The Murloc sound from World of Warcraft is ancient. However, it has long been debated where it actually comes from – a former Blizzard employee now admits the mistake.
There are few creatures as feared in World of Warcraft as Murlocs. Especially during the Vanilla era, the angry gurgling of the little creatures was often a sure sign that you were quickly heading for the next graveyard.
It is one of the most recognizable sounds from WoW, and even today, it might cause some players to look around in a panic, wondering where the waddling monsters are coming from. But where the sound actually comes from has been communicated incorrectly for a long time.
Another WoW legend was also revealed late:
Where does the misinformation come from? That the Murloc sound is based on gurgling has been known for a long time. However, for quite a while, no one knew who was actually responsible for it.
That changed some time ago when Jason T. Hall, a former Blizzard employee who is now better known as the YouTube face of “Pirate Software,” talked about it.
Hall mentioned in a stream that the iconic Murloc noise came from Blizzard employee Bob Fitch. He reportedly gurgled with yogurt, which ultimately created the sound.
However, this information was incorrect.
How did the misinformation come about? Hall had relied on information from his father, who also worked at Blizzard. The statement “Bob [Fitch] did that” was an internal joke at Blizzard. Whenever someone didn’t know who was responsible for something, they would just say it was Bob.
This was probably a similar joke to what one might know from many raid groups in WoW. Because who is to blame for the wipe? Right: The hunter. Always.
Hall then shows the chat log with his father, in which he clarifies this joke.
Who is really responsible? In fact, the Murloc sound was recorded by Tracy Bush. After the false claim, he reached out to Hall and inquired why this work would be attributed to someone else – this was a bit uncomfortable for Hall as well.
Now we know for sure: The original Murloc sound comes from Tracy Bush, who was the sound designer for World of Warcraft at the time and had also contributed significantly to the sound of Warcraft III.
If you’re wondering if he has any other voices in the game: No. He exclusively voices the Murloc.
However, Bush has not worked at Blizzard since 2007 and has moved to NCSoft.
To that, a cheerful: Grlgrlglrlrl!
