Games, Apps And Reviews: Video Game Character of the Month - June 2018 - Brigitte Lindholm

Video Game Character of the Month

June 2018
Brigitte Lindholm
Overwatch

Overview:
Ah, Brigitte Lindholm, the faithful and honourable squire. You and Reinhardt may feel that chivalry is its own reward but we here at GamesAppsAndReviews also feel that you deserve to receive the prestigious Video Game Character of the Month Award (to be honest, you deserve it for changing the dive meta and allowing me to rack up some wins on deathmatch - oh, and for the whole protecting the world thing).
And now for a little bit of information on Brigitte Lindholm:

She is 23 years old
She is Swedish
She has been a mechanical engineer, an adventurer and squire to Reinhardt Wilhelm
Her father is Torbjörn Lindholm and her mother is Ingrid Lindholm...
... She is their youngest daughter
She has unnamed siblings, nieces and nephews
She is very stubborn, a trait inherited from her father
Her godfather is Reinhardt Wilhelm
She was named by Reinhardt
She spars with Reinhardt every day and goes to the pub or tavern with Reinhardt to relax
She likes doughnuts and loves semlar
She is voiced by Matlida Smedius in English and Mun-Yu-Jeong in Korean
Like her father, Brigitte has an Ironclad Guild tattoo on her shoulder. Hers is on her outer left shoulder
According to Michael Chu (senior designer for lore and story in Overwatch), Bridgitte 'probably looks at a lot of holo-cat gifs'
Apparently Zayra would also win in an arm-wrestling match between her and Brigitte
Brigitte also has her father's old wrench from his Overwatch days on her Engineer and Mechanic skins, which is located hanging under her pack (the Mechanic skin has the original colour scheme)
She is a support hero
She has 200 health and 50 armour
She and Reinhardt are the only two characters to not have a 'quick' melee attack as their melee attack is just their normal attack
Brigitte made her pet cat a suit of armour, much to its disgruntlement
Her age was reduced from 28 to 23

Origin of Brigitte Lindholm:
In terms of development: Brigitte was originally designed Kim-Seang 'Nesskain' Hong, a freelance artist and Grand Master Overwatch player. The character of Brigitte had existed in the lore for quite some time before this as the developers had wanted 'a character who would play Sancho Panza to Reinhardt's Don Quioxte'. Due to her long-standing existence in the lore before work began on her as a hero, the designers already had a good idea as to how to approach her character design. One of the first designs of her was as an engineer, followed by that of a paladin (nicknamed 'the pally') with army motifs more akin to the fantasy archetype. In this design, her lion crest was a sun. The lion was chosen instead so as to look more like Reinhardt's, based on the idea that a squire bears the arms of the knight they serve. Her shield and flail combination draws inspiration from Wildebeest (Reinhardt's original design) and Troy (a cancelled hero that had been created for the pitch meeting for Prometheus, which became Overwatch, and his design is taken from unused Titan concept art) She was also originally going to have swords or a more traditional mace, but the developers decided that the rocket flail fitted in better with her hammer-wielding inspirations. It was Ben Zhang (the game's lead concept artist) that made her aesthetics a bit more akin to a mechanic. This is because, as Torbjörn's daughter and Reinhardt's squire, her design should take design elements from both heroes. Her role as a tech-based hero also influenced her final design. She was added to the PTR on 28th February, 2018.
In terms of the universe: Brigitte was conceived many months before the events of Operation White Dome, in which her father last his arm and would have lost his life had it not been for Reinhardt's heroic actions. As Torbjörn recovered in hospital, Reinhardt wouldn't leave his side and, in order to shut him up, Torbjörn promised Reinhardt that he could name Brigitte. Torbjörn also made Reinhardt Brigitte's godfather. Brigitte was the first of Torbjörn's children to show an interest in engineering and and spent much of her spare time in her father's workshop. While her aptitude for engineering mirrored that of her father's, her primary interest was in armour and defense, while Torbjörn was (in)famous for his weapon systems. However, while everyone expected Brigitte to follow in her father's footsteps, the influence of Reinhardt and his tales of chivalry changed her plans. After Reinhardt decided to become a knight-errant on a quest to bring justice, Brigitte joined him as his squire, thereby getting her chance for adventure, travel, to do good and make the world a better place.She considered travelling alongside him to be a great honour.

Evolution of Brigitte Lindholm:

In development: her age was originally 28 but it has now been changed to 23. This makes her the second hero to have a publicly known age adjustment, following Mercy.

In universe: her main task on their adventures was to repair Reinhardt's Crusader armour and, more and more, Reinhardt himself. Eventually, she realised that serving as mechanic wasn't enough and that the best way she could aid Reinhardt was to become a warrior herself. While Reinhard trained her in combat, she built her own set of armour in secret. Low on fuel and money, the pair later stopped off in a town to refuel. However, they discovered it was akin to a ghost town, due to the actions of the Dragons, a group of armed scavengers. They encountered the Dragons soon after, but while they were unarmoured, and Brigitte was held back as the thugs assaulted Reinhardt. Reinhardt was undeterred, however, and intended to help the villagers, even though Brigitte warned that his armour couldn't withstand another battle. Nonetheless, Brigitte repaired the armour and Reinhardt defeated the criminals. Brigitte gave one of the villagers, Hanna', toy lion an armour based upgrade, and the pair collected their fuel. That same year, Brigitte and Reinhardt spent Christmas at her parents' home. When Winston sent out the recall message to old Overwatch members Brigitte was against the idea, telling Reinhardt that the message wasn't meant for him. She also expressed her low opinion of Overwatch, considering how Reinhardt had been forced to retire in his fifties. Reinhardt rejoined, regardless, and Brigitte went with him to protect him. At some point Brigitte completed her armour and her father added something of his own. She now fights at Reinhardt's side to protect him and everyone else.

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