It’s happened before, and it will happen again. The hot new video game is sweeping the nation. But this time, instead of a resurgence of a popular property like with Pokémon GO, it’s a boom of popularity for a new intellectual property: Epic Games’ Fortnite.
Bluffton contains a microcosm of this huge gaming event. Even on campus, one can overhear students mention plans to play Fortnite with friends. Not only that, but in residence halls one can walk by open doors and see students playing Fortnite. The game’s appeal is tied to its being free-to-play and available on all major video game platforms.
“I just love that they find ways to keep it engaging for the player base,” said Jacob Hill, a senior business administration and accounting major. “It makes you want to give back to the game team because, you know, here’s this free game that does a good job listening to its customers and you don’t see that a lot with bigger game companies.”
“Fortnite has been pretty unique with all these games coming out because they incorporated building to, like, get high ground on other people,” said Mike Lehman, a senior information technology major. “That’s a major mechanic of the game, which I think is why it’s become so popular. It’s also very colorful, so that stands out to a lot of casual gamers.”
The game first released as an early access four-player survival co-op game in July 2017. A Battle Royale mode was later released that September. Unlike the co-op mode (now known as “Fortnite: Save the World”), Fortnite Battle Royale was free-to-play at launch. This lead to a much stronger player base and much more successful launch, becoming a gaming phenomenon over the past year.
Gameplay is simple: 100 players drop onto a very large map and, using a variety of weapons, compete to be the last one standing. This new genre is referred to as “Battle Royale,” hence the title. Unique to Fortnite, however, is that players find materials to create structures to give them a tactical advantage
While the game is free, players can purchase character outfits with real money. Players can also purchase a “Battle Pass” every season (which last about two or three months), entitling them to even more aesthetic unlocks. However, no advantage-granting items can be purchased in this way.
Students aren’t the only ones on campus noticing the trend. Even faculty have caught on.
“I have been asked if I would like to be an advisor for an e-sports club,” said Dr. Zachary Walton, associate professor of communication. “And the administrators—so we’re talking about people who are not young, we’re talking about people advanced in their careers—mentioned Fortnite, out of the blue.”
Walton said he didn’t believe such a game would do well in a competitive setting due to the randomness of certain mechanics, but thought the fact Fortnite was so “top of mind” for thosee beyond the gaming community was worth mentioning.
It may surprise Walton, then, to find that Epic Games has attempted to foster a competitive community. According to the Epic Games website, the company hosted a competitive event called “Summer Skirmish” at video game expo PAX West this past August.
As for local interest, Hill said a campus-wide tournament might be feasible once the PlayStation 4 version has full cross-play support. Currently, PlayStation 4 players cannot play in matches with Nintendo Switch and Xbox One players.
While the future of Fortnite may not be entirely clear, one thing is: a year after launch, the game is still being played at talked about at Bluffton University.
