Pings provide a simple yet powerful way to communicate, promoting teamwork and inclusivity, and thus increasing the likelihood that interactions go well.
- Pings provide a streamlined, inclusive way to communicate in-game, fostering collaboration and teamwork more effectively than relying solely on voice or text chat.
- Design pings as a core game mechanic, tailoring them to suit your game’s specific needs and challenges.
- Consider players who may prefer or require alternatives to voice and text chat. Ensure your ping system is robust enough to allow for full participation from all players.
- Start implementing and testing pings early in development. Continuously refine the system based on player feedback and observation.
Whether coordinating a strategic push or simply expressing encouragement, pings are an essential tool for player collaboration. This article provides an overview of pings and how they can empower players and create a more enjoyable experience for everyone.
What are pings?
Pings are essentially any form of facilitated communication that does not require the player to speak or type. Pings are often provided in the form of a “ping wheel,” a common UI arrangement. They can also be realized in a variety of ways, including more diegetically, such as when enemies are highlighted for other players when viewed through a scope (e.g., Battlefield’s Spotting system).
Types of pings
While there is no strict separation of ping types, it can be useful to think about the different ways pings may be added to your game and how they may enhance (or inhibit) collaboration.
| Ping | Description | How They Might Help |
| Smart (also contextual or situational pings) | Provide information tailored to the current situation (e.g., tagging “Health here!” when hovering a health kit) | Ensure information is relevant and well-communicated. Less likely for mistakes that may cause players to become frustrated with each other |
| Diegetic | A way to communicate in the game world that exists within the game’s fiction. NPCs are aware of the pings and may react to them appropriately (e.g., in Apex Legends the characters have voice lines for pings, like “Enemy here!”) | When characters respond it promotes a sense of teamwork and shared awareness. The initiating player has the benefit of a reciprocal action, which helps improve trust |
| Dialogic | More conversational exchanges between characters that are triggered via pings (e.g., greetings, encouragement, apologies, and possibly acknowledgments or replies) | This can provide a positive exchange, which fosters camaraderie and can lead to a virtuous cycle where players are more receptive to cooperation in the future |
| Mixed | Extend beyond communication to include certain in-game effects or responses (e.g., triggering HUD arrows when another player pings for assistance or advancing narrative events) | These lessen the burden when it might be tough to communicate due to gameplay demands |
| Coordination | Help players propose and acknowledge a course of action. For example: P1 pings an enemy. P2’s replies, “I see them. Flanking left or going for the high ground?” P1 pings a high vantage point. P2 replies, “Got it. Covering you while you climb.” | Helps ensure coordination goes smoothly, which helps players feel a greater sense of teamwork and a willingness to work together in the future Can also help players communicate when one is one voice and another is not |
| Automatic | Issued automatically when in obvious situations (e.g., if someone is low health, automate the pinging of health kits when a player spots one) | Can assist players in being more helpful and improve coordination within the team Ensure that any such pings are reliable and are not seen as a loss of agency by players or they may detract from your goals |
| Custom | Player-defined pings that can be shared with their friends Can also be contextual: players can select their preferred pings for different situations | Can allow for self-expression and greater accessibility Offers a way for players who play together regularly to hone their strategies and communication styles |
Pings and collaboration
Treat pings as a core mechanic tailored to your specific game’s complexities rather than simply a substitute for voice chat. This means integrating ping mechanics early in the design process and continually evaluating their effectiveness as your game evolves.
Here is some general guidance for designing successfully with pings:
- Don’t rely on voice chat — Don’t assume everyone can or should use text or voice. Even if available, voice is not always the best tool in a situation. Be disciplined in testing with pings-only (i.e., no chat) regularly.
- Consider the audio landscape — Ensure the ping system is complementary to voice chat and doesn’t cause audio interference more generally.
- Solve your problems — If you rush to implement a system based on other popular games, you risk masking the actual communication challenges. The result is a system designed on developer assumptions rather than player needs.
- Test the limits — When exploring fun ideas for pings, keep in mind how these pings will be received after 5, 10, or 100 pings. Your ability to both offer variety and not annoy others will be important.
- Pings are core mechanics — Consider how you can use pings to facilitate greater success in collaboration and gameplay, not as a mere replacement for voice or text.
- Start early — If you try to add a ping system too late, not only is it less likely to integrate organically with the rest of the game, but you are unlikely to have enough time to properly test and refine.
- Streamline — While pings require thoughtful design, the presentation should be simple and intuitive. Overly complex interfaces will dissuade player use. (e.g., when pinging a location, consider just sending up a column of light to make it obvious).
- Think diegetically — As much as possible, integrate pings meaningfully with the game’s mechanics, level design, and narrative conceit. This will make them easier to understand and remember (e.g., using line-of-sight restrictions and using terrain for tactical pings).
A look at some concrete design practices for supporting collaboration among players using pings.
Addressing key communication challenges
While pings are a mediated form of communication, you can’t control or predict all the creative ways in which players may use them. It’s vital to consider how pings will function in various contexts and the impact that will have on overall player trust and rapport.
- Unfamiliar teams — When playing with strangers, miscommunication is common. Players lack the shared vocabulary and understanding of playstyles that develop over time within established groups. Consider what assistance the average player could use when playing with new teammates.
- High-pressure situations — In the heat of battle, there is little time to select or place the perfect ping or deal with complex ping systems. Players may forget pings exist or struggle with the cognitive load. Identify these situations and design to support new and average-skilled players.
- Community adoption — If players do not consistently use pings (or abuse them), they will become unreliable. This not only can lead to frustration when important information is missed, it also misses the prosocial aspect afforded by successful communication. Overall team cohesion will be weakened, making groups more susceptible to breakdowns and disruption.
- Agree to not disagree (explicitly) — While pings offer the potential for nuanced communication, they’re not a substitute for true dialogue. Generally, for back-and-forth exchanges, consider a system where silence indicates disagreement. Forcing players to explicitly express negativity can feel hostile.
- Don’t overlook the needs of the majority — While high-skill play is important for the longevity of the game, it should not come at the expense of the majority of your player base. If the average player struggles with a ping system ultimately intended for higher skill play, they are more likely to get frustrated, while new players may churn if they feel they cannot see the promise of the game.
- Don’t assume quiet players are disengaged — Marginalized preferences and experiences are often overlooked because they’re not among the vocal minority — in fact, taken collectively, they are often the majority. Take deliberate steps to create a system where underrepresented players feel empowered to fully engage.
Learn how communication design can empower seamless interaction, reduce friction, and cultivate greater harmony.
What does good look like?
The following signs can help in determining if your ping system is achieving your collaboration goals. Keep in mind that these should be interpreted within the specific game’s genre and mechanics as well as any conflating factors. For instance, a complex ping system might be heavily used in a competitive game even if there is some underlying tension. Similarly, it is worth noting that a lack of negativity does not always point to success. It may simply be an overall lack of use or a lack of belief in the utility of the system.
If you are noting issues with your ping system, be sure to examine whether the system is sufficiently discoverable, usable, and integrated into gameplay.
| Success signs | Warning signs | |
| Individual | Active use of pings Employing different ping types Acknowledging teammates’ pings and following up | Minimal use of pings Ignoring pings Misuse or abuse of pings |
| Group | Evidence of successful coordination Teams developing a shared language using pings Players demonstrating ping etiquette Teaching newcomers strategies | Misunderstandings or confusion when pings are used Arguments arising from ping usage Repurposing pings to express frustration Experienced players pinging amongst themselves to the exclusion of newcomers |
| Community | Positive discussion of pings Requests for more pings or improvements Lower reports of conflict or confusion User-generated guides or funny videos highlighting pings | Negative feedback Memes mocking pings Calls for voice only Correlations between increased reports of harassment or disruptive behavior and the ping system’s misuse |
In games where communication is necessary, pings are essential to digital thriving. They foster reciprocity, trust, effective communication, and a sense of community among players. Pings also enhance inclusivity by ensuring those who prefer or need alternatives to voice chat can fully participate.
Now what?
Overview of Collaborative Ping Systems
An overview of different ping systems and how they contribute to collaboration and good group dynamics.
See related content below for more!
