Riot - A lot of people have been asking for an old woman champion...

Oleandervine··8 votes·4,115 views

And there have been nay sayers here on the boards shooting it down. But this is a huge possibility and it can work. She can have a rich, detailed story and be a powerful champion in her own right. Hell, Overwatch has beaten you guys to the punch with its first new hero, Ana Amari. http://s3wc3.goplay.com/wysiwyg/2016/07/12/Overwatch-ana-amari-skin.jpg Ana Amari, for those unaware, is a soon to be released hero for Overwatch. Rather than let her age be a hindrance or the hinge of her character (as so many of the nay sayers seem to think when people ask for types of characters), she just happens to be old. She is Pharah's mother. https://blzgdapipro-a.akamaihd.net/media/thumbnail/pharah-gameplay.jpg Ana has a rich, and very fleshed out story. She's an older woamn, in her 60s, and she cares deeply for her daughter. However, while family drives her and is sort of linked to her age, that is the extent of it. Her main story and lore are based on the fact that she has unfinished business with Widowmaker and that she is taking up arms again to better protect her country and daughter. For all of those out there who blast people when they ask for a character of a certain type (ex, an old woman, a black woman, etc), a character like Ana Amari is who they are asking for, someone who's not a trope, who's defining characteristic may be their age, but the meat and depth of their character is not at all based on that. Ana is the quintessential example of characterization that League should strive for when creating diversity in the lore of the roster.

28 Comments

Sharjo9 votes

Pretty sure Riot doesn't need convincing considering they've been going hard on the "more diverse and varied cast of characters" in recent times. It's just about having the right opportunity for it.

Ebonmaw Dragon4 votes

To be fair, she doesnt seems to be that old... She doesn't even have wrinkles on her face.

Zilean this is an old person, not that woman.

Sharjo1 votes

She's 60 if you were curious.

Ebonmaw Dragon4 votes

{quoted}

She's 60 if you were curious.

Lissandra is over 1000 years old and no one bats an eye.

It doesnt matters the age of the character if the character doesnt look old enough.

http://www.fashion-euro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/hairstyle-for-women-over-50-60-age.jpg

This is what i call "Old Woman", not this:

http://i.imgur.com/MH4t7Lc.jpg

Even if both of them had the same age.

Sharjo1 votes

I'm not debating you here, I was just saying that's her confirmed age. She certainly looks older than the other Overwatch lasses at least.

Wolfram Oxford3 votes

Nobody cares about an "old lady champion", who the fuck would actually care? Whats so special and unique about adding in an old lady? Like, if I asked for the flying spaghetti monster and got a hand full of other people to ask for it, that wouldn't mean its a good idea.

Sharjo4 votes

Well I would care because playing a bad arse old lady would be pretty cool in my book.

UomoAfide3 votes

Personally i'd really enjoy the idea of a grandma-like Yordle character

EmittingXs2 votes

Lissandra says hi by the way...

Oleandervine6 votes

{quoted}

Lissandra says hi by the way...

Lissandra doesn't show age at all. She could be 20 for all her looks.

Elite4Runner2 votes

{quoted}

Lissandra doesn't show age at all. She could be 20 for all her looks.

That has kinda been the point that Ebonmaw and I have been trying to make.

Visibly portraying age tends to coincide with physical weakness. Which is okay, because she can of course just be a mage, ... but that has kinda been done, ... and done again.

Oleandervine2 votes

{quoted}

That has kinda been the point that Ebonmaw and I have been trying to make.

Visibly portraying age tends to coincide with physical weakness. Which is okay, because she can of course just be a mage, ... but that has kinda been done, ... and done again.

It can, but not always. That's a stereotype, by the way, because not all elderly people are feeble.

Elite4Runner1 votes

{quoted}

It can, but not always. That's a stereotype, by the way, because not all elderly people are feeble.

Of course it is, but that is how you portray age. Read what I said earlier. Without these things you could say anyone is old but it won't be obvious that they are actually old. Which brings us back to Lissandra....

EmittingXs2 votes

" Riot - A lot of people have been asking for an old woman champion... "

Lissandra

"She can have a rich, detailed story and be a powerful champion in her own right."

Lissandra

"a character like Ana Amari is who they are asking for, someone who's not a trope, who's defining characteristic may be their age, but the meat and depth of their character is not at all based on that."

Lissandra

All of your woes and concerns are answered in the same manner. Lissandra's appearance may be what you derived from my comment but there is much more to her than that. Read her lore, her motivations, her desires, play her and really get to know her. She's exactly what you and "everyone" else is looking for but you're simply stuck on something else.

Nonetheless, the way i see this post is someone's attempt to try and make Overwatch seem better than League. we get it, you're an OW fan. great. now let's move on with our lives.

Oleandervine6 votes

{quoted}

" Riot - A lot of people have been asking for an old woman champion... "

Lissandra

"She can have a rich, detailed story and be a powerful champion in her own right."

Lissandra

"a character like Ana Amari is who they are asking for, someone who's not a trope, who's defining characteristic may be their age, but the meat and depth of their character is not at all based on that."

Lissandra

All of your woes and concerns are answered in the same manner. Lissandra's appearance may be what you derived from my comment but there is much more to her than that. Read her lore, her motivations, her desires, play her and really get to know her. She's exactly what you and "everyone" else is looking for but you're simply stuck on something else.

Nonetheless, the way i see this post is someone's attempt to try and make Overwatch seem better than League. we get it, you're an OW fan. great. now let's move on with our lives.

Lissandra is a bailout. She's an "old character" in the sense that an elf is old. Looking like your 20, but claiming to be old is just a cop out.

EmittingXs2 votes

ok...

in your post, you mention you want a character with a rich story whose age isn't as important as her lore. no problem, many people might bypass Lissandra's age given what she wants to accomplish. if you read her lore you'll find an old woman with a rich background, which is exactly what you're looking for.

please specify if looks are the only thing that matter to you next time. we're making attempts to understand what you and others are looking for yet you keep stalling on looks. if looks are all that matter then why does Ana not look like the stereotypical old woman you want? she doesn't look old in that picture you posted. she looks like she could be 35 or even 40.

what exactly needs to happen for a character to be "old" to you?

Elite4Runner1 votes

I think the problem with making champions who is portrayed as 'old' in League of Legends is that age is more often portrayed by the model, movement, strengths, .. vs Overwatch, where age can be portrayed by more subtle features and backstory.

For example, visually the 'oldest' champion is Zilean. He has big crazy hair and long facial hair, which is intended to clearly show color. He wears large baggy clothing to portray him as a scholar. He also moves with assistance of a chair or some kind of support, which portrays physical enfeeblement.

Without these characteristics all you have is the splash art, voice overs, and the backstory (which is really not all that strong in League of Legends)

To simply attempt to portray an 'old' champion without these could be just as much as saying someone like "Nidalee is old" but you wouldn't actually be able to tell.

I used Nidalee because I like the idea of her being a "cougar" .... get it ; )

SylvanasWrunner1 votes

Leblanc It's day 1000000000000000000 and she's still deceiving us....

GreenLore2 votes

It's actually implied that Leblanc is simply a title that is passed down. Meaning the current leblanc and the one from 100 years ago are 2 different people.

ItsOrval1 votes

I havent seen one person ask for an elderly lady to be a champion in LoL. So idk where you got that 'a lot' from. Id rather have good looking champs rather than an ugly one like Urgot. Who wants to play ugly champs? Urgot

GreenLore5 votes

Pretty much the only reason Urgot isn't played is because his kit is broken and riot nerfed him into being an extremely niche-character until he finally gets his rework.

Also people are asking for an old-hag-type champion all the time.

Oleandervine4 votes

{quoted}

I havent seen one person ask for an elderly lady to be a champion in LoL. So idk where you got that 'a lot' from. Id rather have good looking champs rather than an ugly one like Urgot. Who wants to play ugly champs? Urgot

I see it periodically pop up on the boards, but like what's happened here, people throw out LeBlanc and Lissandra, call it a day, and downvote the post into oblivion. And Urgot isn't played because he's antiquated and looks like he crawled out of a Playstation 1. If he gets a VGU, I believe people will play him, just like they did with Sion.

FloRaider421 votes

Rather than let her age be a hindrance or the hinge of her character, she just happens to be old.

Pardon If I am wrong, but from most "we need an old lady champion" posts I get the feeling they want an old lady champion that is an old lady. Most of the time they ask for old shriveled hags or grandmas and whenever someone points out that Riot will probably only ever make such a champion, when they find a kit or theme where the champion can just happen to be old, they will get downvoted or ignored.

Btw Ana doesn't feel that old to me (apart from lore she has no real indicator she is very old). At least Reinhardt has problems with his back and relies on an Exo-suit, whereas Ana is very fit for her age.

GreenLore1 votes

Well actually it is said,that Ana turned into a support,because of her loss of an eye and her old age. She is too old for a pure fighting class.

FloRaider421 votes

Age has nothing to do with role though. Mercy / Symmetra etc are fairly young and supports. Until I saw her lore I assumed she just had whiteish hair (like Roadhog or Mercy), since nothing about her appearence or gameplay makes her seem elderly (like say Zilean). There is nothing wrong with that and I like that Overwatch has many older Heroes (Reinhardt, 76, Ana, Reaper, Torbjörn), but most of those threads asking for old hereos seem to be asking for a female Zilean instead of a champion like Ana.

GreenLore2 votes

its not that you have to be old to be a support,its just that she isn't that fit anymore and thus not that good at killing her enemies as she used to be.

Also she does have wrinkles. Not that many,but they are there.

And yeah most people want a really old hag,though I guess that an at least somewhat elderly woman would also be a nice step in the right direction.

Flamingo Tango1 votes

But isn't Kalista an old woman? Undead, but...

Are you talking about a middle aged cool lady?

GreenLore1 votes

The thing is that kalista,Lissandra and so on might be technically old,but still look pretty young.

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