The best explanation for that, and, perhaps, the reason why I feel a sense of alienation from the game, is the phenomenon itself, which like any viral sensation has taken on a life of its own.Ī few months ago, Polygon’s Colin Campbell tried to pin down what makes Fortnite so popular. It’s all rather well done–another fine shooter in the vein of Halo or Counter-Strike–but none of it explains why Fortnite has become such an obsession. Instead, the game displays all the goodies you’d theoretically earn with a Battle Pass, and lets you pay to unlock them at any time. To get new items faster, Epic sells a $10 Battle Pass that lasts for the duration of Fortnite‘s multi-week “seasons,” and Epic cleverly doesn’t punish you for being stingy up front. None of them make you any better at killing other players, but they make you look snazzier while doing it. By playing the game and accomplishing special objectives, players can unlock new characters, dance moves, and various cosmetic accoutrements. Towards the end of a match, it’s not unusual to see wood and brick skyscrapers appear out of thin air as players frantically craft their own high ground.Įpic has also mastered the addictive meta-game that’s become standard in multiplayer shooters. While this formula predates Fortnite–most notably, by PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds–Epic has added a layer of chaos by letting players demolish buildings and harvest materials, which they can then use to build floors, walls, and staircases on the fly. Death is permanent, so victory goes to the last player (or group of players, in team modes) standing. To prevent prolonged lulls in the action, a deadly storm forms around the edge of the island, and the playable area shrinks until everyone’s forced to fight.
#HOW MANY PEOPLE PLAY FORTNITE HOW TO#
(As always, Epic understands how to make a shotgun shake the room, and how to make a headshot feel momentarily like the pinnacle of human achievement.) In Fortnite‘s Battle Royale mode, 100 players parachute from balloon-propelled busses onto an island dotted with houses, mansions, castles, strip malls, and shacks, and violence breaks out in isolated bursts as players hunt for weapons and gear. I can at least appreciate Fortnite for being a fun multiplayer game, which builds on the fundamentals that developer Epic Games established in shooters like Unreal Tournament and Gears of War.
Although I’ve been playing video games for more than 30 years-that would be since the age of two and a half-my enjoyment of Fortnite plateaued after a handful of hours.Īnd to be clear, it’s not the game.
It’s hard to reconcile all of this with my difficulty forming an attachment to the game.
Your author playing a video game in 1985. Some sports figures have even fended off accusations that their Fortnite play is affecting their real-life performance. Celebrities such as Chance the Rapper and Joe Jonas have admitted they’re obsessed with the game, and athletes have started incorporating Fortnite characters’ celebratory dances into their own victory routines. Perhaps you’ve heard the stories by now: Kids sneaking in Fortnite sessions on their phones during school, huddling around Xboxes to play at home instead of watching major sporting events, and spending countless hours observing other people play on Twitch and YouTube. I’ve never had the same feeling about video games until I started playing Fortnite, the free-for-all multiplayer shooter which has transcended mere popularity to become a global phenomenon.
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