If you’re a woman and a gamer, it’s extremely common to run across other gamers that, through some moral failing or lack of guidance, will lob gendered insults at you for no reason other than existing. You don’t have to search for long to find evidence of this constant harassment either – Twitch streamer Spawntaneous has an eight-part series dedicated solely to how men treat her in multiplayer games that is distressing to watch. This is common among any and all multiplayer games, to the point many women may decide to ‘play incognito’ instead. After all, GamerGate sent a clear message to women in games: “You’re not welcome here.”
Since then, companies made efforts to clean up the toxic communities plaguing their online titles. The results vary, but unfortunately, it’s still all too common for women to be harassed online. However, Respawn’s battle royale Apex Legends offers some real options in communication that can make the experience wonderful for women – namely, the game’s robust pinging system.
Most games contain some sort of rudimentary way of communicating with your teammates online. Unfortunately, most of these options are either lacking or are too cumbersome to use. This makes a microphone essential for communicating with other players, particularly if you who want to win. But Apex Legends’ context-sensitive pinging system is easy to use and helps alleviate these frustrations.
