Jeff Kaplan discusses community-organized environmental effort EcoPoint Brazil

Earlier this year, Brazilian Overwatch player Ravnuslock organized a community initiative called EcoPoint Brazil. Taking inspiration from the canon Overwatch EcoPoints, and environmentalist characters such as Mei, Ravnuslock pulled together over a dozen members of the community to plant trees in a deforested area of the country. Pictures of the event were shared online and swept their way through social media.

Brazilian community manager Celso “Umildassow” O’Donnell traveled to Blizzard Entertainment’s Irvine campus to discuss the event with Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan. You can watch the interview below; the introduction is in Portuguese, but the interview itself is in English.

As Kaplan himself says in the interview, Overwatch has always tried to focus on the positivity in the world. No doubt, parts of its story are dark. But there’s almost always a light at the end of the tunnel, or something beautiful waiting on the other side. With leading characters like Tracer and Lucio, it’s a story about people making a difference, often in situations where they’re not sure they can, but trying anyway. Seeing people bring that message into the real world is wonderful.

Ravnuslock described EcoPoint Brazil as a pilot project — potentially the first of many such events. We hope EcoPoints Brazil continues, and maybe other community groups will follow their lead.

Blizzard Entertainment have done a little of that themselves recently with the Puppy Rumble. Though initially the event seemed simple enough — an Overwatch take on the Animal Planet Puppy Bowl — it turned out to be an outreach event for animal rescues throughout the United States. Yes, there was an entertainment factor that made the event appealing, but it was part of something more positive overall. And since the event’s conclusion, nearly every puppy featured in the Puppy Rumble has been adopted.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and every little bit counts.