Leadership

I mentioned once the importance of the torch to Pandora Tomorrow multiplayer. To the spy, watching the guard's mouse driven flashlight is an opportunity of voyeuristic intimacy - you are acquainted with the enemy's every wrist action. It's a means of detailed expression in communicative gameplay - multiplayer.

Battlefield 2 too, purely through design rules, channels meaningful communication for players.

I was commander of half a 64-player server, a position that I hesitated before taking on. Squads one and two were full, I assumed fully operational. Eager to prove my worth, I commanded my Alpha (unit one) to the nearest hostile point. The leader, one 'Snake_007' accepted the order immediately. I watched as the green blips of his crew drew together, ploughed out to the location through the flooded paddies, killed everyone and took the point in 30 seconds. He requested a supply drop - I obeyed. Chinese killer ants Alpha had proven themselves to be, I selected 'commend' from the response list: "You're the best damn squad I've ever set eyes on!" (Woah, not like that, why are these macros so enthusiastic?)

Bravo and Charlie (units two and three, full and almost full) were lacking attention, I decided. I sent them to some adjacent points along the front line, cunningly governing my lovely Alpha more intricately, planning a pincer around a critical junction at which they'd meet Bravo and Charlie. I ordered in radar and supplies for my men as they converged on the enemy base. Rag tag units five and six are summoned to defend a disputed zone of our defence. The flags turn blood red, victory.

The game is near. I lay the groundwork for a direct assault on the final points down the road. Real, human loyalties and relationships were already established. Alpha, my white knights, Bravo and Charlie, my workhorse steadies, and five and six - half full units I considered unreliable. The dreamy 'Snake_007' and his men would lead the operation. I issue commands and offer radar and artillery assistance to the relevant parties. Ready. Alpha, go! ...Did he hear me? Alpha? Alpha squad! What are you doing? Suddenly angry, I macro "Start following orders!" (woah, that sounded harsh.) Necessary though, Bravo and Charlie are requesting assistance and Snake_007 is skirting the no-fly zone in a boat, half the map away. His men are scattered. I hail him again. Nothing. I have been betrayed.


Communication, right there. Well, it was the lack of it that brought this particular match to life. In quite a different way to the low level, one way, strip tease dialogue of the watchful spy and the projecting enemy torch, Battlefield 2 offers player communication that makes multiplayer meaningful. It’s in the delegation of power. Very quickly, squad members see their leader's ability to lead, leaders see their commander's, commanders see the leader's ability to obey, and the leaders see members. The cogs of functionality for this system are greased by the easy macro commands and balanced class roles, but essentially, it's a system that perhaps inadvertently, is built to quickly illustrate a quality in other players.


Leadership down. Next I'd like to see sense of humour.