Marvel Rivals Player Designs Impressive Doctor Octopus Concept

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 30-second gameplay video showcasing a fan-made Doctor Octopus character.

The video, initially appearing to depict a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner in a testing environment, reveals a surprisingly polished, playable Doc Ock. The eight-armed villain, recognizable to Marvel fans, demonstrates impressive movement utilizing his tentacles for traversal, essentially allowing flight near stable structures – a clever adaptation for a game with destructible environments. His abilities, "Havoc Claw" (melee) and "Wrecking Grip" (ranged), are clearly defined. The post, boasting over 16,000 upvotes, is a testament to the single creator's skill and vision.

WickedCube explained his inspiration, citing Doc Ock's iconic status and the unique challenge of implementing his tentacle-based abilities in a 3D game. A former employee of Keen Software House (Space Engineers), he's currently seeking contract work and prototyping game mechanics. The project's genesis, however, was surprisingly mundane: a PSN outage. While browsing Twitter during the downtime, he encountered compelling Doc Ock fan art, sparking the idea to create his own version.

The overwhelmingly positive response has been incredibly rewarding for WickedCube, who hopes NetEase might incorporate some of his ideas should Doc Ock be officially added. While not planning 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 code on GitHub and Itch.io.

This Friday, NetEase will release the Human Torch and The Thing, continuing its impressive post-launch momentum. This follows the recent addition of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, exceeding the pace of competitors. However, the vast potential of Marvel's universe continues to inspire fan creations like WickedCube's Doc Ock, and he's already brainstorming concepts for Nightcrawler and Professor X. He praises the game's design, highlighting the difficulty in creating a truly fun and engaging experience.

Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update arrives tomorrow, February 21st, including the new characters, balance adjustments, and gameplay refinements. Despite the recent layoffs affecting NetEase's Seattle team, the studio remains focused on its ambitious roadmap and continues to dismiss rumors of planned hero leaks.