One of the voice-lines of the Russian weightlifter Zarya is inspired by NHL goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. The new voice-line was released alongside the Summer Games 2017 skins. The backstory on how this voice-line came to “Overwatch” is more interesting.

Summer Games skins and voice-lines

With the launch of Summer Games 2017 event in “Overwatch,” cool beach-themed skins were also released. New voice-lines fit for the heroes’ skins were also available. Interestingly, the pink-haired Russian hero Zarya has a new voiceline that sounds very familiar to some hockey fans.

Zarya can be heard in the game saying, "It is only a game, why do you 'heff' to be mad?"

The line was once said by NHL goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov during one of his post-game interviews. When the goaltender was asked about his teammate Chris Pronger’ return to Edmonton, Bryzgalov said the same statement but only in a high-pitched tone. The athlete, in fact, made a history on the Internet and his statement is still being used today in many memes.

Who's the culprit for the new voice line?

In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Lead Writer Michael Chu revealed that Blizzard’s popular first-person shooter title team is mostly composed of giant hockey fans.

Chu said that the sport is almost a daily subject of their conversation. The lead writer admitted to being a diehard fan of the Mighty Ducks and idolized Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. He was a Ducks season-ticket holder a decade ago. Chu also revealed that Game Director Jeff Kaplan is also a diehard fan of the Kings while Lead Animator Rayan Denniston is a Chicago fan.

Moreover, Senior UI Artist Randal Dumoret is a Canucks fan.

Aside from these details, the lead writer admitted that he was responsible for the new voice-line of the pink-haired Russian hero. Chu said that since Zarya’s addition to the roster of heroes, he knew that Ilya Bryzgalov’s famous quote could be infused into the game.

When the Summer Games event came, he said he did not think twice. However, Chu revealed that the idea was first mentioned by fans and they have been requesting that voice-line ever since.

Junkertown

Meanwhile, a dataminer by the name Lo0gan shared his latest “Overwatch” discovery that got fans excited. On Reddit, the user shared a new datamined voice-line allegedly referring to a new map in the game. The voice belongs to Athena and appears to be welcoming the players to Junkertown. If the latest datamine is accurate, most likely this is the same map that Blizzard said it would reveal in the upcoming Gamescom 2017 along with a new animated short.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED