in the US would actually act and talk," Jude said. Khaya's subtle but powerful changes to Sierra's lines helped with that. In referring to Kendra, Khaya suggested that Sierra would use "mother" outwardly but would use "mama" when speaking directly to her mom or to herself, as seen in her motion comic. One hit line from Sierra's gameplay trailer got its signature ending pizzazz from Khaya as well: keep 'em coming, baby!

A Little Extra Sparkle

Even though she's descended from an enhanced soldier and has traveled more in 25 years than most people have in their entire lives, that's not what sets Sierra apart from other Overwatch Heroes. Her ability to scale the most difficult peaks (either real or proverbial) with a dose of joy is what defines her. That's boldly intentional on the narrative team's part.

"When I think about Sierra, she's the kind of person that stands on top of a mountain, takes a big breath of fresh air, and is ready to take on the next climb," Jude said.

The narrative team embedded joie de vivre everywhere in Sierra's character to offset the expectation of a no-nonsense Helix soldier. Nowhere is that more obvious than in Sierra's faithful "companion" Dorothy, a personalized Remotely Operated Traversal Helper that's been decorated with a handwritten nickname and a butterfly sticker. To quell some community questions, Dorothy is not sentient-just awesome. "As someone that's been doing her job for a minute, Sierra took [Helix] base gear and leveled it up," Jude said.

Despite her love of all things pink and an adoration for the unfairly-adorable Pupfish, Sierra is in no way a pushover. You'll notice serious military callouts more reminiscent of Sojourn or Pharah have been peppered into Sierra's voice lines, especially to inform allies of positioning or movement. One pillar of characterization the narrative team doubled down on after consulting with the Black Employee Network was Sierra's pride, in both herself and her capabilities.

Sierra is entering the chaos of the Overwatch world, full of threats from multiple arenas and power players, with a sense of relentless optimism. "She's not just a ray of sunshine for us players, but for the whole cast of Overwatch," Jude said. "And I'm excited to see what stories she helps us tell."