NetEase Games' commitment to releasing a new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season hasn't stifled creativity within the player base. A Reddit user, WickedCube, recently captivated the r/MarvelRivals community with a compelling 30-second gameplay video showcasing a fan-made Doctor Octopus.
The video, initially appearing to depict a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner in a testing environment, reveals a surprisingly polished, playable Doctor Octopus. This eight-armed iteration of the Spider-Man villain demonstrates well-conceived mechanics, including the ability to use his tentacles to magnetize himself to structures, effectively allowing for a form of flight within the game's destructible environments. The character even boasts unique abilities: Havoc Claw (melee) and Wrecking Grip (ranged). The post garnered over 16,000 upvotes.
WickedCube, an independent game developer, explained his inspiration: Doc Ock's unique tentacle abilities presented a significant development challenge, one he felt hadn't been fully realized in a 3D playable character before. The project's genesis, however, stemmed from a recent PSN outage. While browsing Twitter, he encountered captivating Doctor Octopus fan art, sparking the idea to create his own version.
The overwhelmingly positive community response has been incredibly rewarding for WickedCube, who hopes NetEase might incorporate some of his design elements should Doc Ock be officially added to the game. While he doesn't plan to further refine 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 launching two official characters this Friday: Human Torch and The Thing, following the recent addition of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman. This rapid release schedule surpasses competitors, yet the vast potential of Marvel's universe continues to inspire fan creations. WickedCube's success highlights this potential, with his project born from the community's desire for more Vanguard-type characters. He's already brainstorming additional heroes, including Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier.
Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update arrives tomorrow, February 21st, featuring the new characters, balance adjustments, and gameplay refinements. This launch follows recent layoffs at NetEase's Seattle branch and ongoing speculation about potential hero leaks, which the studio has addressed.
