The idea of any team-based game is to work together to achieve an objective. Some video games place much more emphasis on working together than others. Games such as GTFO, Hell Let Loose, and Squad are a few examples where it is almost imperative that you work together. Where your chances of success greatly depreciate if you don’t.
However, games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield don’t require quite as much coordination. These games allow more freedom when it comes to working together. If you go off on your own, you might still die and put your team in a worse position. But you could just as easily make a great play. Or go on a killstreak giving your team the edge. Obviously, in these examples, you can still succeed one way or the other. It’s just that they’re designed to lean towards one particular way rather than the other.
An argument can be made that the more teamwork required in your game, the better the forms of communication need to be. That’s why games like Hell Let Loose and Squad have various chat channels with squad and commander channels allowing the team to coordinate attacks or defenses.
Ping it
Ping systems have evolved a lot in loads of games to allow for better comms for scenarios where people don’t want to be in chat channels but the game still needs a level of comms to help you succeed. Being able to mark locations on a map or real-time ping and select different options for that ping such as “let’s go here”, or “enemy spotted here”. It might not sound like much to some people. However, you immediately provide live information to an ever-changing picture in front of your without having to say anything.
Furthermore, you have a lot of games that make use of communication wheels. Overwatch 2 for example has a comms wheel where you press a button and various types of interactions pop up for your character to call out. “Group up” and “I need healing” being two of the more popular ones. They’re quick and simple forms of communication that easily convey a message.
Ultimate Power
Then there is another area that some games have I think provides a loud and clear level of communication. The Ultimate ability.
Over the years, many games have introduced ultimate abilities. Overwatch, Destiny 2, and Valorant are a few that spring to mind. The former two I’ve both played in abundance. I’m sure there are others too. To me that ultimate ability is
clear comms that something is about to happen and it could be the moment that a fight shifts significantly. I’m sure many of you have been in situations where you’re attacking an objective in Overwatch. You can’t make the breakthrough, poking damage at shields or foes only for them to quickly duck for cover and heal up. But then as the clock ticks down you hear a voice line that could change the course of the game. Whether it be Overwatch’s Reinhardt shouting his iconic “Hammer down” line or Ramattras menacing “Suffer as I have” you know something is happening. It’s a clear communication to do something. Whether that means you push as an attacker, or counter with your own ultimate or other abilities. You need to act.
Whilst Destiny 2 doesn’t have voice lines there are still clear indications when someone pops their ultimate. The swooshing sound of a flaming sword being unleashed indicates the Warlock is ready to rain fiery blades down on you. Or a sound similar to an anvil being struck tells you the Titan is now wielding a flaming hammer and wants to lob it in your direction.
It’s a simple and clear message that wants you to take action. Follow behind that person and mop up anything they leave behind. Maybe it’s a cue to combine another ult with your own to turn the tide of a fight. It creates an opening allowing you the opportunity to take control of a game. Sure it doesn’t always work out and sometimes if you’re the instigator – especially in a game like Overwatch, you might use your ult only to find no one else on your team acted on it. That being said, most people should realise it’s their cue to go.
Lack of Comms
It was only when I was playing the recent Concord beta playtest that I noticed how this impacted the flow of a game. Or rather how the lack of ultimate abilities had an effect. In the Rivalry mode, there is an elimination game type where you must either eliminate all opposing players or capture a central point to win a round. But I was finding that given the lack of cues from characters using their abilities, no one was acting on anything happening.
Even when I played as the tanky character with the shield no one would push, or group up with me. Too often rounds were lost as no contest was put on the point. There is a lack of meaningful in-game comm systems with only a basic ping available so unless people are talking – which I didn’t hear a single peep from anyone all weekend, you can’t effectively communicate what you’re doing.
It’s funny how I’ve not really considered the impact of hearing those sound cues from Ultimate until they weren’t there in a game where I was probably expecting there to be something. And I think it’s one of the reasons the game didn’t quite click with me. I enjoyed it for sure. But just felt like there was something missing. An identity that wasn’t truly there just yet. I have a feeling that part of that is because the game lacks proper communication at the moment. Whether that be good contextual pings. Or recognisable voice lines where you know what they mean. Everything felt very singular. Like it was only for my character to know what I was doing. It was all a little juxtaposed to what Concord is trying to be – which is a team-based competitive shooter.
-Will
