Apex Legends: Narrative-Driven Diversity
One of the things that most notably sets Apex Legends apart from other Battle Royale games is that its character roster boasts a cast of incredibly diverse legends, each of which comes with a unique and colorful personality. At the core of this quirky group of death-dealers is a framework of intentional diversity, covering a broad spectrum of ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation. While this framework uses voice acting, character design and gameplay to help set each legend apart, its foundation is built on something far more important: storytelling.
Rich and complex characters are not born from entertaining gameplay, but from engaging stories. In order for a player to connect with their on-screen avatar, that character needs to be interesting and fleshed-out enough that is something to connect to. It is not enough to simply say “we’ve added a character from Southeast Asia.”
Instead, consider the idea of a tech-savvy young man, constantly forced to hack his way out of trouble as a corrupt syndicate seeks to bury him, along with the truth of his sister’s sudden disappearance. Add on top of that a series of voice lines that seamlessly weave Korean and English phrases together, and you get Crypto, a rich personality which all gamers can connect with, but which also celebrates the representation of a marginalized group of players.
Through this approach, Respawn has demonstrated that when it comes to selecting which legend to play, character depth can rival, and even exceed, playability. Statistically, some characters (like Octane, Crypto and Revenant as prime examples) have significantly lower win rates than pick rates, meaning that players are favoring legends which they enjoy, rather than legends who will help them win. While this can be attributed to character abilities that are fun to use, it is arguably being driven more by the unity between a character’s playstyle and their personality.
One area of inclusion that I would love to see Respawn explore in future seasons would be the addition of a character with a disability. What this also means is creating a set of abilities that work for/with that disability, rather than trying to compensate for it. For example, giving prosthetic legs to a character with a mobility disability is far less meaningful than giving them a move set which revolves around a self-engineered wheelchair.
Admittedly, this would be vastly more complicated than the previous personalities that have thrown themselves into the games, but that’s not to say it isn’t doable. As someone with severe ADHD, being able to play as a character who’s dialogue and abilities share aspects of my experience would be an incredibly humbling and rewarding experience, as I’m sure it would for the 5%+ of adults who are diagnosed with it (and no, simply saying “Horizon has ADHD because she sometimes fiddles her pen” doesn’t cut it).
A key way capture this in gameplay is to focus on one of the hallmark attributes of an ADHD mind, which is the uncanny ability to “wing-it.” The manifestation of the lifelong struggle of ADHDers who enter a situation unprepared, and leave having adapted and overcome is something that could absolutely find a place in the gameplay of Apex Legends. This could be as simple as things like an enhanced melee strike (for when you didn’t realize you were low on ammo) or a burst of healing (when you got distracted by something and forget to pop a syringe). Or it could be more complex, like an ultimate that rewards shooting at multiple enemies or which highlights specific items (both of which paly off the ADHD brain’s challenges with maintain a centralized focus and working memory). Plus, the plethora of opportunities for scatter-brained, hyperactive, or non-sequitur dialogue options also lends itself well to a character with unique (and probably hilarious) conversations.
In the end, it all comes back to storytelling. The tactical details of playstyle and abilities are less important than the story they are trying to tell. Ultimately the inclusion of a character with a disability may prove to be something that is too difficult or complex to balance properly within the existing game structure. However, if approached in a thoughtful and narrative-driven manner, it would also be an unprecedented way to continue the legacy of inclusion in a game that already offers players a chance to play as someone who looks, talks, and identifies as they do. It is another opportunity for Apex Legends to bring on-screen life to an often overlooked off-screen experience.
