Greetings button smashers, today I am talking about one of the most dreaded and popular games of late: Fortnite. This battle royale game has garnered a massive fan base, leading up to the first championship game where some teen won close to a million dollars. This game certainly has not been without controversy, especially if you go online and see the rage compilations that I have seen. But I believe that Fortnite’s success is a very good thing for the gaming community. Before a bunch of console jockeys crucify me, hear me out. Fortnite, while not an overly serious game, has turned into a magnate of bad tempered 10 year olds, 26 year old try hards, and every possible nasty gamer you can think of. In essence, it has consumed the minds of some of the worst aspects of gaming, leaving the servers of other games cleaner and more enjoyable to play.
First, I don’t disagree with the idea of Fortnite as a game. Gamers have long searched for true battle royal games, going all the way back to Minecraft and the hunger games servers that are still popular to this day. And I did play Fortnite for a very short period of time. The game itself is not inherently bad, and some of the ideas are quite fun. I then moved to Apex, another battle royale game, which I played for a bit as well. The reason I believe battle royales are so fun to play is that the aspect of luck of finding good weapons, the need for stealth, the large maps, and unpredictability of the game lends itself to a fast paced, adrenaline filled game. And it is obvious that Fortnite is attempting to appeal to a younger demographic of gamers, with cartoonish imagery and a lack of gore. This is a great way to help a young generation get into gaming and for gamers of all ages to connect with one another.
Now, I know that Fortnite has unfortunately suffered from the toxicity that so many other games have suffered from, though it seems to have magnified in this particular game. You can go online and see the different rants and rage compilations of players getting tilted by another player fragging them or something going dreadfully wrong. But I actually do not view this as an inherently bad thing. For a long time, gaming has devolved into a quagmire of bad language and rude players. And since the release of Fortnite, I have noticed a severe decrease in bad behavior from gamers. Certainly, toxic gamers still exist in every game, but I have not noticed them nearly as much as I used to. And I directly attribute this to Fortnite. Say what you will about the game, but it’s popularity has risen to the rise of other servers receiving less harsh treatment overall.
While I will never play Fortnite again, I cannot deny the effect it has had on the gaming community. It is a well constructed game that many players avidly enjoy. And while the reactions it garners are a bit extreme, they are warranted in some form. I will leave you with this: While I think the hype around Fortnite is ridiculous, because of the clearing of the different servers in different games because of Fortnite, I wish the game many years of success!
Keep on fragging, and just click heads!
-The Law
