Multiplayer online battle arena game Smite will pay tribute to painting icon Bob Ross through the upcoming release of a new bundle.
The Bob Ross Bundle includes a variety of items that commemorate the host of PBS show The Joy of Painting. Among these items is a skin that transforms one of the game's characters into the painter himself.
Smite To Release Bob Ross Bundle
Partners Twitch and Hi-Rez Studios described the Bob Ross bundle as "the happiest little accident" in the history of Smite, evoking one of Ross's most lovable quotes.
The bundle includes a skin for Sylvanus, changing him into the likeness of Bob Ross complete with brush, easel, and palette. The treant that Sylvanus rides into battle will be transformed into a happy tree, with a cheerful smile and a green beard.
In addition to his appearance, Sylvanus will also see his skills changed to reflect the Bob Ross treatment. Players will be throwing paint at enemies, deploying cheery clouds and summoning more happy trees. The ultimate ability of Sylvanus, the Wrath of Terra, summons roots to rise up from the ground; however, with the Bob Ross skin, the ability will instead call forth paintbrushes to burst from the earth, damaging enemies while painting the ground with a landscape that looks like it was painted by Bob Ross.
In addition to the Sylvanus skin, the Bob Ross bundle contains other cosmetic items, namely a paint splatter jump stamp, an exclusive loading frame, and a special loading screen.
The Bob Ross bundle will be released on May 9 for Windows PC and Mac and on May 16 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One alongside Smite's Patch 4.8.The bundle will cost $9.99 or 700 in-game gems.
Other items included in Patch 4.8 are the Queen's Guard skin for Erlang Shen, balance tweaks to the Hastened Fatalis and buffs to a few characters.
Remembering Bob Ross
Ross, known for his soothing voice, laid back demeanor, and bright outlook on life, hosted The Joy of Painting from 1983 to 1994. Ross passed away in 1995 from lymphoma, but his instructional painting show remains popular among viewers.
In October 2015, the entire first season of The Joy of Painting was uploaded to the official Bob Ross channel in YouTube, allowing viewers to watch the shows for free. That same month, streaming service Twitch launched its Twitch Creative section with an all-episodes marathon of The Joy of Painting.
By November, Twitch reported that more than 5.6 million people have logged on to watch The Joy of Painting, showing incredible viewership numbers that rival some of the most successful video game streamers. Twitch then decided to make the painting tutorial show a permanent fixture on the service.
Smite, meanwhile, is not the first video game to pay tribute to Ross. In February 2016, a modder released the Bob Ross Voice Pack for XCOM 2, replacing the grim voiceovers of the game with morale-boosting lines spoken by Ross. Among the lines of Ross that were used for the mod were "We don't make mistakes, we have happy accidents," "Here they come" when aliens start approaching, and "Now comes the fun" before players start shooting at aliens.
