Gaurísan [welcome] Commanders!

Creating a sci-fi universe from scratch is no small task, and the universe of Grey Goo is no different. Prestigious and talented forces had to come together to form an epic and believable narrative. One of the pillars supporting that pantheon was the creation of a unique language for the Beta faction or as they call themselves, the Morra.

The Morra are a species whose very existence is dependent on language. They believe that every species has a voice, has a song to sing, and every creature in the universe has a passage in The Great Narrative of life. It is this belief that is the basis of their fear of the elusive Silent Ones. They have no voice and no song. To the Morra they are the antithesis of life.

With a desperate backstory of survival and heritage Josh Maida, Chuck Bird (both of Grey Box), and conlang master-craftsman William Annis invented the alien language you hear in Grey Goo. Developed as a "creole" over generations, the verbal dialect has roots placed in Earth Greek and Icelandic languages. Called the Usandu, the language of the Morra is their greatest treasure. Their written history is chronicled in the form of tattoos on their skin known as "The Corpus." Over time Morra warriors are covered in the tales of their people as they accomplish great deeds, allowing their history be preserved. Gamu Hansa, also known as the Great Uncle, is the oldest living Morra and a walking archive of the past.

William Annis' contributions to this narrative are momentous. The choice to have the Morra speak in a language Humans could not understand created natural conflict between the two races. Initially the Morra believe the Humans to be the mysterious and devastating "silent ones" that marooned them on Ecosystem 9. Annis constructed the language to sound natural as normal speech would.

For example, when Saruk speaks he's using contractions or slang words which intentionally sounds messy when translated. While Usandu was crafted to sound old and elegant there is an informality to the words when deciphered that sound like real speech. Even beyond creating an entire language from scratch, William Annis was the literal Rosetta Stone for our voice actors by recording dialect examples for their performances. After launch, Annis has continued to support our audio pick-ups as we evolve Grey Goo with more content.

The established mythology created in Grey Goo is vast and stretches beyond the missions of the campaign both back in time and forward. The creation of a robust, elegant language for the Beta faction are but one of the ways we have crafted this universe to be as rich and expansive as the catalyst pools of Grasslands.

Stay tuned for more Grey Goo lore in the coming weeks!



