MMO-Champion Feed - BlizzCon 2017 - Voices of Blizzard - United Nations of Overwatch

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BlizzCon 2017 - Voices of Blizzard - United Nations of Overwatch

Meet the Panel

• Andrea Toyas - Senior Voice Casting and Voice Director
• Darin De Paul - Reinhardt
• Jonny Cruz - Lucio
• Jen Cohn - Pharah
• Aysha Selim - Ana
• Chloe Hollings - Widowmaker
• Sahr Ngaujah - Doomfist
• Michael Chu - Lead Writer for Overwatch

New Cinematic

• Took three session to record the voice, first of which was over 7 hours
• Voice tries to capture the add real emotion to the characters
• Reinhardt has a sad and heartbroken side, hidden behind his armor
• This makes his joy so much more special, because he could have died during the fight in the short
• Multiple layers and emotions add to the character,
• It was not supposed to be Reinhardt who joined Overwatch, but his arrogance caused the death of someone close to him
• The voice of Reinhardt is partially based on the father of Darin

Lucio

• Jonny Cruz was a camera actor, before becoming the voice of Lucio
• Connecting to the character: altruism, mischief, playfulness
• Lucio embodies the love, and joy of Overwatch

Pharah

• She first did voice acting for Voice of Warcraft
• Jen always has to stand when recording
• Pharah is a soulful character, and all her actions are motivated by a deeper passion
• She was a character who always dreamt of becoming part of Overwatch
• This dream was stopped in its tracks when Overwatch disbanded, but then she had a new chance during the call for heroes
• The father of Pharah is hinted at in certain comics, and sprays in game

Ana

• Ana brings a lot of diversity to the Overwatch team
• Eisha in Arabic means Life
• The letter that Ana wrote was very personal to her, because at this time her neice was in surgery
• She is the embodiment of competence
• Extremely self-aware, and this shows during her interactions with other characters

Widowmaker

• Widowmaker is all about loss, which she tries to shield
• The character becomes a killer to feel alive
• Even bad characters, have dynamic sides, making them the hero of their own story
• The first ear, she wore very high heels to feel like the character
• When recording voice, it has a major physical component
• Intensely tragic character, and there is much more to come

Doomfist

• When casting for an actor, Andrea listens for something specific that connects them to the character
• Sahr was found through a political speech
• This was his first time doing a voice for a videogame
• Doomfist is a character with charm, charisma, and personality
• This character had to embody a lot of traits to make him a leader
• There is a hidden intimidation
• Sahr bases Doomfist on Charles Taylor, who is an infamous person in Liberia, exploiting others to further himself
• Doomfist represents the natural and elemental power of the world

Q&A
Q: What would your character do at the BlizzWorld?
A: Lucio: DJ, Reinhardt: say hell to children, Doomfist: figure out who is running it to make more mone, Pharah: fly around to keep poeple safe.

Q: How do you make combat sounds sound real?
A: It takes physical movements to make the sound effects.

Q: How has your life changed after becoming the actors for these voices?
A: Jonny: It has been overwhelming, and the people is what make it so special. Chloe: Blizzcon is a conduit for love, which makes being an actor so much more special

Q: If you could add a voiceline what would it be?
A: Widowmaker: I am the strongest woman in the world. Reinhardt: CANDY!

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