It’s already been made clear that theFortniteplayer community is an incredibly talented and creative group of people. Fans havedesigned their own, custom skinsas well as those based on crossover partnerships, they’ve come up with hilarious memes, and they’ve come up with brilliant ways of securing Victory Royales. The latest fan creation is yet another example.
On YouTube,Fortnitecontent creator JhbTeam posted a video called Fortnite: The Arcade Game which imagines the multiplayer shooter as a totally retro, arcade-style platformer. The video switches out the game’s soaring, orchestral, blockbuster movie music for some delightful chiptune sound effects such as when the player character loots a downed enemy. Weapons in this fan creation are more like “pew pew pew” than the ricocheting pops featured in the proper version ofFortniteand the heads-up display (HUD) flashes with “Insert Coin,” just like a real arcade title would.
JhbTeam has edited the normalFortniteaction to consider what the title would be like if it sat al0ngside the likes ofPac-Man,Space Invaders, andDonkey Kong. It comes complete with enemy goons (opposing players) and a final round with a fiendishly crafty “boss” character in a humorous scene that seems ripped from those arcade classics.
While the response fromFortniteplayers has been positive and many have been seeing the video for what it is - a fun little fan creation - others have said that they’d be interested in seeing what Epic Games could do with the concept. The fun and frantic action thatFortniteis known for would work well as a platformer. Epic could create bigger bosses and various levels within theFortnitemap and get players to team up to tackle them.
Epic already has plenty of experience with this. Most recently there was theInfinity Gauntlet game modewhich starred Thanos as the big boss, whileFortniteSave The World is the narrative, PvE (player versus environment) side of the game that pits groups of players against zombie-like enemies. Admittedly, a classic, side-scrolling platformer would be a little different to the exploration, crafting and blasting gameplay offered by the game at the moment, but the difference in style would be welcomed by fans.
As for when Epic could possibly find time to make such a mode happen, it’s unclear. In the near future, the developer is planning to reveal more about itsbig esports plansand the game’s competitive mode. Unfortunately, that means that an arcade-style spin-off is unlikely to happen any time soon even if Epic does like the idea, but fingers crossed that the developer will make such a mode eventually.
Fortniteis available now in early access for iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
