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It's a not-good commentary on you, not Fortnite and Epic, that you can't see past the cynical. Fortnite is pushing boundaries for how to tell a story, it's cre

It's a not-good commentary on you, not Fortnite and Epic, that you can't see past the cynical. Fortnite is pushing boundaries for how to tell a story, it's creating a new kind of narrative, a new immersive way of writing that is worth seeing how it plays out. It's too young to know if it's any good, but it's distinct, and in something as old as storytelling, new things are insanely rare. I've literally never played Fortnite, but it seems like a lot of people do, and if Epic can parlay that into something new, I'm very interested, even if I continue to only watch from the rafters.

FussyZeus 7y ago
I can see past the cynical fine. I've played it. It's alright, that's honestly my impression of it. The shooting mechanics feel a little loose, the framerate can jump around a bit, vehicle controls are wonky and change depending on the vehicle. It's not bad, it's just aggressively okay. If this had a list price I doubt it would've been nearly the success it is. It's the upper echelon in quality for free-to-play.
- diminoten 7y ago
  I think you're looking for a more direct (verbal) story, and mistaking the absence of such as a fault of the game. The point of the article, as I read it, was to describe how Fortnite uses its play area over time to build a lore, without words, and as a pretext of "battle royale" happens around it. The novelty here is how immersive the experience seems to be, from the author's perspective, which is something he doesn't believe has historically been possible with writing as we understand it currently.
  - FussyZeus 7y ago
    > I think you're looking for a more direct (verbal) story I'm really not. The "plot" involved in any multiplayer only shooter is at best, incidental to the game. It's almost never a selling point. > The point of the article, as I read it, was to describe how Fortnite uses its play area over time to build a lore, without words, and as a pretext of "battle royale" happens around it. The novelty here is how immersive the experience seems to be, from the author's perspective, which is something he doesn't believe has historically been possible with writing as we understand it currently. And I agree with all of that, my problem is that it's all centered around a game that I believe is fundamentally unworthy of that honor. A cynically produced product designed from the get-go to pry money from people's wallets, by way of manipulating their children. I find it inhumane and cruel especially to the kids who's parents aren't financially well-off enough to indulge them. Games have a tremendous potential that I think is largely yet untapped, and it grosses me out that one of the first games with mass appeal to accomplish some of that is this... thing. This gross, manipulative, soulless little mediocre shooter.
    - diminoten 7y ago
      It sounds like you're upset a game with mass appeal has mass appeal, because the very things you don't like about the game are what make it popular: you can play it on your phone, you can bling out your character with various skins (paid and unpaid), it appeals to the group of consumers with the largest amount of free time (and who set the trend for the gaming industry as a whole), etc. That's how Fortnite got popular, and now it's using the spotlight it grabbed to innovate in the storytelling space, but all you want to talk about are the very things that end up being true about nearly every single AAA game released by any major studio in the past 5 years. In other words, you sound grumpy, and you seemingly would rather take away the imperfect toy (and completely ignore its storytelling style) than see the incremental progress it's making as something of potential genuine literary value to be nurtured and grown.
- MattRix 7y ago
  You didn't mention the building. The building is what sets the gameplay apart and makes the game absolutely fantastic from a game design pov. (I say this as a professional game designer)

FussyZeus 7y ago

I can see past the cynical fine. I've played it. It's alright, that's honestly my impression of it. The shooting mechanics feel a little loose, the framerate can jump around a bit, vehicle controls are wonky and change depending on the vehicle. It's not bad, it's just aggressively okay. If this had a list price I doubt it would've been nearly the success it is. It's the upper echelon in quality for free-to-play.

diminoten 7y ago
I think you're looking for a more direct (verbal) story, and mistaking the absence of such as a fault of the game. The point of the article, as I read it, was to describe how Fortnite uses its play area over time to build a lore, without words, and as a pretext of "battle royale" happens around it. The novelty here is how immersive the experience seems to be, from the author's perspective, which is something he doesn't believe has historically been possible with writing as we understand it currently.
- FussyZeus 7y ago
  > I think you're looking for a more direct (verbal) story I'm really not. The "plot" involved in any multiplayer only shooter is at best, incidental to the game. It's almost never a selling point. > The point of the article, as I read it, was to describe how Fortnite uses its play area over time to build a lore, without words, and as a pretext of "battle royale" happens around it. The novelty here is how immersive the experience seems to be, from the author's perspective, which is something he doesn't believe has historically been possible with writing as we understand it currently. And I agree with all of that, my problem is that it's all centered around a game that I believe is fundamentally unworthy of that honor. A cynically produced product designed from the get-go to pry money from people's wallets, by way of manipulating their children. I find it inhumane and cruel especially to the kids who's parents aren't financially well-off enough to indulge them. Games have a tremendous potential that I think is largely yet untapped, and it grosses me out that one of the first games with mass appeal to accomplish some of that is this... thing. This gross, manipulative, soulless little mediocre shooter.
  - diminoten 7y ago
    It sounds like you're upset a game with mass appeal has mass appeal, because the very things you don't like about the game are what make it popular: you can play it on your phone, you can bling out your character with various skins (paid and unpaid), it appeals to the group of consumers with the largest amount of free time (and who set the trend for the gaming industry as a whole), etc. That's how Fortnite got popular, and now it's using the spotlight it grabbed to innovate in the storytelling space, but all you want to talk about are the very things that end up being true about nearly every single AAA game released by any major studio in the past 5 years. In other words, you sound grumpy, and you seemingly would rather take away the imperfect toy (and completely ignore its storytelling style) than see the incremental progress it's making as something of potential genuine literary value to be nurtured and grown.
MattRix 7y ago
You didn't mention the building. The building is what sets the gameplay apart and makes the game absolutely fantastic from a game design pov. (I say this as a professional game designer)