Battlefield 2042’s second season introduces a new effect. Concussion grenades are also the culprit. Similar to other grenades (stun grenades or flashbangs), the screen turns white to simulate exposure. It is called a “glure” because the screen’s brightness can cause overstimulation of the player’s eyes. This causes the virtual flashbang to behave like a real flashbang but is fragile. Their brightness is measured in megacandelas.
However, most things are weaker than tactical assault weapons. Anyone playing in a darkened room can feel the effects of a white screen. However, sensitivity to light (called photophobia) can vary between individuals. Bright lights can also trigger migraines. DICE added an accessibility setting to Battlefield 2042’s accessibility page. This allows you to change the white light of concussion grenades to a black one. It’s a dark mode for flashbangs, basically. The clip below shows the setting in action.
It’s a great idea. It’s hard to avoid the whole “videogame lamps using real electricity” thing, but I don’t believe videogames should be allowed too much to synchronize to reality. While glure might seem like a harmless novelty right now, how long will it last? It was fun to make fun of “Press F for respects”. We used to press F to pay our respects. But now, people ironically press F to respect everything. So if you play Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare right now, it may feel like you’re pressing F. Then, one day, you lose a fleet of spaceships to win an interplanetary conflict, and all the military commanders cheer because guess what? It was real. It’s not so funny anymore.
