Quakecon is going on. I played a sort of demo version of the original Quake and was the proud owner of Quake 2. I even participated in online multiplayer back when you needed a carrier service like gamespy to play online. I didn't play all that seriously. I mostly derped around with god mode and no-clip cheat codes. But I did encounter one seriously aggravating problem: talking. This was way before voice chat was prevalent. The online way to talk was to type in the chat box. Now its pretty obvious what the problem with that is; on a computer the keyboard is your game pad. You can either move or type, not both. Nowadays, voice chat is more common, but by no means universal. And I would like to thank Valve for developing three different methods of streamlining communication for those who don't have voice chat.
First was Team Fortress 2. It includes text chat, but its not anymore convenient than on Quake 2. What was included was quick chat keys. There are three keys (z,x,c) that open up a menu of 9 convenient quick chats for your character. Some are silly like battle cry, but most are useful, like building requests and command calls. The best inclusion was the medic call button. By making the E button the button that draws the attention of healers was genius; its right next to the movement buttons. There is also a basic auto speak, where your character will say things independently of your control when it appropriate.
While it certainly works, its very basic. Left 4 Dead 2 includes these key commands but builds on the idea that characters auto talk. Its really clever. When a special zombie comes into view or sound they make is heard, characters will automatically say something about it, regardless of what you are doing. Same thing with health warnings and map navigation. But whats most useful is the way characters relate discoveries. If you walk close to weapons and items, your character will say what you found and usually refer to it by name. This takes a lot of the worry out of play but it stills requires voice chat for more nuanced communication.
Portal 2 included a multiplayer mode, and as a puzzle game it needed a nuanced communication system that didn't require voice chat. So Valve got creative and invented the ping tool. Its a sort of point and click flagging tool. You point at the spot and select the flag: portal, stand, or button. This will stand out to your partner and draw there attention. Another good addition was a way of seeing in a little window exactly what your partner see's in live movement. While all these wouldn't work in FPS's were time is more of a factor, the ping tool and auto speak should definitely be looked into by other developers. Not everyone has voice chat, and for the foreseeable future some people still won't.
