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Doomfist

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Doomfist
Overwatch character
First gameOverwatch (2017 update)
Designed byArnold Tsang[1]
David Gibson (animation)[2]
Voiced bySahr Ngaujah
In-universe information
Full nameAkande Ogundimu
NationalityNigerian

Doomfist, full name Akande Ogundimu, is a character who first appears in the 2016 video game Overwatch, a Blizzard Entertainment–developed first-person shooter. His design is based on a powerful, cybernetic gauntlet. As an offensive, brawler-style character, he uses close-range attacks: a charged punch and slam. Doomfist was released in late July 2017 as the title's 25th hero of the franchise, and the fourth introduced after the game's launch.

Overwatch's announcement video, in 2014, contained a stray reference to a gauntlet. Following its obsessive popularity with fans, the developer, Blizzard Entertainment, expanded the gauntlet into a full-fledged, playable character. This period included a series of teasers from the developer and a campaign by actor Terry Crews to voice the character. Doomfist was ultimately voiced by Sahr Ngaujah. In Doomfist's fictional backstory, the playable character became the third generation to wield the gauntlet, and is presented as a villain after killing his predecessor and becoming a leader of Talon, the game's nemesis group. A digital comic accompanied the character's release.

Fans were excited by the character's reveal, and professional players praised the balance of his move set. Other critics considered Doomfist too vulnerable to be viable, and insufficiently exciting to rekindle the interest of old players.

Description

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Doomfist is a tank character built as a brawler, with close-range, mostly melee attacks from his cybernetic gauntlet. For example, his Rocket Punch is a charged attack that launches Doomfist in the direction of the player's aim. It does extra damage if it pummels the enemy into a wall.[3] It is useful for finishing enemies in retreat as well as pushing enemies off edges.[4] The Seismic Slam performs a smashing dive to return to the ground. His only non-melee attack is the short-range Hand Cannon, which shoots a shotgun burst of projectiles from the gauntlet's knuckles.[3] Its four shots of ammunition regenerate passively.[3][4] Doomfist's passive ability gives him extra shields when he deals damage with his abilities. His "ultimate ability", Meteor Strike, launches Doomfist into the air to drop down on a targeted area,[3] and complements other ultimate abilities that pull enemies together.[5][6]

These moves are designed to be used in flurry combinations. For instance, the player can Seismic Slam an opponent, which pulls in enemies, and progress into a Rising Uppercut, which tosses the opponent into the air. During that toss, the player can charge the Rocket Punch and release as the opponent returns to the ground. Alternatively, the player can launch into the air, pick an opponent to slam, and punch them at close range. The character is built for aggressive playstyles and advanced players.[4]

Among his advantages, his move combinations contribute to his high mobility, compared to other Overwatch playable characters. Doomfist can easily reach and neutralize enemies occupying high ground, such as snipers. He is most effective against low-mobility opponents, but susceptible to high-mobility opponents, such as Pharah, Soldier: 76, and Sombra. Among his disadvantages, Doomfist is dependent on his abilities to escape groups of enemies, leaving the player helpless when his abilities are unavailable (on cooldown or hacked by Sombra). Doomfist's large "hitbox", or area for taking damage, disadvantages him to characters such as Reaper, Roadhog, and Ana's sleep dart.[4]

In professional games, he works best when flanking the enemy team and isolating single opponents out of position. At his release, he was expected to fit well in the "dive" team compositions popular in professional play, in which aggressive characters such as Genji and Winston harass the enemy at close range. He was also expected to counterbalance diving enemies by pulling them in, uppercutting them into the air, and removing them from the fight. Doomfist was anticipated to perform well on most levels/maps, especially in those with close quarters.[4] Stationary barrier characters (such as Reinhardt and Orisa), though popular in professional team compositions, cannot protect Doomfist, who instead benefits more from Zarya's barrier bubble ability.[5]

Some of the character's costume customization options ("skins") relate to his fictional cultural heritage, such as the orisha gods of the Yoruba religion and the African ceremonial mask tradition.[7][8] Doomfist's other aesthetic customization options allude to the boxer Muhammad Ali, the combo sequences of fighting video games, and other pop culture references.[9][10]

In March 2022, Blizzard confirmed that Doomfist's role will be changed to a tank in Overwatch 2.[11] Doomfist's Uppercut was eliminated, replaced by a Power Block ability that will let him absorb frontal damage for a short time. His other offensive abilities are weakened to a degree but he was given more health to reflect his tank status. Blizzard explained that rather than having to heavily refine Doomfist's offensive capabilities which had become overpowered, transitioning him to a tank still made him a threatening force that could break up defensive groups.[12]

Development

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External videos
video icon The 2014 cinematic, in which the game was first announced and Doomfist's gauntlet first appeared
video icon Doomfist character preview with developer commentary

Doomfist was a stray reference in Overwatch's original animated short whose obsessive popularity with fans led the development team to expand his lore with in-game references in the game's Numbani map.[13][14] In the cinematic video used to announce the game in 2014, a boy is excited to see Doomfist's gauntlet on display behind glass at the Overwatch museum.[15] Doomfist's gauntlet was a plot device, and the developers had not planned to create a character to wield it. Overwatch Creative Director Chris Metzen played with compound nouns to give the gauntlet a name reminiscent of a shotgun. The developers expanded the gauntlet into a Doomfist character in bits. In particular, they decided to use the gauntlet as the centerpiece for the game's Numbani environment, in which the gauntlet is encased in the map's objective, the payload, to be delivered to a Doomfist exhibit at a museum. By late 2015, the team decided Doomfist would be a generational hero, like that of superhero universes, were he to be a full-fledged playable character,[16] the fourth additional character to be added to game,[17] and 25th on the roster.[18]

In designing the character, Blizzard's Geoff Goodman said they crafted Doomfist as an "ode to the fighting genre", both in his skill kit and in concept art.[19] Though Blizzard tried to keep all of his attacks as melee, they found, as they had with Genji, that Doomfist needed some type of ranged attack to make him playable; an early attack had been a phantom punch that would have been launched from his fist.[20] Doomfist had also be considered as a Tank class, but Blizzard did not want to make the mistake again of having a high-health character with powerful attacks as they had initially with Roadhog at the game's introduction.[20] At one point during development, Doomfist would have been able to pick up enemies and use them as human shields or to throw them, but Blizzard dropped this as he was not supposed to be a wrestler or luchador, according to Goodman.[20] They also dropped an ability for him to grab pieces of the ground and throw them.[20] His ultimate ability was originally designed for Orisa, the character introduced prior to Doomfist.[20]

Doomfist voice actor Sahr Ngaujah, pictured in 2012

Actor and former American football player Terry Crews generated support on social media in his bid to voice the character, which included a mock audition, a visit to the developer's headquarters, an endorsement from fellow actor Dwayne Johnson, and a fan campaign.[21][22][23] The character was ultimately voiced by Sahr Ngaujah, who previously appeared in Money Monster and Stomp the Yard.[24] The accent used for Doomfist has been described as West African.[25] Blizzard's Michael Chu explained that when they were casting for Doomfist specifically looking for "something very specific given his role in the game", Ngaujah's audition significantly impressed them, along with his ability to deliver many different "flavors" that they needed for the character.[19] Crews ultimately felt that Ngaujah was a better fit for Doomfist, and was pleased to have been included, instead, in Microsoft's Crackdown 3.[26] Chu did not rule out using Crews elsewhere within Overwatch.[19]

In the lead-up to Blizzard's official announcement of the playable character, the developers teased his release by modifying the Doomfist gauntlet in Numbani to appear to be stolen from its glass case.[27][22] Blizzard finally confirmed the Doomfist's development with a teaser trailer in early July 2017, a week after news of the release leaked through the game's crash logs.[13] The reveal cinematic was drawn in an anime-style by Wolf Smoke Studio, based in Shanghai, who had previously expressed and rallied interest in developing an anime in the game's fictional universe.[28] Blizzard also sent an official Doomfist cosplayer to San Diego Comic-Con and Overwatch World Cup Sydney qualifier.[29][30] Soon after the reveal, Doomfist became playable on the game's test servers,[24] where some of the character's powers were rebalanced to reduce punch distance and vertical mobility.[31] The character was released for all platforms on July 27, 2017.[32]

Lore

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External videos
video icon Doomfist origin story, an official, animated short

Doomfist is presented as a "generational" character who, like the Green Lantern or the Flash, has passed through two generational eras in which he was known to the fictional world as "The Savior" and "The Scourge".[14] The playable Doomfist is the character's third incarnation, labeled "The Successor" as the third person to be called "Doomfist".[33]

Doomfist is one of the villains of the Overwatch fictional universe.[33] In the backstory of the third Doomfist, Akande Ogundimu is presented as the villainous heir to a prosthetics company in Nigeria who splits his time between expanding the company and martial arts training. During the game's "Omnic War" between humans and rogue Omnic robots, Ogundimu lost his right arm. His prosthetic replacement impressed the second Doomfist (Akinjide Adeyemi), who then trained Ogundimu as his successor, but the student later killed his teacher to claim the gauntlet for himself. Ogundimu became a leader of the Talon group, the nemesis organization to Overwatch, and advocates for his belief that forces of conflict will strengthen humanity. At some point prior to the game's present, Overwatch's Winston, a playable character from the game, defeats Doomfist and puts the titular gauntlet behind glass in the Overwatch museum, as referenced in the original Overwatch announcement video.[15] Blizzard's first teaser for Doomfist's release shows a fictional news report about Talon freeing Doomfist from prison to steal the gauntlet.[24][18] Blizzard had modified the Numbani level during its release of Orisa, the previous playable character released for the game, to imply that Doomfist had attacked the city and stolen the gauntlet; notably, the payload casing had been broken open and the gauntlet missing.[34]

A digital comic accompanied the playable character's release, featuring Doomfist in a James Bond-esque casino setting. Masquerade establishes the character's motivations and competition following his release from prison.[35][36]

Reception

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Upon Doomfist's official announcement, Kotaku reported the fan reaction as "beyond excited".[37] Fan anticipation for the character rivaled that for Sombra, a character released the previous year[33] with a prolonged reveal period.[38] Players had hoped for the release of Doomfist each time Blizzard had revealed an additional character for the game.[37] Fans who had lobbied for Terry Crews to play Doomfist's voice were disappointed to discover his absence, but Sahr Ngaujah's performance was praised at the time of Doomfist's formal unveiling,[21] and fans received the character positively anyway.[37] Doomfist also fulfilled Overwatch's sore lack of a supervillain, according to IGN, in a cast of other morally ambiguous but tragic and redeemable characters. The critic anticipated Doomfist as the start of Blizzard making Talon into a villainous organization à la Legion of Doom (Justice League) or Masters of Evil (Avengers).[33]

Writing for Hardcore Gamer, Spencer Rutledge opined that "having [Doomfist] representing his African heritage in the best of ways, Overwatch is making sure to stay at the forefront of representation."[39]

References

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  1. ^ Burns, Matt (December 2021). The Art of Overwatch, Volume 2. Titan Books Limited. pp. 14–15. ISBN 9781950366668.
  2. ^ David, Gibson [@Poodletime] (May 26, 2018). "When I'm animating a character I create a sheet of inspiration/reference. These guide me & keep me focused on the character I'm animating. I go into more detail about this w/Mei in my 2016 GDC talk: http://goo.gl/esjuOG These are the inspiration sheets I used for Doomfist" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 27, 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c d Gilliam, Ryan (July 6, 2017). "Doomfist's newly announced kit gives Overwatch a big brawler". Heroes Never Die. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017. Also see Moore, Bo (July 7, 2017). "Doomfist abilities list: here's everything Overwatch's new melee hero can do". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e Horti, Sam (July 13, 2017). "Overwatch pros analyze Doomfist's strengths, weaknesses, and combos". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c D'Anastasio, Cecilia (July 7, 2017). "Some Early Thoughts On Overwatch's Doomfist: Fun, Fresh, Flawed". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Examples of characters with ultimate abilities that pull enemies together (also known as "crowd-control" ultimates) include Zarya, Mei, and Reinhardt.[5]
  7. ^ Frank, Allegra (July 13, 2017). "Overwatch is embracing Doomfist's Nigerian origins in the coolest way". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  8. ^ Kim, Matt (July 13, 2017). "Doomfist's First Legendary Skins are Live on the Overwatch PTR". USgamer. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  9. ^ Frank, Allegra (July 13, 2017). "Doomfist's sprays make 'the greatest' references". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  10. ^ Marshall, Cass (July 13, 2017). "The highlights of Doomfist's POTG intros, sprays, and other PTR goodies". Heroes Never Die. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  11. ^ Park, Morgan (March 18, 2022). "Doomfist is a tank in Overwatch 2, Blizzard confirms". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  12. ^ Marshall, Cass (April 20, 2022). "Overwatch 2 massively reworks Orisa and Doomfist (who's a tank now)". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Skrebels, Joe (July 5, 2017). "Overwatch Officially Teases Long-Rumored Character, Doomfist". IGN. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Skrebels, Joe (February 6, 2017). "Terry Crews Performs Mock Audition For Overwatch's Doomfist". IGN. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  15. ^ a b Gilliam, Ryan (June 6, 2017). "Will we ever meet Doomfist in Overwatch?". Heroes Never Die. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  16. ^ Marks, Tom (December 10, 2015). "How Blizzard is making up Overwatch's story as it goes". PC Gamer. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  17. ^ Lumb, David (July 6, 2017). "Overwatch debuts its fourth new hero: Doomfist". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  18. ^ a b Frank, Allegra (July 6, 2017). "Overwatchs new hero is Doomfist – and you can check him out next week (update)". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  19. ^ a b c Haywald, Justin (July 23, 2017). "Overwatch Devs Explain Why Terry Crews Isn't Doomfist's Voice (And Other Inside Stories)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  20. ^ a b c d e Pereira, Chris (July 21, 2017). "Overwatch's Doomfist Used To Pick Up And Throw Other Players". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  21. ^ a b Frank, Allegra (July 6, 2017). "Terry Crews is not Doomfist, breaking Overwatch fans hearts". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  22. ^ a b Grayson, Nathan (February 8, 2017). "Why Overwatch Players Are Excited About a Character Named 'Doomfist'". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  23. ^ Delahunty-Light, Zoe (January 5, 2017). "Terry Crews wants to voice Overwatch's Doomfist and Twitter has said YES, PLEASE GOD YES". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  24. ^ a b c Dornbush, Jonathon (July 6, 2017). "Overwatch: Doomfist Now Available as Playable Character in PTR". IGN. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  25. ^ Starkey, Brando Simeo (March 19, 2019). "With Baptiste, 'Overwatch' gets black male representation right". Andscape. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  26. ^ Donnelly, Joe (July 18, 2017). "'People were upset but I'm notI think there will be something coming,' says Terry Crews on Doomfist and Blizzard". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  27. ^ Skrebels, Joe (February 8, 2017). "More Evidence of New Hero Doomfist Emerges in Latest Overwatch Update". IGN. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  28. ^ Frank, Allegra (July 6, 2017). "You have this studio to thank for Overwatchs best origin video ever". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  29. ^ Good, Owen S. (July 22, 2017). "Blizzard's official Doomfist cosplay shows up at Comic-Con". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  30. ^ Plunkett, Luke (July 20, 2017). "Blizzard's Official Doomfist Cosplay Is Incredible". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  31. ^ Marshall, Cass (July 17, 2017). "Doomfist nerfed, Zarya and Reinhardt buffed on PTR". Heroes Never Die. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  32. ^ Pereira, Chris. "Overwatch Doomfist Update Now Available; Here Are The Patch Notes". GameSpot. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  33. ^ a b c d Carter, Justin (July 7, 2017). "Doomfist Is Overwatch's First Real Villain and That's a Good Thing". IGN. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  34. ^ McWhertor, Michael (February 24, 2017). "Overwatchs latest update points to one thing: Doomfist". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  35. ^ Marshall, Cass (July 19, 2017). "Doomfist's new comic, Masquerade, gives Talon a ton of spotlight". Heroes Never Die. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  36. ^ Marshall, Cass (July 19, 2017). "Ranking the incredible costumes in Overwatch's Masquerade comic". Heroes Never Die. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  37. ^ a b c Jackson, Gita (July 6, 2017). "The Internet Reacts to Doomfist, Overwatch's New Character". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  38. ^ Chalk, Andy (July 6, 2017). "Doomfist, the legendary Overwatch bad guy, is now live on the PTR". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  39. ^ Rutledge, Spencer (July 7, 2017). "Doomfist Might Be the Most 'Overwatch' Character Yet". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
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