Game development is a tricky beast -- regardless if we are talking about small indie titles or breakthrough AAA successes like Apex Legends by developer Respawn Entertainment and EA. There are a ton of tricks and smoke-and-mirror workarounds to deliver a smooth end-user experience to the player, which creates a cohesive end-product. But occasionally it is fun to get a glimpse behind the curtain, and that is exactly what one of the battle royale players did, revealing the hidden pre-game lobby of the Apex Legends map.
The footage comes from a user on the dedicated Apex Legends Reddit community, who offered some gameplay video pre-game. As the player is choosing between which Legend he will be playing as, the game's polished UI freezes. After a moment, we see a brief glimpse of a low-asset walkway to the map, where different character models of all the Legends are casually waiting:
Server crash gives glimpse into what lobby really is from r/apexlegends
And as soon as that hidden lobby appears, it vanishes. Left in its place is an error screen noting that the connection to the server timed out.
This layout has managed to solve some of the community's ongoing questions about the pre-game selection process. According to some, they have been able to hear the other characters in the background -- as you are looking over Mirage, you may here Caustic coughing in the background. Others have said that they have seen this flash previously before their game loaded, but weren't able to verify it.
Does knowing this have any real effect on how you enjoy the game? Very likely not -- all game development is manufactured and has smart workarounds to offer a seamless experience. In fact, occasionally a game breaking (in a minor way) is a good way to appreciate the hard work put into the title.
Apex Legends continues to be successful after hitting the Battle Royale scene running. Though the active fanbase is pressuring Respawn to address cheaters in the game while they are making more meta changes. Meanwhile, the community is really going HAM with fan projects including some excellent cosplay or nail art.
Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One as a free-to-play game — we recently reviewed the game, and think it has the ability to change the development landscape as we know it.