The Real Heroes

by: John Jaskot (JazzEFiddle)

Recognition for the real game heroes..... the Support 

I would like to take a few of the precious minutes out of your day to help shed some light on the people that can make you who you are, both in and outside of gaming.

We all travel through life day to day, facing head on the challenges that are thrown our way. Success or fail, we all look back and reflect on the wins and opportunities we may have missed at some point each day. Whether or not you consciously think about these things, I find that there is always one person or role that is overlooked: The Support. The people that have helped us in some way get to where we are. Through the wins and happiness, to the losses and sorrow, these people are the true heroes in every story. 

Let us begin this reflection by making it relative to the community that I am a part of. The gaming scene, believe it or not, has brought about the support role in every multiplayer game that is out there. From the games you may not see a support fully in the open to games like League of Legends that have given this title to a role directly in game.

There are some of you that might be asking yourself right now: I play Call of Duty, Overwatch, Destiny (or any other first person shooter game), how do I get support? I kill more people than the other team, and therefore I win. Many players overlook the small things that support players do each game to help ensure your team gets the big win. From taking a spell that heals the team, or a tanky character to mitigate damage away from the damage dealers of your team, to even the guy that might run into a group of people unexpectedly and die but gives valuable information to your team about the other team. I know. I know. Your teammate just ran into a room with no team protection and you are asking, "This is a good thing???" The majority of gamers will see this scenario in a negative light. But the good gamers (the ones going pro and making a ton of money playing video games) see the death not just as a lost life for a teammate but also as valuable information they can use to change the outcome of the game. How many people were in the room? What direction did you die from? Is there a way we can flank or trap the other team in the room? What killed you? Were any super moves or grenades or traps used to kill you? All of this is valuable information that can help sway the odds of a game outcome in your favor. 

My favorite game, League of Legends, has a dedicated roll in a support character. This character's job is the definition of that role. Heal, shield, tank, speed-up, slow down, poke, and ward as much as you can to give your team the edge it needs to win a fight or the game. When playing or watching a game of League, this is the role that never gets credit for the win because the stats are never in their favor. We always seem to focus on who does the most damage or who has the most kills; which team pulled off the best looking team fight. As a support player myself, I would like everyone that plays any sort of multiplayer game to take a long look back at the game you just won and think about whether you would have been as successful had you not had some kind of support. These are the true heroes to the game. The players that typically take all the blame if things are going poorly, but get none of the credit when things go well.

Outside of gaming we do the same thing. We never give credit to the supports in our everyday lives. Whether it be a loved one that has your back no matter what, or the friend that will always have a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear when you have a bad day. The teacher that believes in you or the lady that was kind enough to run you down in the parking lot of a retail store to hand you your driver's license you left inside. Support comes in all shapes and sizes. Take some time to find these people in your everyday lives and give them a simple thank you, for they are the ones that are secretly helping you win your game.

To close this out, I would like to send a personal shout-out from me, and on behalf of the members of Motor City Gaming.... Thank you to everyone in our day to day lives that support us in what we are doing. Thank you to our Patrons and Sponsors and Partners for aiding in our journey. Last but not least, actually the most important, THANK YOU so much to each and every one of our fans that keep this dream alive and fuel us to keep going. We are blessed to have each and every one of you playing the role that is most important..... The Support!