Chances are, you’ve heard of the hottest new game out there: “Fortnite.” Whether it’s a friend, sibling or acquaintance, you probably know someone who has dedicated hours upon hours of their life playing it. So that begs the question, why is this game so special?
“Fortnite” is a free “Battle Royale” video game: in essence, something akin to “The Hunger Games,” in which 100 players — either alone, or in teams of two to four — land on an island and battle it out until only one is left standing. While the island is large, a storm closes in on the players over time, forcing them into smaller and smaller quarters over the course of the game.
Players utilize two main components of the game: weapons and resources. They can find weapons either lying around in buildings or in hidden chests throughout the map, and they vary in their caliber. Resources come in either wood, stone or metal, and can be mined from trees, rocks and structures, found in chests or lying around (same as weapons) or stolen from other players who have been eliminated. From there, the essence of the game is simple: use weapons to eliminate other players, use resources to build yourself protection and stay within the ever-closing storm until you’re the last one left.
Now that all the boring basics are out of the way, we can look at what makes this game so hot and addicting.
“First off it’s free, and the building aspect of the game is so unique and different compared to any other battle royale game,” said senior Jason Hui. “And with the cartoon-y look, it gives off a fun light-hearted vibe that everyone of all ages can enjoy.”
Hui also touches on a prominent aspect of the game that players enjoy perhaps the most: the shared experience.
“All my friends play ‘Fortnite,’ so in a way it has brought us all closer because we can squad up and play together,” he said. “We’ve had some memorable moments and inside jokes while playing, and then we talk about it the next day at school … You see all these athletes using the ‘Fortnite’ celebrations in real life, all the memes, and the game has reached out to so many people and has gotten so big, even [stars like] Drake play the game.”
“Fortnite” even attracts amateur gamers.
“I’m not much of a gamer, but I like the idea that a completely inexperienced player like myself has the same chance as winning as someone who’s been playing for months,” said senior Nicole Agranonik. “Everyone starts out at an equal playing field.”
Playing with friends and creating a shared culture is what attracts so many to the game. Even for players who aren’t any good, being able to see relatable content online that comes from the game, or watching popular streamers such as Ninja and The Myth pull off incredible stunts, or just remembering funny moments from playing squads with friends is what makes “Fortnite” such an appealing game.
“‘Fortnite’ has replaced Netflix as my favorite pastime, because it’s a lot more engaging than just watching TV and allows me to interact with my friends without having to hang out with them,” Agranonik said. “It’s usually hard to find time to spend with friends on weekdays, but everyone has an hour or two to spare to play ‘Fortnite’ at home.”
Senior Winston Mok, however, shares a different perspective on the game. He reasons that “Fortnite’s” popularity is due to its successful marketing.
“There are tons of similarities between games like ‘Fortnite’ and basically every other survival game,” Mok said. “The ideas, even the controls, are basically the same. People may say that the most special thing about ‘Fortnite’ is the building, but I disagree. ‘Fortnite’ was just marketed much better than most other games. As people on Reddit say, ‘Even normies play the game.’ They were able to sponsor the correct YouTubers and Twitch streamers to make their game become what it is now.”
Additionally, Mok believes that memes and videos about “Fortnite” are emerging because of its more mainstream audience.
“Other games like ‘League of Legends’ or even ‘PUBG’ have audiences that are more nerdy,” Mok said. “There are memes all over Reddit about those games, but because ‘Fortnite’ is a normie game, there is more attention on more popular social medias.”
Mok also highlights that “Fortnite” has been able to work its way into a new audience, one that wasn’t spending so much time with video games prior to its introduction. It may be true that “Fortnite” shares similarities with other games, and that its marketing strategies are what has led to its popularity, but for most players, it just doesn’t matter.
“This game is gonna go down as one of the most iconic games ever,” Hui said. “‘Fortnite’ has created its own culture, and everyone [who plays] has embraced it. Years from now, when ‘Fortnite’ fades away like any other game does, we’re all gonna look back at these moments and realize that those were the ‘good ol’ days.’”
