The assumption so frequently made is that once we recognize function, we assume it encompasses the entirety of a player's role. In order to fit each role we commonly use into a team, you'll need to load up Overwatch. In your team, you have an in-game leader, an awper, an entry-fragger, a lurker, a support and a second-entry. When discussing Cloud 9 roster changes, we only think of replacing Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham with another awper, because a team without that role seems to be at a significant disadvantage.Ĭompiling these roles, we develop a model for a team's structure. By shifting the label from a single or a handful of players onto teams generally, we change the nature of the function it is now not a style, something some players do like play aggressively, but a role, something done by all well-constructed teams.Īnd those roles carry tangible weight. The support player is the one who helps others in the game to his own detriment.Īfter we establish a function we recognize that most teams have a dedicated entry-fragger (or awper, etc.) So we determine that teams have entry fraggers. The second-entry kills those who kill the entry-fragger. The lurker stays back when his team attacks a site. The in-game leader makes the majority of in-game decisions. Once we recognize a function, we label the player as such.Īn awper uses the AWP whenever it's possible
It's pretty easy to see that that Adam "friberg" Friberg's team has voluntarily assigned him as the one who enters first on a site. It seems that a role is recognized by a pattern of noticeable behaviour. If we want to criticize our assumptions about roles, we need to discern how we ended up seeing a team as a combination of them in the first place. The overarching question: have we overreached our knowledge by weighing so heavily on roles in our analysis of both teams and players? Diving into its origin, we'll discover it's ability as a tool of analysis, but also its limitations. It's worthy of asking whether or not we take this matter of roles for granted. For example, an entry fragger bursts first out of safety and into a location, and an awper uses the AWP sniper rifle when it's available. We assign them to players, in an attempt to describe a function.
We know there's a quite a few of them: lurker, entry fragger, in-game leader, awper.