Epic Games & # 39; Fortnite Battle Royale reintroduced its anticipated "50 v 50" game mode today, a new and improved version of the limited-time massive combat group game that faces 50 Real human players against 50 opponents in a battle to see which team stands still when the dust clears. Epic has made some crucial changes. Most notably, it now allows players to know where the final battlefield is on the map and sends each team on their respective plane so they can loot, regroup and prepare for a more explosive final fight.
Like the first iteration of 50 against 50, this mode is ready to produce high octane shootings among dozens of players, testing the ability to maintain composure, fight and build simultaneously, and collaborate in a large group in between of a vertiginous number of variables on the screen. But where the mode really shines, and where the shared positivity of Fortnite stands out is in the way it encourages players to help each other.
In fact, in 50 against 50, players seem to do everything possible to help strangers and with a self-sacrificing limit altruism. As you do not play just for yourself or one or three other people, like in individual or duo and squad games, 50 against 50 encourages players to relive complete strangers, gift weapons to spread the wealth of firepower and Be a good human being and a solid team player.
In the dozen games I played after the mode first appeared, I noticed that other team members specifically broke up what They were doing to give me weapons and healing items, to relive me when I was knocked down, and to collaborate otherwise towards a shared goal in a natural and uninterrupted way. Often, this was achieved in the joint construction of superstructures to protect each other from the incoming fire and gain the advantage.
And it's not just that those actions contribute to your chances of winning the game, although playing well with your teammates does help to claim victory. Rather, this gameplay, when combined with the incentives that Epic has in Fortnite and the general positivity of the player base, creates a special formula where I find my faith in Internet strangers warmly rewarded With each new encounter.
Epic has always encouraged players to have fun with randomly non-violent suggestions. The developer added a stone, paper and scissors emoticon so players could participate in friendly contests to resolve loot disputes. It also included a friendly emoticon in the game's original release in September to allow players to non-verbally communicate passivity and friendliness.
More recently, Epic hid three secret dance tracks on his map this month so that players could throw their best moves at each other, even when the people you're standing with are ostensibly your enemies One of fantastic highlights that went viral this week involved four strangers gathered on one of the hidden dance floors, only to have a fifth and infamous player try to ruin the fun trying to secure a death. The four dancers turned on the invader and conspired against him, successfully thwarting the threat, so the four returned to the dance floor to rejoice together.
Beyond the demonstrations of raw abilities and fortuitous circumstances that populate Reddit. On Instagram and Twitter, the reels stand out. They are funny and endearing moments, like those that are most often spread throughout the social networks. And these moments, both pronounced and subtle, populate almost all the games of 50 against 50.
In one game, I launched myself into a chaotic battlefield to build a teammate of mine who was knocked out so I could revive the player and release him or her a medical kit, despite the danger that this represented for me. I also remember that the players did the same thing to me many times, each time using a silly dance move to express their camaraderie and, quite often, leave me healing objects or shield potions to make sure I could get back into the fray.
At one point, at the beginning of a game of 50 against 50, a teammate called me to an abandoned mini-market to give me two guns and some ammo In another game, I accidentally took a rare and coveted golden sniper rifle from a drop of supply that another player had opened. I dropped it to the ground almost immediately, after which the player broke a dance movement to acknowledge my lack of selfishness and rewarded me with the next best weapon in his inventory.
Sure, there's an occasional troll trying to steal the booty you got from a murder or ignoring you flagrantly when you need to revive. But I often felt an addictive and almost intoxicating quality to help my partners survive in a fight, no matter the personal cost, and even if it meant they killed me while trying. I liked to think that by doing so, I encouraged others to pay for it.
Also, it never goes out of style to exchange compliments with a random human being in the world, even if only for a funny pose or for a dance movement in the heat of battle. It is that recognition that in the end everything is a fun game, that winning or losing is less important than the subtle and supremely human interactions that can be had in line with others, which makes Fortnite an experience so continually enjoyable.