Blizzard Dazzles with Hearthstone and Overwatch Shorts

Game giant Blizzard, which is best known for producing popular titles such as Warcraft and Overwatch, made a huge splash with two new CG-animated projects at Gamescon this week.

The creative forces at Blizzard unveiled the first episode in their Hearthstone series titled Hearth and Home, which offers a musical number. The set piece provides a powerful frame story for the world of Hearthstone, which is itself just a game set within the world of Warcraft’s Azeroth. Dazzled fans were quick to compare the toon with cinematic offerings from Pixar.

According to the press release, the shorts will feature the following characters:

• Harth Stonebrew: The Tavern’s jolly dwarven proprietor is a welcoming and gracious host.
• Ava: A curious teenage girl with an indomitable, resilient spirit and a knack for Hearthstone.
• Malto: This kindly old mage is a source of wisdom and encouragement.
• Sarge: Sarge is no ordinary mouse–Malto’s magical companion is the heart of the Tavern.
• Lou: A boisterous, happy-go-lucky paladin with a positive attitude. The life of the party.
• Fewz and Wick: These goblin brothers provide thrilling commentary for the Tavern’s most heated Hearthstone matches.
• Velaris: This snooty blood elf’s card collection is dwarfed only by the size of his ego.
• Roberta “Bertie” Clickfizzle: A brilliant gnome whose curiosity knows no bounds. She’s in her element when tinkering with unique deck ideas.
• Urk: This orc loves playing aggressive decks, but watch out! He has anger issues and has even been known to flip a table or two.

You can watch the short here:

Blizzard also offered a sneak peek at the visually dazzling cinematic for Overwatch titled Rise and Shine, this short sheds light Mei’s adventures in Antarctica with the group known as Ecopoint. Together with her fellow scientists Mei is working with Overwatch on some very important climate data until their cryostasis malfunctioned and left her as the only survivor. Her faithful companion robot, Snowball, will surely come to her rescue and keep her company until help arrives.