Name: Fortnite Battle Royale
Release Date: September 26, 2017
Publisher: Epic Games
Directors: Donald Mustard
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Genre: Third-person shooter, Battle Royale
Mode: Single-player, Multiplayer
Background
Fortnite Battle Royale was created based off of the main game of Fortnite which was a called Save the World. It was the initial version of Fortnite that was released on July 25th 2017, and the objective was to fight off creatures in an attempt to save the world. At around that same time PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) was released as a Battle Royale game. A Battle Royale game is one where all the players fight against each other until only one player is left. PUBG was a huge success and Fortnite saw an opportunity. So Fortnite created their own version of a Battle Royale mode with their Save the World characters and play modes. Fortnite Battle Royale has been a huge success financially and socially all over the world.
Gameplay
The objective of Fortnite or any other Battle Royale game is to be the last player alive on the map. Fortnite starts off with 100 people on a flying bus flying over the Fortnite map. There are many different major landing spots all over the map for players to jump off and parachute into the game. Players must collect loot (guns and medical supplies) from the floor or in treasure chests in order to fight against other players. An interesting aspect and a rather important one of Fortnite is the idea of building. Players can harvest materials made from wood, bricks, or metal in order to build walls and stairs. The players can then build in order to protect themselves while fighting other players or to travel and explore the map. This is a unique feature to Fortnite that is not seen in most shooting games like Call of Duty. It is one of the most important factors to Fortnite’s success and definitely adds to the experience.
Fortnite also has three different main modes including solos, playing by yourself; duos, playing with a friend; and squads, where you play with a group of four people. As you continue to fight and explore the map a storm circle continues to close in in order to shrink the board. The storm comes periodically and shows a smaller circle within it to show where it is going to close into. This allows the board to get smaller and smaller and make the players fight against each other. If you are caught in the storm you start to lose life, the later in the game the more damage the storm gives. You initially start with 100% life and the capability of adding another 100% of shield if you collect it and drink it. You have five inventory slots for all your guns, explosives, and medical supplies. Also, when you kill someone you get to take all of their loot.
Economics
Fortnite Battle Royale is a free-to-play game that makes money through microtransactions. You can buy aesthetic wear for your player that gives no actually advantage in the game besides being more pleasant to the player. This provides for a steady income for the game makers and allows Fortnite to attract a wide group of people who would not regularly pay for the game. They made $2.4 Billion dollars in revenue in 2018 which was the most ever for a game.
Keeping Interest
In December of 2017 Fortnite had roughly 30 million users and by March 2019 they reached 250 million users. It is one of the most popular games ever created and they continue to innovate the game. The game is constantly evolving with map changes and live events in order to continue keeping players engaged. They have seasons where new updates are pushed for each season changing weapons and different cities on the board to keep players interested. They also have created a Creative mode which allows players to build their own maps and mini games. They stay in-tact with pop culture by including live concerts by Marshmallow and Travis Scott. They also make limited time modes for different events like Marvels Infinity War and Deadpool. They make live contests as well with cash prizes. A player won over a million dollars in a Fortnite contest.
Why Fortnite is so popular
Fortnite is a cartoon game with no blood or really any gore in it. It is a shooting game but when you kill someone kill points shoot out of the opponent as opposed to blood and instead of a dead corpse, shiny loot pops out of the player who lost. This is a style that hasn’t really been seen in other shooting games like Fortnite. It was a new approach that was able to appeal to a much wider audience and player base. That with the conjunction of being free-to-play and being a Battle Royale game allowed for its great and widespread success. In addition, Fortnite does not sell hard copies of the game, it is downloaded and continually updated as opposed to older games which were finished products. This allowed Fortnite to continue to captivate its audience. Fortnite also was a huge success on social media and Twitch. With different streamers like Ninja streaming the game so many people would watch and play themselves. It was the most watched game on Twitch. Celebrities, like Drake and Travis Scott, would also play the game and even play together with famous streamers. That is how Fortnite became so apparent and influential so quickly
Negative Impacts
Fortnite’s aesthetics are very playful and addicting. This is what drew many kids to play Fortnite and caused them to truly become addicted to it. It is a violent game and the aesthetics of it make it seem like it is not and therefore it is suitable for children, which has become a concern for many parents. A lot of parents found their children spending hours on end every day playing Fortnite and not focusing on school. It became a widespread phenomenon and continues to be until this day. Children would also spend massive amount of money on buying aesthetic skins because it wasn’t ‘cool’ to have a default skin that comes with the game.
Fortnite revolutionized the gaming industry bringing in so many players that have never played shooting games before, including myself. They continue to be one of the best games ever created and have one of the biggest player bases of all time. Many thought Fortnite would be a fad but it is still standing today and it is here to stay.
-Michael Abadie
NYU Gamers 