Do I want to let my 13yo son get Fortnite?

[happypamama]

Tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly about Fortnite and my 13yo son. What do I need to know/limit/etc.?

 

ETA: Son says it is a shooter game. I am sometimes picky about those. He is allowed to play and likes Halo. He tells me that Fortnite is a little more cartoonish and not at all gory. 

Edited November 18, 2018 by happypamama

[gardenmom5]

dudeling would spend all his time gaming if he could - he avoids fortnite because he thinks it "bad".  (not, bad as  in a bad game, but "bad").

[happypamama]

4 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

dudeling would spend all his time gaming if he could - he avoids fortnite because he thinks it "bad".  (not, bad as  in a bad game, but "bad").

Bad in what aspects?  And what does he think of other first/third person shooter type games?

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, happypamama said:

Bad in what aspects?  And what does he think of other first/third person shooter type games?

he didn't define it, and I don't remember exactly what he said.   he plays other shooter type games.  

[gardenmom5]

I've added this to the other thread.

I spoke with dudeling - he said "it gives him a bad feeling in his gut".  essentially his words.  we've talked about "gut feelings", and why they are important to heed - but we use different words. 

from what little description he was able to give me (most of which I couldn't follow) - it is very different from all the other fps games he plays

[lailasmum]

My kids thought Fortnite was boring and can't see the what the hype is about. My eldest plays overwatch and really enjoys that. 

[sassenach]

Did you read the other thread? 

My 16yo plays it. I think it's super tame compared to many shooting games. It's free, so that's what makes it so widespread. It has some minecraft/building elements. They play in teams so there's a ton of talking to other people. It's not graphic at all. The dancing is silly and fun.

Whether or not it's right for your family is going to be a completely subjective decision. 

[sassenach]

If he's allowed to play Halo, I really cannot imagine that anything in Fortnight would bug you.

[Farrar]

Fortnite is way tamer than Halo.

It's a third person shooter. The company has said they'll never make a first person version. It is cartoonish looking. The gore and violence is very cartoony, especially by today's standards. But also, the whole premise of the game is violent.

For us (and I've heard this from other families), a huge pro of the game is that it's a very short play time and there's nothing that carries over. You play, you die (unless you win, but it's hard to win), and then the whole thing is over unless you do it again. There's no negative consequences to losing - like how in some games, kids can lose hours and hours worth of build up time if they lose, that doesn't happen in Fortnite. Every game is a blank slate. It's easy to say, one game (or two or whatever) then be done for now - so that's also useful for kids who are always like, but I have to beat this level first. Also, it's not pay to win - the only things you can buy are bonus game type things and outfits for your character to wear. So it's not a money drain.

I find the game mythology to be kind of fun. The company builds in all these puzzles and upcoming "events" like when the comet hit and the game map changed to keep players interested and trying to figure out what will happen next.

Of course, I know for some kids, the constant losing thing doesn't help them laugh it off - instead, it brings out a video game fury. And while you don't have to spend money, some kids inevitably will want to buy every skin and battle pass and all that.