Fortnite Battle Royale has been here for 7 years now, and it would be an understatement to say that the game has evolved. Rather, the massive battle royale game has managed to stay true to its roots while also growing into one of the most popular games in the industry.
However, the game’s humble beginnings were anything but revolutionary. In fact, the very inception of battle royale in Fortnite was an idea that was cradled in an Uber cab ride out of all places. Based on an interview, it seems that Donald Mustard (among a few others) came up with the idea when traveling to a meeting with Disney.
One Cab Ride and an Evolutionary Entry Into Modern-Day Gaming
In an interview with Game File, the creative genius behind Fortnite explained how the game came to be. We’re talking about Battle Royale, not just the base Fortnite with PvE at its crux. This was an important idea since people weren’t expecting an online game so big that it would become the living-day inspiration for crossovers.
According to the interview, Donald Mustard revealed how the game’s core concept evolved in a simple cab ride:
It was Tim Sweeney and Paul Meegan, who was the president of Epic at the time, (and) Kim Libreri, Epic’s CTO. The four of us were in the back of an Uber in California, headed to a meeting at Disney…We were already toying with this (idea) we need to do a battle royale. We should do this. And what if we did it in Fortnite? And so, in that car, we decided.
We’re like: ‘We’re doing it, we’re going to re-task the team, we’re going to put it in Fortnite, we’re going to make a battle royale.’
So, it is now clear that Donald wasn’t the only mind behind the revolutionary game that we know of today.
How Fortnite Keeps Building History
Every season, Fortnite Battle Royale keeps changing its gameplay direction. Sometimes, there are new guns, weapons, and items to acquire. Sometimes, there are new game mechanics that shift how the entire loop works. But there’s always one thing that keeps players from leaving.
The ‘fear of missing out‘ is a big gameplay design element in the game. Players would happily grind out an entire season’s worth of cosmetics because they know that certain items just won’t be available again in the future.
This also impacts the gameplay design overall. Maps have new points of interest and characters that carry the story forward. All in all, Epic Games is currently at the top of doing novelty in a live-service game, and that’s how the game always feels so fresh.
What are your thoughts on the creation of Fortnite Battle Royale? Let us know in the comments below.
