Thunder, or Hinmatoom, from the Killer Instinct game by Microsoft. Image from Killer Instinct Wikia

Josiah Pinkum, a cultural expert from the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho, helped Microsoft revamp one of its video game characters.

Chief Thunder was in the original version of Killer Instinct in the 1990s. He was not associated with a particular tribe and had a somewhat stereotypical appearance, according to contributions on a fan site.

Pinkum, an ethnographer works for the tribe's cultural resources department, brought a more culturally appropriate design to the character as part of a relaunch in 2013. Thunder speaks the Nez Perce language, his clothing features Nez Perce elements and his name was revealed to be Hinmatoom.

The name is very similar to the Nez Perce name of Chief Joseph. Hinmaton-Yalaktit translates to Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain, bringing the video game character closer to one of the tribe's greatest leaders.

“Thunder has been a big hit, and hopefully we created new gamers along the way,” Shannon Loftis, the general manager of Microsoft Global Games Publishing, said at a recent talk, Venture Beat reported.

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How Microsoft enlisted a Native American tribe to design a Killer Instinct character (Venture Beat 9/3)