Best Video Game

Despite being released for fewer than two years, Fortnite has become a cultural gaming phenomenon that will likely be associated with 2018 forever. With a cartoon-inspired design and bright colors, flashy dance moves and themed events, Fortnite seems like every child’s dream. But it’s not just for children.

With millions of players ranging from elementary-schoolers to adults, it draws a huge crowd, despite being just a drop in the water among thousands of other role-playing games. Despite its straightforward interface, Fortnite holds well-designed complexities that sets it aside from other games.

“They are constantly adding different aspects in the game that have strayed away from normal role-playing games,” said Tyler O’Brien, a first-year accounting student at the University of Iowa. “The aspects of creativity, the option to design your guy — it doesn’t make you better.”

Like many other fans, O’Brien appreciated the creativity involved with the play as well as players not being able buy their way into winning. They have to earn it.

“It’s free, it’s different from any other game. [The game developers] keep adding and changing things,” said Trevor Cherry, a first-year business student. “It’s a shooter game that older people like, with a ton of dances that interest younger kids. And you can build structures.”

Fortnite has recently come into the spotlight — rapper 2 Milly is suing the franchise for copying his dance, the Milly Rock, as one of the celebratory dances in the game. There is a large debate over whether dances can be copyrighted.

The creativity involved in building forts and character appearances draws in a lot of players, as well as the ever-changing map and underlying storyline released with every new season. The multifaceted design appeals to a wide range of ages.

“There are skins that are new and unique; it’s a free game that is popular, but they still make a lot of money off of that,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien, like many other young people, plays Fortnite most days of the week. For many, Fortnite is a way to de-stress, and for college kids especially, a way to keep in contact with friends and family members that may live far away.

“A lot of my friends back home have Xbox, and I keep in contact with them through it. Even though we don’t go to the same colleges, we can still play video games together,” O’Brien said.