NetEase Games' commitment to releasing a new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season hasn't stopped a dedicated player from creating a playable Doctor Octopus.
Reddit user WickedCube recently unveiled a 30-second gameplay video showcasing a remarkably accurate, albeit rough, Doctor Octopus for Marvel Rivals. The footage, seemingly from a testing environment, depicts a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner and a surprisingly well-realized eight-armed Doc Ock.
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The character model, while somewhat rudimentary, is instantly recognizable. WickedCube's Doc Ock utilizes his arms for magnetized movement, allowing for traversal around obstacles and a unique form of flight near stable structures – a clever adaptation to the game's destructible environments. The character even features custom abilities: "Havoc Claw" for melee attacks and "Wrecking Grip" for ranged combat. The Reddit post has garnered significant attention, exceeding 16,000 upvotes.
WickedCube, an indie game developer, explained his inspiration: Doc Ock's unique tentacle-based abilities presented a significant development challenge, one he felt compelled to tackle. The recent PlayStation Network outage provided the unexpected impetus, prompting him to create the character while unable to play Marvel Rivals. He was inspired by Doc Ock fan art he saw on Twitter.
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The overwhelmingly positive response has been incredibly rewarding for WickedCube, who hopes NetEase might consider incorporating some of his ideas. While he doesn't plan to further polish the current design, he intends to release a playable version and share the development process through a YouTube tutorial series and open-source the code on GitHub.
NetEase is releasing the Human Torch and The Thing this Friday, following the recent addition of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. This rapid release schedule surpasses competitors, showcasing the game's potential. However, the vast Marvel universe continues to inspire fan creations like WickedCube's Doctor Octopus, with the creator already brainstorming concepts for Nightcrawler and Professor X.
Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update arrives tomorrow, February 21st, including the new characters, balance adjustments, and gameplay refinements.
