This popular survival-action game created by Epic Games, Inc. was released a few years back in 2017, and adults and children alike were competing for this #1 Victory Royale position. Whether it be Fortnite-themed birthday parties with a mock artillery battle area or players tuning into the Fortnite World Cup tournament, it’s true that Fortnite has appeal to a wide range of audiences. By incorporating elements from of the sandbox-building creative game like Minecraft and an active shooter game like Call of Duty, Fortnite is truly the best of both worlds for players. With millions of players online every day playing this game, you might be wondering: Is this game alright for my kids?
Let’s first talk about how the game works. Players collaborate to survive in an open-world environment, by battling other characters who are controlled either by the game itself or by other players. Like other battle royale games, Fortnite Battle Royale is a competitive shooter between 100 players as they air-drop out of a moving plane and then fight to survive in many cases to be the sole victor. As they are moving towards victory, the space that the players are in slowly starts to shrink to force the final few into close combat. Other than the Fortnite Battle Royale version, Fortnite itself as an online video game has two other game modes: Fornite Save the World and Fortnite Creative. The latter being the mode the incorporates elements of the sandbox game mode giving your child to take the freedom to create custom environments and games, while the former engages in a player vs. environment cooperative game.
As for answering, the question as to if Fortnite is appropriate for kids… yes and no. It depends on how you look at it, and what you want your child to get out of the game. Unlike the more gory scenes in competitor games on the market, Fortnite is presented in a colorful and cartoonish style that is quite attractive to the eye. The violence earned the game a rating of T, which means that the game is targeted for those who are teens or older. However, others say there’s no harm in Fortnite, as long as kids don’t play too much. Fortnite fans often point out that the game looks like a cartoon, and thus violence isn’t realistic enough for kids to take a negative influence. As always, there’s a risk in any online video game no matter how cartoonish it looks. The game’s online chat feature, especially in the Battle Royale mode, could expose younger players to unwanted profanity or mature content from random strangers.
Like any game or movie or anything in popular media, it is up to you as a parent to decide what is appropriate for your child to experience and learn from.
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