Epic FortNite

Fortnite appears to be a game very much of right now. It's a 2012 pop culture soup with ingredients like Minecraft, The Walking Dead, and, of course, bow weapons. Bows are so hot right now. Even the business model sounds modern -- more on that in a bit.

While Fortnite was announced last December, the first details were finally just revealed today at Comic-Con. It's a cooperative survival game set amidst a zombie apocalypse and presented in a cartoon art style. Developer Epic (Gears of War) relates it to a Looney Tunes look. The flow of gameplay moves through three phases: scavenge for fort parts during the day, build your fort as quickly as you can before night falls, and then defend your fort from monsters during the night. The formula should sound familiar to anyone who has spent any time in Minecraft. But Epic wants this to be a game for everyone, and not everyone enjoys combat. So you'll be able to sleep through the night and skip the combat section altogether if you're more interested in hunting and gathering.

The various weapons in the game also provide opportunities for players to take on different roles. For instance, a crossbow can eventually be upgraded with electric bolts that stun enemies, leaving them open to attack from your more aggressive team mates. Or if you fancy exploring, acting as a scout for your team, a grappling hook extension for your crossbow will allow you to traverse environments other players can't. Epic's Cliff Bleszinski says that while Fortnite can be played alone, it's designed to be the most fun when played with friends.

These days, Bleszinski is looking back on his childhood for game inspiration. He remembered building forts as a kid; scrambling to find whatever he could for materials, be them branches, sticks, leaves, bricks... Or if it was a rainy day and he was stuck inside, a pillow fort would suffice. That is the spirit of Fortnite -- run out into the world, grab what you can, and build your fort.

Those defenses can be pretty elaborate. Videos shown today featured everything from barns to multi-level buildings with stairways and angled walls to gigantic castle fortresses. Enemies can destroy your defenses, so a simple log cabin won't cut it for very long.

The zombified enemies coming to kill you -- husks, as they're called -- manage to be frightening despite not being hulking Locust beasts. They appear to be skeletons that have burst out of the skin of former humans and still wear their host's peeled-back head skin as a hoodie.

Epic isn't talking about its Fortnite business model, yet, but consider these ideas: It's a multiplayer game designed to be played forever ("Do LEGOs end?" asks Bleszinski), there are lots of opportunities for character customization, and Epic plans to continually add to the game and iterate after launch. It sounds like Fortnite is a candidate for free-to-play, microtransactions, or subscription business models.

Fortnite isn't due to arrive until 2013, but we can expect a lengthy beta period leading up to release. Perhaps coming as a disappointment to fans of Epic's recent console games in the Gears of War series, Fortnite will be exclusive to PC -- at least for now. Bleszinski says the game seems to make the most sense on PC, but the next generation of consoles could be Fortnite friendly.

Oh, and Bleszinski confirms: Fortnite will have no chainsaws.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/12/comic-con-the-first-fortnite-details