Tracer (Overwatch)

Tracer (also known by her real name, Lena Oxton) is a player character appearing in the 2016 video game Overwatch, a Blizzard Entertainment–developed first-person shooter, and its related animated and literary media. Tracer is from the Overwatch universe, but she was introduced as a playable character in Blizzard's crossover multiplayer online battle arena game, Heroes of the Storm, in an April 2016 update.

The character, who is of British origin, has been noted by video game outlets to be a peppy and energetic character. In regards to her gameplay mechanics, Tracer is one of the game's fastest characters in terms of speed, but weakest in terms of health. She makes use of her speed through teleportation and time traveling abilities that are caused by an in-universe accident, which left her unable to maintain a physical form in the present time, until Winston invented the chronal accelerator, a device allowing her to control her physical form.

Tracer is one of the more recognizable Overwatch characters, having prominent roles in the game's official media, including promotional works and the game's cover art, as well as fan art. Her profile rose even more when the character was given additional media attention through online controversies—one surrounding one of her victory poses, and another surrounding her prominence in fan-produced pornography that Blizzard has made efforts to remove. Apart from the video game, Tracer has also made appearances in related animated media, and the Overwatch digital comic series. In her comic debut, she was revealed as a lesbian, a depiction that was met with positive reception from media outlets and players alike.

Gameplay and art
Tracer was one of the first twelve Overwatch characters introduced at BlizzCon 2014. Scott Mercer, the principal designer on Overwatch stated that Blizzard's canceled project, Titan, had a character with Tracer's abilities. Geoff Goodman, the lead hero designer for Overwatch had a "big hand" in Tracer's design; she was the first hero designed for the game and was used to test the basic gameplay. Overwatch's game director, Jeff Kaplan recounted the first Overwatch playtest, stating, "the entire level was gray and blocky and the only hero was Tracer. We had no visual effects or attachment points on her guns so she just shot laser beams out of her eyes." Overwatch's assistant game director Aaron Keller has said that Temple of Anubis was the first map developed for the game, and that the map and Tracer were worked on concurrently. Keller revealed: "One day we got both of them in, and just with Tracer running around an unfinished map it was fun." Keller also described how Tracer's three abilities were maintained throughout the game's development, as opposed to the game's other heroes, stating that, "from the beginning, she originated as a 'whole' hero." However, her health pool was nerfed during the game's late closed beta stages. On Tracer's gameplay style, Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton commented, "she's quick and squishy, designed more to harry the opposing team from behind than to survive a frontal assault".

Lead artist Aaron Tsang recounted that the body size, as well as the running pose of a character, were both characteristics that were considered during character design in order to make each one identifiable. Tracer, for instance, has a wild running animation, in addition to a unique trail of blue light, which follows behind her. Nathan Grayson of Kotaku commented that her jump animation appears "hyper-exaggerated and kinda goofy looking". This is a result of the smear frame and squash and strech animation techniques implemented in Overwatch. With respect to Tracer, Blizzard senior animator David Gibson pointed out frames from her jump animation, stating, "we're trying to just push it a little further than normal. Something as simple as stretching the torso out, having her hang [in the air] just a little bit longer than normal. Really squashing her when she lands. Her head is tucking in. Everything is supporting this basic principle of squash and stretch in a gameplay asset."

On the return of Overwatch ' s closed beta in February 2016, victory poses, among other elements were added to the characters. In March 2016, a controversy arose over Tracer's "Over the Shoulder" victory pose, after a user opined in the game's forums that it was out of character and that its supposed oversexualization "reduces Tracer to just another bland female sex symbol". The post generated a discussion in the forums, which gaming outlets noted was civil; several users added their dissenting opinions of the pose, while others disagreed with the original poster's thoughts. Kaplan posted an apologetic response in which he announced Blizzard's plans to replace the pose, writing "the last thing we want to do is make someone feel uncomfortable, under-appreciated or misrepresented". The decision was met with mixed reactions from the gaming community, with some gamers arguing that Blizzard yielded its creative control over the game, censoring its content to appease an offended user, while others praised Blizzard's willingness to listen to the community and adhere to standards for portraying a character according to their personality. Kaplan later expressed that the game's development team was not "entirely happy with the original pose", and had internal creative struggles about its inclusion. The following week, a replacement pose was released, although it was described by one commentator to be "different, butt not by much" referring to the posterior cleavage of the original pose. Jessica Lachenal of The Mary Sue website identified the replacement pose as "inspired" by a Billy De Vorss cheesecake pin-up illustration. Kaplan called the replacement pose "a really cool, cute, playful over-the-shoulder pose [...] that we should have gone with in the first place".

The developers of Overwatch have implemented seasonal events, which bring along themed cosmetics, such as skins and sprays, for players to equip to the game's characters. Tracer received two skins during the game's initial seasonal event, "Summer Games 2016", which was themed after the 2016 Summer Olympics. Throughout the game's first year of release, she also received themed skins during the game's subsequent "Winter Wonderland", "Year of the Rooster 2017", "Uprising", and "Anniversary" events.

Story and character
In addition to gameplay, she was also one of the first characters to have her backstory fleshed out. In an interview with PC Gamer, the game's creative director, Chris Metzen stated, "Tracer [was] one of the first characters we really got to know. And while she wasn't particularly created to be a starring role, if you will, we felt on the team, the more we got to know her and play her, she was kind of like this Spider-Man type character for us. She's so rad, and it feels good to leverage her in the front of story ideas." Tracer has also been noted for being a peppy character, with Hardcore Gamer's Kevin Dunsmore describing her as a "spunky Brit [who is] [...] full of little quips as she zips around the battlefield". Kaplan described "Tracer [as] cute and playful, and she's the type of person who does everything with a wink and a smile." In an interview with PCGamesN, game designer Michael Chu stated that "the thing about Tracer is that she has a personality which is out of the norm for most people. She is incredibly optimistic, she is incredibly bubbly - it's part of her hero persona. We love her, I think she is very much one of the main characters of the game [...] [to] really carry the torch of what the game is all about: heroism." To reflect her English origin, Tracer is voiced by English actress Cara Theobold.

At BlizzCon 2015, one questioner asked Metzen about the presence of gay heroes in the Overwatch universe; he confirmed that there were such characters, but elaborated, "we want it to play out organically, we don't want it to be a data point or feel contrived in any way". In December 2016, Tracer became the first Overwatch hero to be canonically revealed as LGBT in Reflections, an issue of the Overwatch digital comic; she specifically identifies as a lesbian. In the comic, she is seen in a romantic relationship with Emily, a woman who is not part of the Overwatch team. Of this reveal, Blizzard stated, "as in real life, having variety in our characters and their identities and backgrounds helps create a richer and deeper overall fictional universe". About Tracer's development specifically, Blizzard stated, "as with any aspect of our characters' backgrounds, their sexuality is just one part of what makes our heroes who they are. From the very beginning of our work on Tracer's story, it just felt right to make this an aspect of her character."

Overwatch
In Overwatch, Tracer is classified as an "offense" character. She is also listed as a two-star (medium) difficulty character for players. Reflecting her offensive role, she comes equipped with dual "Pulse Pistols," which reload quickly and deal damage rapidly at a short range. Her speed is especially noted by video game media, as she is the fastest character on the game's roster. This attribute is noted to be one of the advantages that comes with playing as her, but also an annoyance to opposing players. Her speed is supplemented through her "Blink" and "Recall" abilities—Blink, which comes with three charges, allows her to teleport a short distance in the same direction she is traveling. Using this ability may allow Tracer to "zip behind an enemy in an instant for surprise attacks, or dodge completely out of the line of fire". This ability has a cooldown period, meaning the player has to wait for each Blink to recharge, although the cooldown period is relatively short. In addition, her Recall ability allows her to rewind to her position three seconds prior, as well as resetting her health and ammo. Like Blink, her Recall ability also has a cooldown period. Although Tracer has a speed advantage, she also has one of the lowest health pools in the game. Finally, her ultimate ability is her "Pulse Bomb": a sticky that clings to the first surface or hero it hits, then detonates shortly after, dealing area of effect damage.

Jeff Kaplan has commented on her harassing gameplay style, noting that:"[The game has] characters like Tracer and Genji ... who are really unique in how Overwatch is played, and sometimes the absolute right thing for Tracer to be doing is to be off on her own, completely away from the objective or completely away from the team, harassing other players who are running back from the spawn. And she might not even be killing those players [...] She's a distracting, ambushing skirmisher. And that doesn't really fit in necessarily with objective time. [...] You can be the absolute MVP of the match when you're doing some of those things, and there's no way to really score it accurately."

Heroes of the Storm
Destructoid noted her unconventional design in Heroes of the Storm was similar to her Overwatch design, writing that "she has the same basic abilities, and even powers up her Heroic [ability] just like an ultimate [in Overwatch] – by dealing damage". A Heroic ability in Heroes of the Storm is a player-chosen ability, accessible to players once the hero reaches level 10. However, in Heroes of the Storm, players had no control over Tracer's Heroic ability, which was also unlocked immediately. Her core skillset is teleportation, "which includes a quick blink strike in any direction and the 'Recall' mechanic that rewinds her back to the location she was at three seconds ago." Chris Thursten of PC Gamer wrote that "the fact that she literally runs circles around certain heroes, coupled with the notion that she defies the rules of the game, is exactly why [he was] impressed by her design". Acknowledging that she can be an "absolute terror to the enemy team," Blizzard rolled out a nerfed version of the character on May 4, 2016, less than a month after her introduction into the game.

Video game
Tracer's fictional biography lists her real name, age, and base of operations: Lena Oxton, 26, and London, England, respectively. In Overwatch lore, Tracer is an adventurer, as well as a former agent of the Overwatch organization, and became the youngest person inducted into its experimental flight program. Known for her piloting skills, she was chosen to test the Slipstream, a prototype of a teleporting fighter. During the test flight, the Slipstream's teleportation matrix malfunctioned, and Tracer was pronounced dead. However, she would later reappear, having been desynchronized from the flow of time. This "chronal disassociation" prevented her from keeping a physical form in the present, until a scientist named Winston created the chronal accelerator. This allowed Tracer to have control of her own time. These events occur during a period known as the "Omnic Crisis", an in-universe event that saw the world's omniums begin producing hostile omnics, threatening the stability of the world and prompting the formation of Overwatch. Though Overwatch has dissolved in the game's lore, her fictional biography asserts that Tracer continues "to right wrongs and fight the good fight wherever the opportunity presents itself".

In April 2017, Blizzard launched "Uprising", a seasonal event which included an eponymous player versus environment (PvE) co-op game mode. The Uprising game mode's default version allowed players to pick from four characters: Tracer, Torbjörn, Reinhardt, and Mercy. The limitation to these characters was due to the mode being a portrayal of the King's Row Uprising event from the Overwatch narrative. In this story element, set "seven years into the past", Tracer—then known as Cadet Oxton—is thrust alongside Mercy, Reinhardt, and Torbjörn, into her first mission as a member of Overwatch. The strike team was tasked with subduing an attack on London's King Row from the Omnic extremist group, Null Sector.

Animations
In November 2014, Tracer appeared in the Overwatch cinematic trailer, alongside Winston, fighting against Widowmaker and Reaper, who are agents of Talon, a terrorist organization within the narrative. The trailer, which officially announced Overwatch, debuted at BlizzCon 2014. The trailer's plot involves Widowmaker and Reaper invading a museum, where they attempt to steal a gauntlet referred to as "Doomfist" in the lore. Tracer and Winston end up thwarting them.

In March 2016, Tracer had a voice-only appearance in Recall, the first in a series of animated Overwatch shorts. Here, Tracer responds to Winston's recall of Overwatch agents, allowing her voice to be heard. In the Overwatch canon, this Recall short takes place prior to the 2014 cinematic trailer. In April, Tracer made a physical appearance in Alive, the second in the series of animated Overwatch shorts. The short is set in London's King's Row, which is also the setting for a map in the game. In the short, Tracer attempts to stop the character Widowmaker from assassinating Tekhartha Mondatta, the head of the Shambali, a group of omnics formed to bring peace between omnics and humans. However, Tracer fails to protect Mondatta, and in the process is incapacitated by Widowmaker, and has her chronal accelerator damaged. This event occurred during an era called the "Recall", an in-universe period in which the world is falling back into darkness.

In April 2017, Tracer appeared in the origin story video detailing the events of the in-universe King's Row Uprising event, which Blizzard has described as "a pivotal moment in history from before the fall of Overwatch." Tracer, known as Cadet Oxton during this time in the narrative, is also heard as the narrator of the video, where she details that Commander Jack Morrison sent her in as a part of a strike team to stop an attack from Null Sector, an Omnic extremist group. In July, Blizzard released another animated origin story video, this time focusing on the character Doomfist. The video features Tracer, along with Genji and Winston, battling Doomfist; at one point, Doomfist is seen disabling Tracer's chronal accelerator, causing her to lose her synchronization with the flow of time.

Comics
Overwatch's tie-in digital comic series featured Tracer in its December 2016 issue, Reflections. Written by Michael Chu and featuring art by Miki Montlló, Reflections is a holiday-themed issue. In it, Tracer is depicted in a romantic relationship with a woman named Emily, who is not on the Overwatch team; the comic has a panel where Tracer can be seen kissing Emily. This confirmed Tracer as the first of several characters that Blizzard has said have "diverse" sexuality. To avoid legal conflict with Russia's ban against gay propaganda, Blizzard blocked access to this comic to those in the Russian Federation. Tracer is also seen with her chronal accelerator removed; the game's Twitter account confirmed that the accelerator still works if removed, as long as it is charging nearby her.

Tracer is also seen in the April 2017 issue, Uprising. The issue, set "seven years in the past", deepened the narrative of Overwatch, telling the story about a terrorist attack by an extremist Omnic branch on King's Row in London. In the comic, Overwatch was disallowed from operating in England, but Strike Commander Jack Morrison, or Soldier: 76, opted to send Tracer—then a rookie on the Overwatch team, still fresh from training and evaluation—along with Reinhardt, Torbjörn, and Mercy over to assist with the situation in London. Tracer's catchphrase, "Cheers love, the cavalry's here!" is also revealed to be derived from a comment made by Torbjörn to her, upon their meeting.

Merchandising
In addition to appearing in animations and comics based off the video game, Tracer has also appeared in Overwatch merchandising. In 2017, Japanese manufacturer Good Smile Company partnered with Blizzard to release Overwatch action figures in their Nendoroid and Figma lines, including figures of Tracer.

Heroes of the Storm
Tracer debuted in the video game Heroes of the Storm, in its April 2016 update, nearly a month prior to the release of Overwatch. PC Gamer's Thursten saw her inclusion in the game as "a marketing move, for sure," but also noted that "Tracer introduces a bunch of new ideas to Heroes of the Storm that elevate her above traditional preorder bonus fluff. She's not just a legitimate addition to the roster," adding that "she feels different to any other MOBA character [he's] played, and this is a direct consequence of her FPS origins".

Reception
Tracer has been cited as being the "poster girl" for the game; the gaming magazine Hardcore Gamer concurred, describing her as "...Overwatch's single most iconic character". Many publications have referred to her as the game's mascot, or note that she essentially fills the role of one. Even prior to the game's official release, VentureBeat noted, "if you've paid any attention to the early fan culture for Overwatch, you've likely noticed that Tracer seems especially popular". Kotaku's Nathan Grayson described her as "peppy and fun, but also courageous and badass," adding that: "In creating their own works involving Tracer, fans have turned those characteristics up to 11. Some depict her as childlike, naive and carefree. She can even be kind of a doof, a punchline." Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton asserted that she is "easily the most iconic Overwatch hero," in addition to calling her his favorite character. Tracer's popularity compared to the other characters has had unintended effects for Blizzard; Overwatch-related searches boosted by 817% on Pornhub after the game's open beta went live, with "Overwatch Tracer" being the top search term related to the game. Discontent with this fan-generated porn, Blizzard made efforts to have it removed. Kotaku noted that Japanese gamers received Overwatch positively, finding the characters of Tracer and Mei especially cute.

The reveal of Tracer being canonically lesbian was generally well-received by media outlets and players alike. USgamer called it "an impressive move for Blizzard, given that Tracer is their flagship character". Polygon's Allegra Frank described the reveal as one "that fans have waited a long, long time for". Peter Amato of Paste commented, "While a vocal minority has made their disapproval of said announcement clear, the larger fan base's reaction has ranged from indifferent to cheering." Kotaku had several of its writers react to the reveal, with the consensus being a positive reception. The publication's Cecilia D'Anastasio pointed to a previous statement from Blizzard, where the developers clarified their intention to have an LGBT character reveal play out organically, commenting: "I feel that the comic did that. Tracer buys her partner a scarf. Her partner likes it. They kiss. The comic moves on. I think it was handled quite well, although the idea of Blizzard announcing a queer character feels sort of.... gimmicky." Gita Jackson concurred with D'Anastasio stating she "was definitely concerned that revealing a queer character would come off as a gimmick, and [was] very pleased at how they pulled this off. This doesn't feel tokenized." Fellow Kotaku writer Heather Alexandra commented, "I think having something explicit was necessary [...] Having something definite gives queer players a proper point of contact." Andy Chalk of PC Gamer noted that:"...the comic itself is a fairly straightforward heartwarming tale of what really matters during the most hectic season of all. But the reaction to Tracer's identity has been anything but. Messages decrying Blizzard's 'mistake' have cropped up all over the Overwatch forums and other social media, countered by others praising the studio for explicitly stating—in a low-key fashion—that the face of one of the biggest games of the year is gay."

Of her gameplay mechanics, Inquisitr expressed the opinion that her "quick and evasive ways make her an annoyance to deal with". ESPN described her as "the classic in-and-out harasser", referring to her speed and her ability to blink and recall, and also reported that "she was used a lot more before a health nerf late in the beta". Mike Minotti of VentureBeat opined that: "Tracer [is] a lot of fun to play. Her whole teleporting/rewinding mechanics [are] so unique and fast-paced. I feel like [Blizzard's] done a great job making a varied, relatively balanced cast." In 2017, Screen Rant ranked Tracer #8 out of the 24 playable characters in Overwatch, expressing that "a good Tracer that goes unchecked can wreak havoc on the back-lines, causing teams to fold before they even know what's happening."