Over the weekend the first Fortnite World Cup and the fifth place of the Argentine Thiago “King” Lapp, which earned him a prize of 900 thousand dollars, put the game on everyone’s lips and on the radar of a large number of adults that suddenly started I hesitated to ask the kids to “leave the video games for a while.” But what is Fortnite? and more importantly, how did it become one of the most important cultural phenomena of recent times? The official name of the Fortnite we actually know is Fortnite: Battle Royale, the free mode of the original game. Fortnite was actually born as a four-player co-op experience that combined elements of (another phenomenon) Minecraft, such as resource collection and building buildings, with a combat more typical of the mode known as “horde” in a lot of games. The objective of the game is to collect resources, craft weapons and fortify structures during the day to survive the hordes of enemies who go hunting at night.
The original version of Fortnite was released in July 2017 and received lukewarm reviews. Meanwhile, players were starting to take the feet of Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), developer Brendan Greene’s game that was born as a mod and became a beast that took the world by storm when it debuted in March of that year. PUBG’s proposal was as simple as it was attractive: a hundred players parachute to a huge island and must be made with weapons and accessories randomly distributed in different locations to be the last player or team standing. Inspired by Kinji Fukasaku’s film, PUBG established itself as the first game of the battle royale genre and the weakness of the millions who once-day fought every last man (or the last woman) on the island. Epic Games took note of the phenomenon decided to try their own version of the game. Taking advantage of the availability of resources (characters, items and buildings) and systems (construction, shooting and microtransactions), he put the team to create an island of its own and in September 2017 launched Fortnite: Battle Royale for free and christened the original game (still paid) as Fortnite: Save the World.
While Fortnite: Battle Royale was a blaming copy of PUBG (to the point that the Bluehole studio sued Epic Games), its differences made it a much more accessible version of the genre: distributing the game for free was key to being able to put a copy in every PC and console in the first few months, and the cartoonish aspect, lively violence and lighthearted tone made it an experience suitable for all ages. PUBG is the most serious, realistic and methodical alternative, while Fortnite needs fast reflexes to follow the frenetic pace of play — not for nothing the best players in the world turn out to be underage boys.
The rest is history. Epic Games experienced some time with minor changes and installed a new business model with the Battle Pass, a kind of voucher that offers access to a number of aesthetic modifiers (different costumes, dances and accessory designs) but forces players to unlock them by fulfilling missions or accumulating experience within the game. The Battle Pass became such a successful model that other games (such as PUBG) began implementing it. But it was in March 2018, the day Drake, Travis Scott and juJu footballer Smith-Schuster joined the broadcast of Tyler “Ninja” Brevis (then a rising streamer) to play some team games. The broadcast broke records on Twitch and suddenly the whole world wanted to know what game had attracted such a dream team. Weeks later, the first mobile version of the game would arrive on Apple phones and tablets, and in June and July the Nintendo Switch and Android operating system versions would debut respectively.
Fortnite was free, was everywhere and (almost) all versions shared the same map, the same game modes and the same versions. No one was staying out no matter where you played and the Epic Games product became a cultural phenomenon that over the next year prevailed in all aspects of the daily life of millions of young people. Fortnite generated a legion of youtubers, streamers and players that has grown with the game and the success of the World Cup (both in terms of organization and spectators) confirms that the phenomenon is in one of its best moments. Today the island of Fortnite is virtually unrecognizable (the last major event was the fight between a giant monster and a robot that destroyed part of the locations), but the goal remains the same: to be the last player standing. However, the inclusion of a new game mode has further expanded the product’s possibilities. Save the World is currently divided into three key segments: The original mode continues to work and receives occasional updates. The growth of the rest of the game modes has left it forgotten and although it was estimated that Epic Games would make it free at some point this year, for the time being there has been no news about it.
Battle Royale: Star mode allows you to jump on the island alone, as a duo or as a team (up to four players). It also offers access to special events (such as crossovers with Avengers), limited-time modes (such as explosive-weapon-only battles), and the Playground, an ideal space for practicing building mechanics and getting acquainted with weapons.
Creative: The latest addition is basically a map factory and game modes. Users have an island and can build whatever they want, creating different scenarios and rules. Creative Mode opened the World Cup, putting players to compete on different tracks that had been created within this environment.
Made the presentation of rigor and reviewed the origin story of the game, we leave some tips for those who want to try the game but are not too sure where to start. As always the ideal is to learn the mechanics and throw yourself headlong into the Playground to practice construction, fundamental to get out of the clashes — in addition in that special area the resources (wood, metal and stone) are collected at a much time greater than in regular play, allowing you to experience much more without having to spend minutes hitting all structures with the peak. The game is available on all platforms and the tips apply to all versions.1. Don’t lose control
Whether it’s a joystick or mouse and keyboard, a setup with which we feel comfortable is essential for good performance on the battlefield. In the game options, within the control settings, you can modify the key and button assignment, the sensitivity of the scope and even activate options such as automatic construction by holding down the confirmation button (ideal for accelerating the construction) and the alignment of the greeting items on the right side of the inventory (to leave the lockers on the left for the weapons so that we can switch between them more easily). It’s going to take you a few games to find the ideal button settings for you, but it’s the first step to get acquainted with the mechanics and create muscle memory without getting entitre.2. Let the bondi take you
When the bus arrives on the island most players decide to launch immediately to get to the most popular locations (and those with the best items to collect first). But in the first few weeks it’s best to leave that anxiety to those who know and travel to one end of the island, where few players (who can be seen floating) usually fall to explore and collect resources in peace. A good tactic is to slowly fall with the glider open and wait for the storm to appear to know where it is most convenient to land. There will be time to fight when players are in the center of the map.3. The rarity of weapons and healing
In the universe of looted video games, the color of items defines how powerful or resilient they are, and Fortnite is no exception. Beyond the type (machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, etc.) the firepower of the weapons is indicated by its color in the following order: gray, green, blue, purple and gold, each with its own rate of fire, impact and reload time — data that is available on the resource management screen. Healing, on the other hand, is identified by size: small drinks give you 25 shield points (but do not carry above 50) and the large 50; the Slurp gives 75 points in total (first energy and then shield) progressively and the Chug Jug completes both indicators. The bandages recover 15 energy points (up to 75) while medical kits complete vital energy.4. Sound is important
Use headphones. You don’t have to be state-of-the-art gamer headphones, but being able to hear an enemy’s footsteps on the top floor of a house or the siren chant of a golden chest full of great rewards is critical. Yes, THE speakers of the TV will surely do the job, but headphones help you dive and keep you attentive around you. A door that opens, a shot in the distance, or the roar of an engine are indications that someone is nearby and it’s time to prepare for battle, hide or escape.5. Living alone costs life
One of the great advantages of Fortnite is that there is always another game waiting two buttons away. If you landed, you got theweapon you feel safe with and loaded with shields, animate to fight instead of escaping or hiding. Each weapon has its own peculiarities and the only way to find out which one works best for you because of your style of play is by using the arsenal at your disposal. Winning without firing a shot is possible, but difficult, and the only way to practice is to face other players, even if it means finishing 70th for a few weeks. If Thiago can play eight hours a day to train you, you can be aggressive one couple of games per session.6. With you to death
Unless you’re a professional player who throws where the action is from the first minute or actively searches for other players, Fortnite has a lot of leisure time where you’re going to go by going from one side of the map to the other, crouching and trying to keep control of the fl ancos. So, if possible, it’s better to have partners or partners to make those moments more enjoyable—at the end of the day Fortnite is both a game and a social experience. If you don’t assemble another three people to assemble the team, at least try to play as a couple.7. Take out the Bob the Builder in you
We said it and repeated it: construction is one of the fundamental aspects of Fortnite. Not only does it offer shelter from other people’s attacks, but it also gives you height, a variable that can be key in any confrontation. To build you need to have resources, so get used to hitting walls, trees and structures to put together the precious material that will be the basis of your buildings. In the case of trees try not to destroy them completely because their disappearance is seen in the distance and can expose your location and care with the vehicles because hitting them triggers the alarm. Activate automatic construction in the control settings to assemble basic structures (such as walls around you and ramps) quickly, and once you’ve mastered that look you get in full in the edition.8. Good pilcha comes at a price
Did a banana kill you? Do you see that other players have cool costumes, umbrellas and beaks and you die of envy? Most items (at least the most eye-catching) are behind the Battle Pass, so accessing them will not only require paying the ten dollars but also playing enough to unlock them. Still, there are free kits on all platforms every now and then, so if you’re on the lookout, maybe you can flirt something up. Another strategy is to keep the default suit and give the impression you’re new to create false expectations on enemies. 9. The Eye of the Storm
The storm, Fortnite’s silent enemy, is always lurking. While it moves slowly you have to keep an eye on the sound indicators and the countdown, it says how long it will take to start contracting the circle and how long it will take to reach the next limit. Keep in mind that it takes 45 seconds for the character to traverse each of the grid frames on the map without taking into account the terrain changes. The storm does not consume shield but directly energy and as the circle shrinks the damage it does is greater. That’s why at first it’s worth waiting in the air until the first circle is formed to see how far you’re going to be from the next.10 The Initial Isla also serves
Before you get on the Battle Bus, the game will leave you waiting for the rest of the players to arrive on the Start Island, a place full of weapons to try and items to destroy and gather resources. Although the initial impulse is to hue and try to annoy the rest of the players it is worth taking advantage of that minute to practice building or using some weapons it may be a little harder to find within the game.
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