Stop taking Fortnite so seriously
As well as being an avid Hayday player, which you may be aware of due to a recent article, I am a Fortnite player. This is the only console game I currently play and have ever played, and I believe people are taking this stuff way too seriously. Punching holes in walls, yelling, screaming, being genuinely mad, and other common reactions people have when they lose and do not get a “Victory Royale” are too much.
A quick disclaimer about how I play Fortnite is necessary: I play the zero-build battle royal mode on my Nintendo Switch. I also am not claiming to be any good at the game, I am objectively bad at the game and lose more often than I win. If you think that this is “not really” Fortnite because it is not being played on a bigger gaming console; you are taking this too seriously. It would not matter if I was playing on an iPhone, as at the end of the day it is just a game.
I usually play with my fellow suitemates, but I have occasionally played with people online while using my headphones and their built-in microphone. I can talk to other people while playing but, unfortunately, this means that all other players can hear that I am female. The stigma and treatment of women playing video games is a deep-rooted issue and is heavily overlooked.
That being said, I no longer play with my headset because of the reactions I have gotten. Some things that have happened to me while using my headset include a man admitting that he was nervous to talk because I was a girl, and a man telling me he was going to “set me up to get a kill” because he did not think I could do it myself. Men have gotten upset because I no longer wanted to play the game with them or because they “caught me” playing a game with other people.
These are all strangers that I have interacted with exclusively on the game and have only spoken with about the game. Regardless of gender, this is absolutely wild behavior. Getting mad at strangers on the internet because you feel as if you have a claim over who they play with after one singular Fortnite match is unacceptable and should not be normalized. Making online friends is a great opportunity to meet new people, but not when it is done like that.
The obscure and often irrational ways in which players handle losses are a large part of why I think people are taking this game too seriously. For those unfamiliar with the game, there is a unique feature where you can make your player “emote,” or perform a fun little dance. It is common for players to emote after getting a kill or winning a match. This can often cause irrational anger in those who lost the game, and is truly where the unnecessary aggression comes into play.
Many video games do induce a certain type of stress or pressure as they can be very intense or difficult to win, but Fortnite is not one of these. Kids with access to video games are playing along with 50-year-old people who may have some extra time on their hands. The game should be something silly that can take one's mind off of the stressful aspects of life—not add to them.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Pexels