Fortnite is a cartoonish shooting game that has become very popular. Although there is no blood and guts, the weapons are real and the victims just fade away after being killed.
The object of the game is to kill everybody and be the last man (or women) standing. Although there is nothing overtly inappropriate, the men and women in the battle are dressed to… Battle. They are not necessarily dressed in a wholesome manner.
The aspect of Fortnite which is particularly addictive, is when you join together with a group of buddies to kill another group of someone else’s buddies. There is a limit to one hundred total murderers running around. In this group version, some of those murderers are your friends and will not kill you. You can choose your friends or have ‘Fortnite’ choose them. You will have the ability to corroborate with total strangers to kill other total strangers.
In the ‘solo’ version, 99 murderers are not your friends and are all out to kill you. To survive the game you need to collect weapons, build protective structures (or find them), and avoid being killed in a decreasing play area. In one version of the game you get to kill zombies too, not just other people.
Fornite takes 20 minutes to play, which is part of the reason for addiction. You can always start up again, ‘for a few minutes’. The game does not itself have anything overtly inappropriate other than murdering cartoonish looking men and women, but the nature of the game includes interacting with others socially. The chatting online obviously does not guarantee proper language and healthy relationships being developed… especially if you draw attention to yourself by being good (which is the obvious goal).
To sum it up, there are five primary concerns that some have with Fortnite:
- Cartoonish characters murdering with real assault weapons
- Interacting with total strangers in a highly combative environment
- Exposure to the language that players in the game use
- The dress of the characters can be offensive to some
- Addiction
The game is free, so in order for the developer to generate revenue, a child (or adult) will need to purchase ‘extras’. Besides playing at 3A.M., purchase history may be the first sign of addiction. The extras include ‘dressing up’ characters, or purchasing better tools. There is a natural draw to relate to the successes and failures of the characters who exhibit typical human expressions. They are easy to relate with as the graphics are absolutely fantastic.
Keep in mind, that when your child says, “Everyone does it,” Your child’s friend is telling their parent the same thing.
Is Fortnite right for your family? You decide….
Your questions or comments are welcome at Tag.Cleveland@gmail.com.
Sender Radcliffe says
In an otherwise fairly represented article with very little hyperbole, I thought calling the players “murderers” again and again was a little hyperbolic.
The label displays the bias and when compared to other activities becomes clear how ridiculous it is.
Risk: For 2-6 Genocidal Dictators.
p.s. I do believe Video game activity has pros and cons. That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised to see an article that clearly covered things with facts without resorting to scare tactics…almost.
Gedaliah Yitzchak Corbett says
I’m almost finished reading a book called, “Reset Your Child’s Brain.”https://amzn.to/2AoYt21
(also available to borrow from your local library.)
As a professional children’s librarian and parent, I can recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning about the effects that “screen time” has on a child’s (and teen’s) brain development.