Publisher's Synopsis
This essay sheds light on how Fornite become a popular global gaming phenomenon and how Fornite changed peoples lives. Moreover, how the average gamer can earn a living playing Fornite is delineated in this essay. There are ample reasons as to why Fortnite evolved into becoming a global phenomenon as one of the utmost popular video games of all time. Fortnite's popularity goes beyond Fortnite simply launching as a free to play online shooter video game that offered three unique game modes. Fortnite is far more than just the simple battle royale game it is perceived to be by non-gamers. Fortnite also offers a sandbox game mode called Fortnite Creative as well an online, 4 player cooperative, player versus environment game mode, known as Fortnite Save The World. Fortnite has gained significant traction as the utmost popular free to play battle royale game of all time. Fortnite live broadcasts and Fortnite videos became viral sensations shortly after "Drake the rapper joined on of Twitch's most popular gaming streamers, Ninja, for a Fornite game. The stream set an all-time record for highest number of concurrent views" (Lorenz, 2018). "Fortnite holds the record for the most videos related to a video game uploaded in a single month to YouTube. Fornite even set a record for biggest single live gaming stream on YouTube with more than 1.1 million live viewers" (Lorenz, 2018). The appeal of Fortnite can be traced back to the growing popularity of gameplay live streams. Fortnite capitalized on this growing trend by creating a streamer friendly game in which content creators have ample time to communicate with their viewership amid gameplay sessions. Fotnite's battle royale mode has significant downtime amid matches and therefore gives streamers ample opportunity to engage their viewers as they are roaming around the spacious battle royale island map that is devoid of non-playable characters and is mostly desolated. Epic Games, the publisher and developer of Fortnite, has not only rekindled interest in the battle royale game genre through the integration of the battle royale game mode into Fornite, but has also integrated elements of a survival game with limited resources available for players which enhances the battle royale experience by introducing a sense of scarcity into the battle royale game genre. Epic Games also capitalized on the popularity of Minecraft's building mechanics by devising their own in-game fortress building system into Fortnite that players can strategically leverage to fortify their defenses. This fortress building gameplay mechanic encourages creativity and awards strategic fortress building gameplay since the utmost adept and competent Fortnite players understand how to leverage their fortresses to attain competitive advantages over their adversaries, such as being able to attack from a high vantage point or being able to be rendered virtually untouchable in their eminently fortified fortress as their competitors exposed in open terrain eradicate one another. Fortnite's continuous release of more seasons, updates, and downloadable content were also major factors behind its global appeal. Additionally, Fortnite's player customization options also has help the game build traction globally since every avatar can be unique and representative of the individual player. Fornite allows players to choose from a myriad of unique skins, weapons, and emotes to leverage. These customization options not only renders each Fortnite character unique, but also entices players to keep playing the game to unlock more skins, weapons, and emotes so that they can modify their character's appearance, weapons, and emotes to their liking. On a competitive level, Fortnite as an esport game can be enthralling to watch as top tier gamers duke it out against one another in fast paced, survival, battle royale matches. Epic Games is distributing another 100 million dollars as prize pool money for competitive 2019 Fortnite tournaments.
