Marvel Rivals has made a huge success story and won the NYX Gold Award for Game Design – Brand Identity. The full creator team of this epic duel is having a blast and calling it the stuff of “creativity, passion, and hard work” that keeps the game alive. As far as the developers go, they are probably toasting with champagne, while players are already asking for more – heroes and even some little gameplay changes.
This major news was communicated via Marvel Rivals‘ official Twitter account, where the golden award was displayed and thanks were given to the players for their “unstoppable spirit.” The developers went on to explain how the game being staged is via the power of the iconic heroes and the storytelling that unites all these Marvel characters. It does sound fabulous, doesn’t it? However, if you take a look at the comments, you will see a completely different picture being drawn, one where the gamers’ feelings are pretty mixed – on the one hand, they are ok with the reward and on the other, they expect something new.
What players are really asking for? This is exactly what we need to do – checking the comments, because they are more interesting than the award itself. The user Grey Angel has no problem demanding “Add Elektra” and even posting an image of the character along with a simple request, while RhoyStrife seems to be on some sort of a campaign – “Post 105: Keep adding ‘Put Deadpool’ until you finally add Deadpool.” It’s like this guy is keeping track of how many times he has posted this request, so he must be really committed!
Besides that, they are also pointing out the gameplay issues. The user cookies is not happy with the current balance at all, so he is tweeting “And yet you do nothing to help healers deal with divers.” Ouch. On the other hand, many players are asking for “strategists” to be included, which seems to be a widespread problem. Zeeshan quite simply requests “give us more strategists please” and DuckieUwU sarcastically states “I voted for y’all now gimme more strategists.” Sounds like the lack of strategists is really an issue.
Switching the engine is also being discussed. The user lil.yapping.car makes the request very direct and simple – “Please change the engine” with a heart-hands emoji following. I would say that’s quite a gentle criticism? Thereafter, we have the odd requests – one player wants Brazilian dubbing and a Nintendo Switch 2 version, another one claims a free Luna skin, and Moon is after a 3d rendering spray for the game. There is only creativity in the community and their request is quite diverse.
It is not only negativity that the situation brings about! A considerable number of gamers, to be honest, reveal their true hearts and celebrate the award. Remi just comments “Well deserved!” along with clapping emojis, William Landa celebrates the “almost one year anniversary” of the game, and ThaBamboo dedicates “Congrats! You guys made a great game, can’t wait to see the future” using gaming emojis. So, we could say that love is definitely intermingled with all the demands.
The interesting thing about this is the way it goes – A game receives an award, developers party but The community rapidly changes its demands for next. It is like you get a B in a test and your folks straight away ask why it was not an A. The threshold keeps being raised, yet that is how gaming communities are – never happy and always expectant of more.
The NYX Awards are very much appreciated in the gaming industry and they are primarily about digital marketing and creative excellence. Winning gold in brand identity means that Marvel Rivals was able to display their visual style, character design, and overall Marvel atmosphere. They should be feeling very proud! Creating a cohesive brand in the already oversaturated superhero game market is a really difficult task, especially considering the giant company’s huge expectations.
However, a live-service game like Marvel Rivals does not actually finish its work because of that. You can bag all the awards possible, but if your audience thinks that the game is due for some balancing updates or that the character roster is too limited, they will not keep their opinion to themselves. And those who are voicing their opinion are the ones who will respond the quickest.
Developers’ acceptance of community “feedback” in their original tweet suggests that they at least somewhat pay attention. At the very least they acknowledge that players are not going to be silent about what they want. The question is whether we will actually get Elektra, Deadpool or better healer protection against divers after all. However, the conversation is alive, and in today’s gaming world, that developer-player communication is absolutely vital.
Marvel Rivals is constantly fine-tuning its image while being considerate of the players’ expectations – now that’s a really tricky balancing act. The NYX Gold Award is undoubtedly a major milestone, and thus, it should be celebrated. However, the real challenge will be how the game unfolds with the players’ demands. For the meantime, the rivals keep on rivaling, and the community keeps… well, community-ing. With a lot of opinions. So many opinions.
In the end, it is really nice that a game has been awarded for its design and at the same time has a vibrant, engaged player base that cares enough to give its feedback. Even if this feedback is sometimes given with a dash of sass and demands for particular characters. It is just that modern gaming communities are like that – supportive and demanding at the same time.
