Dr Disrespect Breaks His Silence On Warzone's Character Clone
"Call of Duty" has gotten in trouble in the past for its suspiciously familiar Operator designs. One of its recent character clones mirrored fan art a bit too closely, depicting an anthropomorphic Samoyed operator. Another allegedly ripped off a copyrighted character, which could've turned into a big problem for Activision. Now, fans have speculated that "Warzone" is copying an even more obvious source. Instead of modeling operators off of fan art or obscure characters, it seems that the developers behind "Call of Duty" have taken a page from Dr Disrespect's book, adopting his style for a recent skin. Finally, the Doc has spoken out on the design, letting the world know what he really thinks about seemingly being copied by "Warzone" devs.
Some fans thought that "Call of Duty" might be ripping off Dr Disrespect's "Deadrop" designs for its new "Doomsayer" operator skin as soon as they saw the proposed design. After all, both characters are skull-faced individuals wearing dark hoods. More striking are the similarities between the skulls themselves. Both appear to be holographic, with a digital layer that hints at something cybernetic. To add an extra bit of strangeness to the incident, the designs from "Deadrop" are NFTs assigned to specific individuals playtesting the game in its early stages. Many fans felt that the "Doomsayer" skin looked an awful lot like the NFT assigned to Midnight Society cofounder Robert Bowling. Finally, all of the drama reached the Doc himself, and he had to speak out on the incident.
The Doc speaks out
At the time, Bowling commented on the similar designs, tweeting, "At least name it after me." While Bowling addressed the similar skins head on, Dr Disrespect remained mum until an Aug. 29 livestream. While playing "Warzone" with buddy TimTheTatman, the Doc took a moment to talk about the rumors. At first, it seemed like Dr Disrespect was talking about the specific match he was playing, commenting that he was tired of "Warzone."
Then, things became more specific. "Look how ugly-looking this game is. They stole the fiction for one of our concept arts, just like they stole the fiction of one of our characters ... bunch of slimy guys over here," he said, frowning. "I don't like 'em." The Doc then shook his head vigorously and leaned back in his chair, clarifying once and for all what he thought about the incident.
Interestingly enough, Dr Disrespect (under his real name, Guy Beahm) used to work at Sledgehammer Games as a level design artist, working on the very games that now are allegedly stealing his ideas. Whatever goodwill once existed between Dr Disrespect and the minds behind "Call of Duty" seems to have disappeared since he left Sledgehammer Games in 2015. Since then, the Doc has built his brand on being a curmudgeonly tough guy, so it's impossible to know how much of his reaction to the art is genuine disgust and how much is part of his online persona. Regardless, fans had plenty to say about the incident, taking to the internet to share their thoughts on the allegedly stolen art, the Doc's reaction, and how the entire situation was handled.
Fans have mixed reactions
Gamers had a variety of reactions to Dr Disrespect's rant. Some simply said that developers steal ideas constantly, so news that "Call of Duty" devs seemingly appropriated the Doc's design shouldn't be surprising. Others commented that the allegedly stolen design is ordinary, standard fare for FPS games like "Halo" and "Call of Duty."
Others thought that Dr Disrespect "always seems miserable" and that his rants are just a way for him to seek out attention. One viewer joked that by calling the "Call of Duty" skin ugly, the Doc was calling his own art lackluster by comparison – since both skins look so similar.
Regardless of what Activision has or hasn't copied from "Deadrop," Dr Disrespect's game is still continuing development as fans look on. Midnight Society has continued to share sneak peeks at the upcoming game, including a view of one of its maps. Of course, some fans are throwing shade at the "Deadrop" previews, criticizing the first Snapshot release for its poor graphics and limited look at what's to come. Still, Dr Disrespect has teased some interesting aspects of the game, like a ranked mode – though he said he wasn't sure the game would ultimately include that kind of official competitive mode.
For right now, fans don't have a clear image of when "Deadrop" will release, but those lucky enough to snag a Midnight Society Founders' Pass will continue to receive updated Snapshots of the game, allowing them to provide feedback and help shape the development process. It seems that in the meantime the Doc is focused on making "Deadrop" the best it can be, despite his feelings about "Call of Duty" devs.