A Fortnite Primer

These actual words might have been said in my house recently:

“I dropped in outside of Greasy and popped a chest…the loot was good. There were bogies fighting over by the Durr Burger that I waited out… Then I one-tapped a guy for 95, got some ammo and heals. When I pushed further into Greasy, there was another guy harvesting mats. I fired, but I was still a shrub. I didn’t take any damage. He didn’t know where the shot came from. He came towards me, so I pulled out my green tac and finished him.”

If any of this sounds somewhat familiar to you and you feel your eyes glaze over at the mention of “skins” and “kills,” you obviously know a kid who plays Fortnite. Bless you.

Image from Epic Games

Some days I listen to the Fortnite battle recaps and think, Good heavens, it sounds like they have learned another language. I sure hope they are acquiring some redeeming skills alongside all of these shenanigans. And other days I think, If I hear one more word about Battle Royale, I’m going to throw every screen I can get my hands on out into the street. It’s all about balance.

Along the way I have picked up on what some of this gibberish means, and I’m here to help you out with a few of the mysteries of Fortnite. After all, in my day I was nearly unbeatable at Speed Devils on the Sega Dreamcast, so Mama ain’t afraid of no game.

First of all, what is Fortnite?

Fortnite is a video game that combines the resource-gathering-building concept of Minecraft with the fast-paced action of a third-person shooter game. In my opinion, there are a couple of things that set Fortnite apart from previous games. First, the initial download is free, and second, it can be played across platforms. This means that a kid playing on a PS4 can play with his friend who has an Xbox and his other friend on a PC. While it is a battle-to-the-death style game, the violence is cartoonish without any blood or gore. Its rating is T for Teen (rather than M for Mature like most other shoot-‘em-up games.)

What should I know about it?

Just like anything that lures our kids to stare at a screen for hours on end, this game is no different. Screen-time management is, of course, a big concern when it comes to Fortnite. The guys at Epic Games (creators) are no dummies and have orchestrated several components of this game to be particularly addictive. The constant upgrades keep it fresh and interesting, and the relatively short match times make it very easy to keep saying, “Just one more match.”

The game has an online chat feature that allows players to talk to one another, so parents should definitely check into the game’s chat settings to limit who has access to their child and what their kid might be exposed to if he/she is not playing with just friends.

While the game itself is free to download, there are a lot of opportunities to spend real money. Parents will also want to make sure they have restrictions in place to limit or monitor how much money is being spent.

Image from Epic Games

And in case you feel like you can’t understand half of what your kid says these days, here’s some Fortnite terminology to help you get up to speed:

Skins: the “costumes” that players use in the game; these can be earned and/or purchased.

Bush Campers: players who stay in a bush or shrub as cover; these don’t provide any actual defense, just camouflage.

Knocked: knocking down an opponent without actually eliminating them; important when in duo or squad play to communicate about the relative well-being of an enemy team.

Mats: short for “materials,” which are wood, brick/stone, and metal that players need to build things.

One-shot: an opponent who is only one shot away from being eliminated.

Heals: healing items that improve a player’s health, such as bandages, med kits, campfires, potions, juice, and chug jugs.

Minis: mini-shields, commonly shared among players to improve shield cover.

Shield pop: destruction of an opponent’s shield.

Tilted Towers (and others): there are lots of funny names for areas on the map, such as Haunted Hills, Snobby Shores, Loot Lake, Tomato Temple, etc. There’s a list here.

Ninja: a real person, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, 27, who is the most popular streamer on Twitch playing the (currently) most popular game. He has more than 11 million followers and reportedly makes over $500,000 per month. Serious.

Twitch: an online service for watching and streaming digital video broadcasts. Founded in 2011 with a focus on video game play, it has expanded to art work creation, music, and talk shows.

Emotes (aka: dances): these are seconds-long bits of choreography that your avatar performs, usually in celebration, during the game. They are based on real-life expressions and span from something as simple as a fist bump to the more complex “Electro Shuffle” and even a riff on the famous “Gangham Style” moves. These are purely for fun; they add no competitive advantage. Here’s a great video about Fortnite emotes and their origins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3_dJaZjwHo.

On those days when I feel super irritated by all the Fortnite hype, I try to remember that this, too, shall pass. In fact, when talking to my son and his friends about this post, they said, “Oh, Fortnite will be on its way out before you know it…” and they rattled off their guesses about what game will take its place. A great reminder that nothing is forever. Not even Fortnite.

Jennifer
I’m a native Texan/San Antonian who spent a decade in Seattle and has never readjusted to the heat. I spend most days puzzling over my boys’ constant states of hunger and their non-stop wrestling. I live with my three favorite people on the planet: a fuzzy-faced dog that everyone loves (@sarge_the_whoodle on IG), a really ornery cat, and a fire-bellied toad that has defied the natural life expectancy for all toads. In my spare time, I operate a private practice as a marriage and family therapist, with specialties in traumatic grief, couples, and managing depression/anxiety without medication, which is a nice way to make use of my master’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science. I can most often be found on my own back patio with wine and a book, perfecting my status as a world-class procrastinator while ignoring laundry. Also: I’m married to my college sweetheart, also a Native Texan; and mom to three boys: two who run and one who soars, ages 13 (deceased), 11 (hungry), and 7 (also hungry).