Some Apex Legends players have noticed that the legend Wattson holds her guns quite a bit differently and has odd animations when compared to other legends. Now, an Apex Legends developer has explained why for the game's players.
For those who don't know, Wattson is a legend known for her iconic hood as well as favoring a defensive playstyle with her unique loadout that allows her to place electric pylons on the map. She is the daughter of the lead electrical engineer of the Apex Games and eventually went on to build the Apex Games' Modified Containment Ring herself before joining the Apex Games as a competitor.
Despite all of her knowledge of electrical engineering and the Apex Games, however, she is very new to combat. In a recent Twitter thread, Apex Legends developer Moy Parra revealed that Wattson's animations look so awkward intentionally. She says that it was done to help communicate her innocence on the battlefield and to help make her look as though she isn't even used to holding a gun. This helps Wattson feel very different from Apex Legends' numerous other characters who all have varying levels of combat experience and are much more comfortable with their weapons.
Parra also revealed in the thread that the MoCap actor for Wattson was her own niece. She says that her niece was chosen because she had never held a gun before in her entire life, which helped make Wattson's natural awkwardness holding it feel more natural. The tweet also included a small behind-the-scenes look at Apex Legends' MoCap process as well as a comparison with how it translates into the game. The tweets come shortly after Apex Legends suffered a massive hack by Titanfall players trying to raise awareness for that game's unresolved issues with hackers.
It is great to get a brief look at the developers' thought process behind Wattson's animations, as well as getting a look at the team's process. Wattson's animations have always played a big role in making her feel distinct from the rest of the game's characters. It will be interesting to see what else the team does to make characters stand out as Apex Legends continues to add more to the game's roster. Hopefully, the developers' recent commitment to tackling hackers in ranked Apex Legends matches helps more players enjoy the game so that they can see what other cool things Apex Legends has going on.
Apex Legends is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.
