Getting acquainted with social networks and apps: figuring out Fortnite in (hopefully) less than a fortnight
| Pages | 11-16 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-09-2019-0064 |
| Date | 04 November 2019 |
| Published date | 04 November 2019 |
| Author | Katie Elson Anderson |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Library & information services |
Getting acquainted with social networks and apps:
figuring out Fortnite in (hopefully) less
than a fortnight
Katie Elson Anderson
Librarians and libraries active on
Twitter may be familiar with what is
affectionately known as “library twitter,”
which is made up of library workers,
users and supporters. This group includes
libraries, librarians, staff, academics,
patrons, authors and others, who work
closely with library and library adjacent
occupations. The phrase is often invoked
when this group of Twitter users responds
to a particularly polarizing or enthusiastic
statement on libraries. These responses
range from embracing a celebrity whose
first trip to the library in 23 years results in
a “seriously. Go to the library. It is a
delight.” Tweet[1] to scathing criticism of
an article proposing the elimination of
libraries and replacing them with
Amazon (Grothaus, 2018). As described
in an entry on the ACRL blog, the
benefits of library twitter are many,
including staying connected with the
profession and the “fun stuff” (DeWitt,
2019). Many times these two combine to
create a viral tweet that highlights topics
in librarianship that are both important
and fun. An excellent example of such a
tweet is Orkney library’s twitter thread
about the online video game Fortnite,
which includes information on the game
along with an excellent pun referencing a
Dusty Springfield song[2]. In a win-win
situation, the viral nature of this tweet
surely brought Fortnite to the attention of
many libraries and librarians and,
potentially, brought libraries to the
attention of Fortnite players. Orkney
library is probably not the only library to
have been getting questions from patrons
about Fortnite related materials, and also
not likely to be the only library whose
staff are unfamiliar with the cultural
phenomenon that is this multiplayer
online game. The tweet thread happily
ends with the patron explaining more
about Fortnite to the librarian, and there
are many more anecdotal stories of
students and patrons helping to provide a
better understanding of the game to
teachers, librarians and the non-playing
adults in their lives. The sweeping
popularity of Fortnite is comparable to
that of Minecraft and Poke
´mon Go
(Anderson, 2016), and libraries and
librarians can leverage the popularity and
positive aspects of the game for outreach
and engagement.
“Is it a film? no. a cartoon? no. an
[sic] game, like Pokemon or
something?”
The librarian in the Orkney tweet asks
the above questions to get more
information on Fortnite, trying to
determine where best to look for more
information by asking the above question.
What is interesting is that while Fortnite
is best described as an online multiplayer
shooter game, it actually does have the
elements of both a film and a cartoon.
Thereisaloosenarrativetotheplayand
it has been described as cartoon-like in its
appearance. These characteristics are
combined with competitive gameplay,
constantly changing game elements and
space for connection, and socialization to
entice 250 million users to register to play
with a steady increase in engagement
since its debut in 2017 (Business Insider,
2019). The height of Fortnite’s popularity
was during the summer and fall of 2018,
but there continues to be a growth in
registered users.
The most basic description of Fortnite
is that it is an online multiplayer shooter
game, with multiple players fighting
shared enemies or each other with a final
goal of survival. There are many games
within this genre, including Overwatch,
Call of Duty and Halo, all well-known
games within the industry. Fortnite is a
third-person shooter game, which means
the player sees their own avatar while
playing from the avatar’s point of view.
The originally released version of the
game by software development company
Epic Games[3]inJuly2017wasa
cooperative shooter game, pitting teams
of players against “husks” or zombie type
creatures in a survival challenge that
required acquiring materials to build
shelters and places to hide. This
combination of cooperative construction
and defensive shooting earned Fortnite
the nickname “Minecraft with Guns”[4].
There was some initial interest in the
game, but its popularity did not explode
until the free to play Fortnite: Battle
Royale arrived on the scene and expanded
to multiple platforms[5]. The zero cost for
download and play, and its availability on
multiple platforms (PC/Mac, Xbox,
PlayStation, iOS, Android and Nintendo
Switch) made the game accessible to
large numbers of players who might
otherwise face barriers to entry due to
cost, platform and access.
The original iteration has been
renamed Fortnite: Save the World and
does not have the widespread
accessibility of Battle Royale and remains
available for purchase. A third mode
called Fortnite: Creative was released in
December 2018, allowing players to
embrace the cooperative building and
creative aspects of the game without the
shooting and need for survival. Fortnite:
Battle Royale remains the most popular
model, which is not surprising, as the
“Battle Royale” format of video games
has been increasing in popularity.
According to Hornshaw (2019),this
genre first arrived in the form of a mod in
Minecraft that was modeled after the
scavenging for supplies while fighting to
survive goal depicted in popular books
and films such as Collins (2008) and
Fukasaku (2000). This genre continues to
grow and is not expected to lose
momentum as more game developers
LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 9 2019, pp. 11-16, V
CEmerald Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/LHTN-09-2019-0064 11
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