Social Effects

There is a lot to like about the ping system. It reduces the amount of ambiguous communication between players. The system is more clear than the language players would use to describe these directions, events and items. This creates an efficient system of communication and also trains people what to pay attention to and say in general.

The system is seemingly more advantageous for matched groups so they don’t need to feel as much pressure to communicate over voice. At this, it succeeds, but it does come with one noticeable disadvantage. In some ways this system dehumanizes the communication of squads.

For example, playing with randomly matched squads in Fortnite is a very social experience. People discuss the game events, but sometimes they also just chat or have fun. It’s a less focused experience because of this, but it is generally pleasant and sometimes amusing. Teams tend to feel like they have gone through something together by the end of the match because they get to know each other’s personalities in the process.

In my experience playing Apex Legends, people talk over voice considerably less. When they do speak, they are often doing so out of frustration. Either there is something the UI system wouldn’t say or there is something critical happening and communicating over voice seems faster. People tend to be curt and it is intimidating for players because you don’t end up naturally building the rapport you would under more casual circumstances.

Apex Legends is a competitive game, and for that it will naturally bring about some aggressive communication styles. I can’t help but wonder if the in-game communication system ends up amplifying those behaviors while it also attempts to solve for them.

Your squad-mates armor becomes visible from the inventory view

Team Health

In Apex Legends, I commonly find myself saying, ‘Hey, we need to find you some better armor’ to a squad-mate. This is in strict opposition to other games where I am often saying things similar to, ‘I need to find some health, I’m low, does anyone have any health?’

The UI indicator for squad-mates health and shield reveals more than other games in the genre. You can easily see how much shield and health each squad-mate has, but you can also determine the quality of their armor from the indicator. When you open the inventory menu, you can explicitly see what armor they have equipped.

The team UI shows when players are actively healing or shooting

Another nice feature in the team UI is that it shows you who is firing or healing. If you hear a gunshot close by, you can see an explosion from the side of the player card if your squad-mate is the person who fired the shot.

Game Narration

The game has an enormous variety of global audio cues. In addition to the sound effects that delineate major changes such as the ring closing, there is a global announcer voice which offers ongoing information about the game. It brings your attention to moments when a new squad takes the lead, when first blood is drawn, or when a new round begins.

Your squad’s characters also provide unique narration to game events. Some of the common phrases I’ve heard are:

‘The ring is not close, we have a way to go’

‘Defeated the whole squad’

‘I’m taking fire’

‘Shooting back’

‘Reloading’

‘We are spread out’

‘The ring is closing in 1 minute’

‘I’ve been downed’

‘Landing in this area yields us a high probability of high tier loot’

These voice-overs offer convenience and additional information to improve game play. There is a great comfort in ambient alerts that let you know if you are in the circle or far from it without having to open your map. Knowing that the team has suddenly spread out too far is great feedback. It feels like the characters are taking care of each other and also teaching people how to play the game better.

These cues can result in direct communication or action from the team as a response. I feel I’m less often caught outside of the circle in general in this game compared to others in the genre mainly because the game gives you plenty of information to know where your currently stand. For example, hearing a verbal cue when you defeat a full squad gives you a bit of comfort that you can begin looting.