As a Battle Royale style first person shooter, Fortnite has gained a dedicated community of gamers since its initial release in 2017. Its 2020 now, and the game is alive and well, loved by over 250 million players.
“No matter how old you get, you will always remember the video games you played when you were young”
-EspressoMonkey, Fortnite Mobile player
Here are the top ways Fortnite is different from any other game you can play today.
Structure Building
The process of acquiring resources by hacking at structures with the harvesting tool is crucial to winning. Being able to actually build a structure to protect yourself from other players is key.
There is not another mass market first person shooter game that incorporates building the way that Fortnite does. Building adds a level of complexity that gamers must learn to use to their advantage.
Some have compared the build-up capability to Minecraft, in that you can create whatever shape structure you want with general templated blocks. The Fortnite Creative mode takes this a step further, giving players a server with an empty ground on which to build.
Cartoonish Characters
Since the graphics are not designed to look or feel realistic and are cartoonish by design, the game contrasts games like Arma III, which is designed to resemble real-life combat as closely as possible.
With the cartoon-base design and artwork of the game, players experience a lighter, almost fun and party feel (avatars will even dance) rather than a serious or morbid feel that other games can portray.
The game hosts its fair share of components that add a level of silliness. At the start of each match, for example, players skydive out of a school bus suspended in the air by a hot air balloon.
Minimal Violence
Although Fortnite is a first person shooter, the game is rated T for teen, and has little to no violence. Instead of blood and gore, players are removed from the game by a science fiction-like animation that looks like an alien abduction or something. This abstract method of eliminating a player from the game adds to the mystery and wonder of the game, but also keeps it PG.
This brings up another interesting fact: rather than calling them “kills”, the word “elimination” or simply “elim” is used when you take out another player.
Despite having a PG-rated violence level, the game still attracts players of all ages, old and young.
Camping out is not necessarily frowned upon.
In Fortnite, camping exists in the game almost by design. As you jump out of the bus and skydive down to the island for battle, your first order of business is finding a weapon. Here, players are forced to look in hiding spots — roofs of houses, basements, stairs, bushes, etc. — all the while making sure they are not caught by another player before finding their first weapon. Players are almost required to take time out of combat to stock up their inventory on resources, weapons, and ammo. Since looting is such a big part of the game, all the players camp for at least part of each match.
Social
Players aren’t necessarily just looking to experience the most action-packed video game when they log onto Fortnite. In fact, gameplay can be somewhat slow in the beginning depending on where you drop. It seems that one of the biggest attractions to the game is the social aspect.
Due to the time it takes to load and organize 100 players into a server, there is always a small break in between matches – just enough, usually, to run and grab a snack. During this small amount of downtime, players have the chance to connect with their friends in the game, squad up on teams, trash talk other players, etc. For this reason, Fortnite is also hugely popular for streamers.Gives streamers the chance to talk to their chat. In Fortnite, hard scoping is not necessarily frowned upon.
Dedicated, Youthful Player Base
According to the numbers, 53% of the players are between the ages of 10-25. With such a large number of young people that play the game, even if everyone were to stop playing the game tomorrow, Fortnite would remain in the memories of these players for many decades to come.
No matter how old you get, you will always remember the video games you played when you were young. Those of us who grew up playing Nintendo games like Super Smash Bro’s and Mario Kart will always have a nostalgic love for these games for the rest of our lives. The same can be said of people who play any video game today. For this reason, Fortnite will be especially loved for many years to come.
Unique Physics
Realistic or not, the physics of the game bring important considerations for players.
First, long-shots take gravity and leading into account. So, if a player over 100 yards away is running horizontal to you as you target with a sniper, you’ll need to aim slightly up and in front of them to land a shot.
Another example is build physics. You can build as large and complex a structure as you like as long as it is anchored to the ground at just a single point. To take down the entire structure, all that a player has to do is break the grounding links of the structure.
Strong Partnerships
In December 2019, Fortnite and Starwars formed a big partnership, hosting lightsabers as a weapon in the game, for example.
There are many other examples of Fortnite partnerships as well, such as recently hosting famous actor Keanu Reeves as a character in the game.
New Game Updates Often
Fortnite updates their game often. With each release, players get to experience a wide variety diverse weapons and features. No matter how small, each update changes the dynamics of the game in some way. This is good because it makes gameplay feel fresh and exciting while keeping gamers on their toes.
Some changes have been a hit and popular, while others have caused a backlash of criticism from the community. Some gamers blame the game for adding in too many updates, or “nerfing” certain weapons to make them less powerful.
Another update that really changed the game was the removal of transparent build edits. Whereas players used to be able to see through the wall while editing, the edits are now are greyed out, instead of transparent. Previously, keeping build edits transparent meant that players could see what was happening outside the structure while staying within the protection of its walls.
However you feel about the updates, one thing is for sure: updates and changes will be constant. Its clear that Epic Games (creator of Fortnite) is investing a lot in game improvements and additions with the ultimate goal of making the game more fun, and keeping the game profitable for them.
An Exciting Future
Just a few days ago, right after Christmas, there was a curious tweet from the Founder and CEO of Epic Games as it relates to the future of Fortnite:
Fortnite is a game. But please ask that question again in 12 months.— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) December 26, 2019
Who’s to say what the game will look like a year from now other than the head of the game company.
Fortnite lovers will see dramatic changes and have a lot to look forward to over the next year. We look forward to sharing information and insights about these updates on MobileGameTalk for years to come. Happy Gaming!
Espresso Insight 