Self-Taught Filipino Artist Impresses Blizzard With Overwatch-Inspired Map

A self-taught artist from the Philippines has just caught the attention of game industry colossus Blizzard Entertainment. Inspired by the studio’s immensely popular first-person shooter Overwatch, Joshua Llorente created his very own map called Cairo.

Although it is obviously a fan work, the map’s near-perfect design captures the game’s sophistication and aesthetics. From the vivid colors to cartoonish but beautifully painted textures, the Cairo map is a combination of historical and futuristic elements.

Interestingly, Llorente’s work caught the eye of Jeff Kaplan, the Overwatch game director and Blizzard’s vice president. He reportedly left Llorente a message on the game’s official subreddit saying, “Amazing work! We’ll be in touch.”

Of course, Kaplan was not the only person who noticed Llorente’s work. Redditors also gave outpouring support to the Filipino’s extraordinary skills, asking Blizzard to consider hiring him for the team.

“This map is undeniably beautiful,” one Redditor said. “I would love to see this added to the game.”

Another Redditor said:

Looks like a genuine ‘Overwatch’ map. All the more impressive that it was made by one person, versus an entire team. You have a bright future in 3D environment design!

Llorente, being an avid fan of Overwatch and Blizzard, was pretty ecstatic after. “It feels like my hard work has paid off,” he said.

Referring to the game’s visual style, he was particularly impressed with the design of the maps. That he loves how they magnificently represent a blend of “modern and old architecture,” with the Temple of Anubis being an epitome.

Since I’m new to 3D modelling and environment design, I tried to create my own version of the Egypt map using ‘Overwatch’s’ art style.

While Llorente spearheaded the creation of various Overwatch-inspired levels, the Cairo Map is, by far, his biggest and most polished work. With its size and complexity, developing it was a rigorous work.

The biggest challenge that I encountered creating the Cairo map was the production of the architectural assets. Since there is an urban part in the map, I needed to create several buildings, roads, bridges, towers, and I needed to consider the scaling of each model to be able to fit them all together in the map seamlessly.

You can check the Cairo Map in the video below: