Fortnite: a parents' guide to the most popular video game in schools

originally posted by: underpass61
My 11 year old son just started - some of his friends have been playing a while. Question - is it ok for a kid his age? It's hard to keep up with this stuff and what's appropriate.

It's a shooter type game with cartoonized characters and environment/weapons. There's no blood unless it's changed since I played a month ago.

To 'get gud as the youngsters say, you must employ strategic tactics and build defensible positions. I think that can be a great thing for a developing brain in terms of problem solving and critical thinking.

Obviously there is violence... but it doesn't come with any horrific gore or anything like that. You're basically blasting cartoon characters.

Ultimately, I say your kid is fine playing it so long he understands violence in real life is bad. That and...

He has most likely played, or is playing worse games. This one's pretty harmless

a reply to: PsychoEmperor


I play on X1X, I play solo, but would like to play with others. Iplay1u2 is my tag.....Such a rush to be 1st place!

a reply to: kurthall

I would be down to fire it back up on my sexbox1 (no X) but I assume we could still play together

a reply to: PsychoEmperor

I have the game, I've played it but it just doesn't hold my attention. The reason it's so popular is because it's free and doesn't require a top of the line computer to play. Other super popular games for years now became that way because they're free to play. Funny enough, the PvE side of Fortnite you have to pay for and only a small minority of the FN population actually play it. Had FN BR not been free it would've never been as popular as it is.

a reply to: dug88

Going by this Reddit thread, FN doesn't officially support Linux but that doesn't mean you can't play it on Linux. Have a look and give it a go!

www.reddit.com...

a reply to: seaswine

Cool, thank you for the overview

i tried it yesterday, i dont like 3rd person games much but i wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
i didnt like it.
its ok but the game doesnt reflect its popularity.
just the snowball effect i guess.

a reply to: Rikku

That's how I felt as well but was playing alone. I think it could be quite a blast if you played with 3 buddies with mics though.

The game's all about strategy. Working with a team of four would be much fun I think. Never have, though

a reply to: PsychoEmperor

I HATE FORTNITE.

It is an addiction in my house, targeting three teenage boys, sapping their lives to spend sunny days sitting in the darkness plugged into a screen. My kids have figured out how to by-pass our firewall to play the game, we have to physically remove the router to stop them playing.

Who needs tobacco when these games are as addictive and a lot more profitable? In years to come these games will be seen as a poison, just like nicotine. I would bet the last thing the bankers behind the developers of 'Fortnite' are doing is sitting in front of a screen pretending to be somewhere, and someone, else.

a reply to: Lagomorphe
If you even looked at the game you would see it’s cartoon based with no gore what so ever.

Great game I love playing on ps4. I have about 3000 or so games played hundred squad wins and 25 solos. The game is wildly fun when your battling against another skilled openents.

If your just trying it now instead of when it came out last December the skill gap to catch up is going to be huge.

This game can be played by all ages imo, violence is part of the game but it’s done in the bugs bunny loony toons style,so if your kid watches cartoon they can play this game.

a reply to: PsychoEmperor

I find it bloody aweful, full of button bashing, tower building numpties. Don't get me wrong, I do see the skill and quality of the gamers I just don't rate the game.

I'd much prefer to play ARK for the PvP or battlefield. The latter especially since the physics are much more realistic, it's difficult finding a game where bullets do what bullets should do these days. Battlefield is ace in that respect.

Honestly, I've tried to enjoy fortnite. I just can't.

originally posted by: Lagomorphe
Bring back traditional family get together games such as Monopoly I say...

Go to prison young un or SJW... « SKREEEEEEEE »

Blood n guts galore for all the family...

Pffftttt...

I've encountered more violence and family issues in regards to Monopoly more than any other game. Period.


True story!

originally posted by: PsychoEmperor
a reply to: scraedtosleep


Oh that would be interesting, I've been actually wondering if introducing a battle royal concept to games like Halo or Call of Duty would work just as well. I really do hope this genre takes off and helps out other games. The idea of everyone jumping from a sky in every game haha that would make a lot of games super interesting.


andddd Invite sent!

I played Unreal Tournament - that made a big difference from playing Quake's all or nothing to get the highest score. I liked the way they gave out medals like "never tripped up once", "we saw him there" or "made it to the starting line" even if you didn't get the highest score/fastest time.

I think I may have played Fortnite or something similar once - all I remember that I ended up being stalked and killed by a Christmas tree with flashing lights.

I'll stick with chess.
Best game ever invented.

I have played various versions of this game on steam. The game is so popular because its an amazing concept! You have all the elements of FPS in one, plus its realistic, when you die you do not just respawn, making the game play more intense and really makes you think. Also the game area shrinks forcing players to interact, no more camping out until you win. You have to be stealthy, plus a great QCB gamer too!

a reply to: Doxanoxa



Its called a PASSWORD.......

originally posted by: Rikku
i tried it yesterday, i dont like 3rd person games much but i wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
i didnt like it.
its ok but the game doesnt reflect its popularity.
just the snowball effect i guess.

Uh, 46 year old guy here. If you only played it a few times, you have not even scratched the surface of the game....My first Solo win WAS EPIC!!!!!

I did not know it was as popular as it was, I first played it 2 months ago.....500 matches latter I love the game. I am playing on X1X in native 4K 60 FPS......BTW I have stopped playing constantly now.....

originally posted by: stormcell

originally posted by: PsychoEmperor
a reply to: scraedtosleep


Oh that would be interesting, I've been actually wondering if introducing a battle royal concept to games like Halo or Call of Duty would work just as well. I really do hope this genre takes off and helps out other games. The idea of everyone jumping from a sky in every game haha that would make a lot of games super interesting.


andddd Invite sent!

- all I remember that I ended up being stalked and killed by a Christmas tree with flashing lights.

Those bloody Bush Wookiees! I remember many an earlier game being one of those, now a days it's pretty hard to win doing that strategy. Towards the final circle, everyone starts shooting at the bushes lol

As far as the "Age Appropriateness" of the game, as with all things every parent will probably be different. For Me, it's fine, the graphics are cartoony and no blood at all. Of course the problem is this is an Online game where you can Pair up with either one other person in a Duo mode or three other people in a Squad mode. I would suggest setting up your privacy settings so they can only pair up with friends and not random people on the internet.

With that said, some of my best games have been when I'm paired up with a younger kid and get to help him/her get their first victory