Fortnite: Battle Royaleis a phenomenon, to put it lightly. Players of all ages have flocked to the game, and for good reason. It encourages different strategies to survive a round. Because of its extra depth (and inherent silliness), even adult gamers can find quite a bit to love in Fortnite.
There are plenty of elements within the game that adult players have noticed or experienced that will differ from a child's frame of reference. It's also an entirely different situation when a parent involves themselves in their kids' Fortnite obsession. Some of these experiences are positive, while others may have them second-guessing their love of the game entirely.
Simply put, older gamers may pick up on a few things within Fortnite a kid just wouldn't be able to. With that in mind, here are aspects of Fortnite only adults would notice.
It can literally be used as a parenting tool
As with anything that has become popular with kids worldwide, plenty of research has been conducted to help parents understand their children's latest obsession. This has led to conclusions about the game that are both positive and negative, with others falling right in the middle.
A 2018 article from TheNew York Times' Lisa Damour acknowledged the difficulty of helping kids set boundaries for their playing time. However, research has shown parents can use the game to their advantage in more ways than one. Parents who engage with their children and who are willing to have a conversation with them about the game can open a dialogue between them that may have been blocked before.
Fortnite is one of the most popular games to live stream on the online platform Twitch. Streaming Fortnite allows players to interact with others who share in the gaming adventure. At long last, Fortnite's massive Joy Ride update has arrived, and with it comes the introduction of cars into the game, something that has been teased since the beginning of Season 3. Fortnite is a video game developed by Epic Games, creators of such hits as Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, Paragon and more. It is a free-to-play survival shooter available on the PC, PS4 and Xbox.
It's also been recommended that Fortnite could be used as something of a bargaining chip, or even a form of allowance. You want that cool new character skin you've had your eye on? Clean your room. Get good grades. Plenty of non-gamer adults have come around to the idea of not only embracing Fortnite, but also allowing it to strengthen their bonds with their children.
We know a zombie when we see one
During 'Fortnitemare,' Fortnite's Halloween event in 2018, the game was overrun by horrific creatures. These were shambling, mindless monstrosities that pushed their limping bodies forward with the express purpose of maiming everyone in their way. These monsters were, of course, called zom- err, Cube Monsters.
What Is A Fortnite Season
Yeah, according to a statement from Epic Games to The Verge, Fortnite doesn't contain zombies of any kind. This is despite the fact that just about every adult player who encountered these creatures — including Chance the Rapper — immediately shouted, 'Zombie!'
Granted, it's easier to pass off a zombie-like creature in more kid-centric media. Throw a spooky glow on them and you can call them whatever you want and still seem somewhat child-friendly. However, for adults who have spent years absorbing zombies in mass media via films like Dawn of the Dead and shows like The Walking Dead, it's pretty obvious what these things are: zombies in all but name.
Still, the glowing bits do somehow make them less frightening than, say, Mr. X from Resident Evil 2. Imagine Raccoon City getting overrun by Cube Monsters; it just doesn't have the same ring to it.
People tend to think you .. shouldn't be playing?
Okay, so pretty much any adult gamer can attest to having more than one moment in their lives when people questioned their favorite pastime. Well, it seems that adult Fortnite players may have it harder than anyone else. A quick perusal of Reddit will reveal multiple gamers who have received flak from loved ones and other players for still being invested in the battle royale, or otherwise feel alone for being into a fun game.
BBC's Perveen Akhtar decided to see what all the fuss was in 2018 and downloaded the game. Within an hour, she considered herself a fan. In talking to other players, she quickly realized that the game was a lot of fun, but seemed to carry a stigma with some parents. Fortnite is a fun experience for all ages, but somehow adults tend to see a bit more backlash for enjoying it.
With games like The Last of Us and Death Stranding presenting complex storytelling and deep layers of character work within their narratives, people should really be past the idea that 'video games are just for kids,' right? Keep your chins up, adult Fortnite players.
Slurp juice is apparently toxic waste
Fortnite pc size. Most who play Fortnite breathe a heavy sigh of relief when they see a bottle of Slurp. It's like walking through a desert and stumbling upon an oasis; you see that Slurp, you know you need it to survive, and you can't get over to it fast enough.
But there's something off about this strange blue liquid. Looking at it, you might believe Slurp is a medicine of some kind, or perhaps some sort of fruit smoothie. Everything established about Slurp, however, suggests otherwise. Long story short: what you're chugging may not be good for you.
According to Gamepedia's Fortnite page, there are some clues about the origins of Slurp in the game, and those clues 'suggest that Slurp Juice is made from toxic waste.' When you visit Slurpy Swamp on the new Chapter 2 map, you'll see Slurp seeping into the ground and the river like something terrible from a Captain Planet episode. You shouldn't be surprised at this revelation — clearly something that glows blue and instantly replenishes your health can't be made from anything all-natural. You may, however, be disappointed in yourself for blindly drinking this life juice without even questioning where it came from or what it's made out of.
Should your character fall in the middle of your next Fortnite match, blame the Slurp.
Building is faster than reloading
Fortnite is a game that puts a lot of importance on both base building and shooting. It also puts more of a focus on arcade action than true realism. It's understandable that some things in Fortnite won't jive with the world you live in, and that those who play the game should account for that. It's hard to ignore, though, that Fortnite seems to embrace the believable in some instances and the unbelievable in others.
If you've ever watched the end of a Fortnite match, you've likely seen two players quickly building around each other, erecting towers in seconds and running along ramps as they're building them. The building part of Fortnite happens almost instantaneously. What doesn't happen as fast, however, is the reloading of your weapons. It's clear Epic Games wants to encourage building as a core aspect of the game, and has made building a snap as a result. But why should someone be able to throw up an entire small fortress faster than someone else can reload a bolt-action sniper rifle?
There are all sorts of oddities within Fortnite now, and more will likely be introduced over time. The insane building speed when compared to other slower actions, though, really stands out.
100 players can't fit on a Battle Bus
Every Fortnite match starts with a journey, of sorts. All competitors hop on a giant bus, that bus is lifted by a hot air balloon into the sky, and then the bus flies over the Fortnite island. This is a much goofier take on the typical jumps found in other battle royale titles, as those leaps are mostly made out of airplanes. The whole thing really falls apart, though, when you closely examine the bus and start to do a little math.
How many seats can there possibly be on a school bus that size? Research seems to suggest that, at most, 48 people could be seated comfortably. That is well short of the 100 people a Battle Bus carries at the start of a solo Fortnite match, so unless competitors are squeezing lots of extra folks into seats, or a bunch of characters are forced to stand in the aisles, the Battle Bus can't possibly hold that many people.
This is a problem for a number of reasons. What if the Battle Bus comes crashing down out of the sky? A number of passengers won't be wearing seat belts, which means they'd undoubtedly meet their ends. And what about all that weight? Can a hot air balloon really support a bus and 100 men and women at the same time? Sure seems like a recipe for disaster.
Someone should talk to Epic about this.
Fortnite skins highlight economic inequality
Fortnite is a free-to-play game. It's also available on a number of platforms, including a few that aren't all that powerful. The title's accessibility has helped it thrive, as almost anyone can download and play Fortnite if they have a console or computer of some kind, an internet connection, and a little bit of free time. All that considered, Fortnite should be a parent's dream come true; especially if money is tight.
Not so much. Fortnite is kept afloat by microtransactions sold within the game, ranging from character skins to unique animations called emotes. These cost money, and if expendable income is something your family doesn't have a lot of, you could find either yourself or your kids being targeted for bullying.
It's sad but true. A UK group called the Children's Commission assembled a report that looked at how kids treat other kids who can't afford Fortnite's microtransactions, and made some pretty disturbing discoveries. The report found that children who don't buy skins in Fortnite get picked on, with one young girl telling researchers, 'If you're a default skin, people think you're trash.' Another said, 'Sometimes if you are wearing the default skin you can get bullied.'
You wouldn't think a game that's all about gathering with friends and having fun would promote such toxicity. Unfortunately, kids feel pressured to buy their way out of being looked down on in the game. Maybe free isn't so free after all.
Female players barely register on the pro scene
Nearly half the world's population is female. Remove females entirely from the equation, and after some time has passed, there is no population left. Humans go extinct, the apes take over and replace the Lincoln Memorial, and our world suddenly looks a lot different. Needless to say, women are important! And not just for that reason. Without women, there would have been no Underground Railroad. We wouldn't understand DNA as we do today. We'd be without so many great literary works. You get the gist.
Women, however, don't appear to be important to the Fortnite professional scene, judging by the last World Cup event that took place. When 100 players took part in last year's event, there was not a single woman competing.
How can that be? There are almost certainly women who play the game. There are loads of female streamers who stick to Fortnite and Fortnite alone. The problem, it seems, is that various professional events for the game aren't doing enough to promote female involvement. Whether that falls on Epic Games or other tournament holders is another question, entirely, but it's still a problem that really needs to be solved.
Hopefully, next year's World Cup won't have the same issue. It'll be a much more exciting event if everyone feels represented.
Fortnite characters swim like dolphins
How do you swim? Do you swim like a normal human being? If so, you probably kick with your feet and flap your arms to create some momentum. Your body stays either under the water or on the surface. You aren't becoming airborne. This is similar to how Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps does it, in that Michael Phelps swims like pretty much every person is taught to.
Something happened when swimming was introduced in Fortnite, though — something very wrong. The characters are more than capable of normal swimming form if the player chooses to use it. But these characters can also jump in and out of the water like Flipper. The humans can swim like dolphins in Fortnite, and it's unclear why.
Sure, Fortnite bends the rules of reality in lots of ways. Fortnite isn't known for being a simulation of island survival. But most of the other oddities in Epic's game can be attributed to sped-up mechanics. The ability to shoot yourself out the water, only to immediately dive back in? It's weird. Humans don't swim like that. Please fix it, Epic.
What Console Is Fortnite Played On
Fortnite doesn't have much diversity in its body types
Take a good hard look at all the skins you've collected in Fortnite, and try to figure out what they all have in common. It might be a little difficult. There are Slurp goo creatures in there. There are walking bananas. There are yetis. And there are a bunch of humans in funny costumes. You can find all sorts of differences when comparing Fortnite's enormous cast of characters, but break things down to a very basic level. Remove all the outfits. Imagine each skin as a mannequin in a store. What do you see?
You see a bunch of fit, sometimes skinny character models. Fortnite is severely lacking when it comes to diversity in this department, and once you've seen it, you really can't unsee it.
How many more perfectly cut guys can Fortnite add? How many more women in midriff baring shirts are absolutely necessary? These types of characters are overdone at this point, and players are really only granted a reprieve when something strange (like a giant walking banana) joins the fray. Why aren't there larger people? Why doesn't Fortnite add some shorter characters to the mix?
Epic might say different sizes could throw off balance. To that, there's a solution: re-balance the game, then. A meta refresh doesn't have to mean vaulting weapons. It can mean a character choice has pros and cons for the first time, instead of just being an outfit swap.
More diversity is better, Epic.
Fortnite ripped off lots of artists with emotes, but played it safe with content creators
You might recall that, a while back, Epic Games came under heavy fire from a bunch of musicians, actors, and more. Many of these artists believed Epic had stolen their work by re-purposing dances and other notable movements as emotes. Some had pretty strong cases to make. Others seemed like they were reaching. Regardless, Epic Games didn't back down one inch. The company went to court to fight those who took issue with the emotes, and many of those cases were eventually thrown out or dropped.
It's interesting, though, that Epic took a completely different approach with some of Fortnite's most popular content creators. It seems 'borrowing' from those outside of the video game world was totally fine. When it came time to add a Ninja skin and a Pokimane emote to Fortnite, though, Epic went the official route.
Why the sudden change in philosophy? It's possible Epic just didn't want to deal with court battles anymore. There's also a chance Ninja and Pokimane have arrangements with Epic already, and these cosmetics were just a byproduct of that. It's also likely, though, that Epic Games didn't want to tick off millions of Ninja and Pokimane fans who also play Fortnite. Who knows — maybe they'd stop playing.
It was probably the right call, though Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is likely wondering where his check is.
Fortnite encourages you to consume shrooms
By now, we've established that Slurp juice is very likely toxic waste, and that drinking it cannot be good for your health. That's not the only example of Fortnite offering up some suspect nutritional advice, though. Throughout the game's long run, various challenges have asked players to do something their mothers probably wouldn't approve of; something most would be smart enough not to do — eat mushrooms off the ground.
That's right: Fortnite has mushrooms that, according to the game, can heal you slightly should you consume them. In a sense, they're 'magic mushrooms.'
Now, we're not saying these are the psychedelic drug variety of mushrooms, though that would certainly help large portions of Fortnite make much more sense. Players chugging large jars of toxic waste? Bananas running around with guns? Large purple cubes carrying islands around in the sky? Perhaps the Fortnite world is inherently strange itself. Or perhaps you, the player, are seriously tripping after eating all of those mushrooms. Maybe you're not even playing a battle royale survival game at all. Maybe you're just running around with a stick, beating trees and brick walls while all the neighbors look on with concern.
Maybe that'll be the end of Fortnite — the reveal that your adventures in looting and shooting were all the work of psilocybin. Or maybe the mushrooms are just normal mushrooms. Who knows anymore?
