Gaming is not just about making world-class games; its most inalienable aspect is the gamers: the serious and casual gamers, the established YouTubers and ones who just are just starting off, the 15-year-old kid enjoying a game on his PS4 and the 30-year-old banker who plays on her Xbox One for leisure and the hardcore gamer who builds their own gaming PC. Games are made with passion for this awesome and beautiful community that the world calls “gamers”.

What Player Support does is serve these gamers, to keep them playing their beloved games through thick and thin. We are the first line of defence, the first people a gamer will contact. We are your squad, your backup, your team. In the world of games, Player Support members help you play, fighting through any technical problems. Our quest is to resolve a gamer’s problem as soon as possible; our treasure hunt is finding and analyzing root causes of problems and working along with you to fix them. From the kid whose in-game vehicles went missing to the hardcore PC gamer whose game doesn’t launch, we help them all. Our creed: no gamer left behind. Our priority: the customer’s gaming experience. Our passion: games themselves.

Our mission–and we all chose to accept it–is helping gamers solve issues with the games they are playing by communicating through email or chat across social media platforms. This is what we, the PTW Player Support team, does: we exist to help you play the games you love. This mission is what keeps a Player Support agent charged and motivated, contributing to the world of gaming.

A typical day in the life of a Player Support agent is no less interesting and intense than that of a gamer. It’s a day that shuttles between the commonalities and uniqueness of games, a day that is itself full of interesting missions.

The games we all love and play are living, breathing entities that are kept alive by DLCs, Title Updates, and minor tweaks, all to give players the best gaming experience. This is where a Player Support agent’s day begins, updating themselves about the latest trends in the games they support, the whats and what-nots, etc. Just as a game will download updates, your Player Support agents get a download of all that’s been happening, the newest issues, the solutions to older issues, the new process to work on existing issues, the whole shebang. This is gear-up for a Player Support agent, and as you’d take your character to play a mission, our agents also prepare themselves for the mission ahead.

Just as in any game, no two missions are alike. Heck, even the same mission can feel different every time you play it. Isn’t it strangely entertaining how the same map can be played in a million ways? How the same objective can be achieved with vastly different play styles and combinations? This is very similar to what a Player Support agent goes through. No two queries are the same; even similar queries can be very different in approach and final resolution. A Player Support agent undertakes every player contact in similar fashion: understanding the issue at hand, having a plan of action, checking with seniors when in doubt, and never assuming their next step.

Solving a player’s issue is a multi-step process. While some issues can be solved immediately, others might require a more detailed approach. Analyzing the root cause, finding the factors that affect the game, and then preparing steps to tackle it. In many ways your Player Support agent is akin to a guide that helps you traverse the vast world of troubleshooting. Sometimes they will ask you to clear your cache, or update the graphic drivers, and yes, occasionally reboot your game. Every agent that works on your issue uses every available source of knowledge at their disposal to ensure you are back playing your beloved games as quickly as possible. Though at times it might seem that these troubleshooting steps are so basic, the reality is that sometimes it’s the simplest steps that have the highest impact.

The satisfaction of completing a mission with your crew is second to none. It’s a feeling that cannot be explained; it must be lived. But as much as we celebrate our victories over chats or voice, we know how it feels not having your buddy beside you to just simply give a high five. Chances are that we have been playing together for years and have never met; chances are that some of us have years-long friendships born out of gaming. Your Player Support member is one such unknown friend, someone whom you are unable to high five in person for fixing your issue or to whom you can give a simple handshake, acknowledging their time and effort. There are times when players go the extra mile to say “thank you” to their support agent, from offers of beer and pizza to naming their child after the agent, from invites to play a game together to messages of praise. Every time something like this happens it give us so much drive and purpose for the work we do. The hours we put in have tangible results, and when I log into work, I know there is a gamer somewhere out there who needs my help.

Do you remember which is your most favorite mission in all the games you’ve played? Chances are that a Player Support agent too remembers a particular ticket among all the countless issues they have worked on. It’s not necessarily the easiest one, or the hardest one they worked on; every agent I know and have spoken to over the years (myself included) remembers that one ticket where the player and agent worked in tandem, worked like a tag team, one suggesting a step and the other trying them. They remember the mutual respect both partners shared, often unsaid, a mutual respect born out of their love for games. As a gamer, every second we are unable to play our beloved games can be excruciating, but believe me: your Player Support agent knows what you are going through. Not just as a matter of sympathy, but that of empathy, because they too are gamers first.

I bet we all remember the hundreds of times we have strayed from the main mission simply to explore the map, wondering at the beauty of a well-crafted world, the tiny nuances or that glitchy road sign or a stubborn NPC. My gaming experience is beautiful not just for all the things that worked well, but also for the things that didn’t, whether by design or just games being games. Often, it’s not the straight roads one remembers, it’s those mountain-twisty paths that stand atop your memory. A beautiful vista at the end of a tricky patch of twists and turns, a difficult way that makes your journey memorable.

Our job, and we all chose to accept it, is to help you play your beloved games through thick and thin, highs and lows. We don’t give up because you don’t. We won’t accept failures because you won’t. We will complete our mission so that you can complete yours.