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Modern popular culture is a unique phenomenon that is very distinctive from that one of past generations. The reason is the impact of different scientific discoveries on the ways individuals communicate with each other and fulfill their need for entertainment. With the spread of the internet and digital technology, it has become possible not only to consume the broadcasted content but create additional senses due to the use of interactive digital products. In this sense, one of the most widespread products of modern popular culture is online video games. The critical difference of the latter from their offline predecessors is the ways the players can interact with each other and create specific virtual communities such as guilds or combat teams. The analysis of one of such games, Fortnite, confirms that online games possess three critical features of popular culture such as mass production and involvement, and creation of communities that support it in real and virtual spaces. Being a product of popular culture, Fortnite gathers the communities of video game players, who actively consume its byproducts, and actively interact in real and virtual spaces seeking satisfaction in the use of the new model of online entertainment.
Fortnite as a Popular Video Game
Fortnite: Battle Royale or simply Fortnite is a modern online video game, which has become one of the well-known products of modern popular culture. Among the reasons why the game has become extremely popular are its casual nature, attractive design, accessibility, and active support by the developers and the community of fans (Kain, 2018). Fortnite is represented in a Battle Royale genre, a game in which players challenge one another using different weapons until one person, who survives in the combat, gains victory (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The poster of Fortnite: Battle Royale video game (Kain, 2018).
According to the statistics, the game has generated over $1 billion of revenues in 2018 due to video streaming popularity and in-game transactions even though it has been a freely distributed product (Kain, 2018). Currently, Fortnite is a video game, which is popular not only among its players but the audience of viewers who enjoy the process of watching others play using such modern video game streaming platforms as Twitch. In particular, the users of video streaming platforms spent 83% of their time watching streamers play Fortnite: Battle Royale (Kain, 2018). Therefore, Fortnite is an inseparable part of modern popular culture since numerous members of the society consume it in the form of a video game as well as video content. The analysis of the game from the perspective of different culture theorists confirms that this product has become extremely popular due to such features as community generation, mass production, and creation of fandom.
Fortnite and Community
Fortnite can be characterized as a valuable element of modern popular culture because it responds to the needs of the community of video game players. According to Bronislaw Malinowski, an anthropologist, the task of popular culture is to solve physical and moral problems of its consumers (Danesi, 2018). In his opinion, cultures across the world are somewhat similar in the ways they allow people to solve their everyday problems (Danesi, 2018). In the case of Fortnite, the consumption of a popular video game is a form of leisure activity shared by the representatives of the international community. When playing or watching the game, people seek relief and entertainment. In addition, the strength of the video game genre is that it allows the players to act as the characters they associate themselves with (Roth, 2018). Moreover, Fortnite is a game that allows playing with a self-image in a way that shapes and feeds the disposition and desires of the players (Roth, 2018). However, the users require an audience in order to demonstrate their self-image and compare it with others. As a result, Fortnite: Battle Royale is a video game that has managed to build a community of gamers, who seek entertainment in the process of creation of a unique virtual self-image and its further comparison with their competitors.
Furthermore, it is necessary to highlight that Fortnite video game is an artifact of popular culture due to its orientation on young individuals. According to Marcel Danesi (2018), a culture theorist, pop culture is often used as a synonym of youth culture because many of its elements target and entertain the youth. For example, in the 1920s young people actively supported and contributed to jazz music as well as other innovations of their time (Danesi, 2018). Due to the fact that online video games represent present-day cultural innovation, they are popular among the contemporary youth. In this respect, some scholars argue that Fortnite and other competitive video games may harm young people substituting moral and humanistic values (Roth, 2018). Such a concern is closely related to a suggestion that Fortnite targets the community of young individuals and allows them to interact in a virtual space in the ways they want. Therefore, the community of younger individuals is most likely to consume Fortnite as it meets their needs as the needs of the community that takes advantage of innovative forms of entertainment.
Fortnite and Mass Production
Taking into consideration the analysis of Fortnite: Battle Royale conducted by various theorists of the last century it is possible to assume that it represents an element of mass production and has been deliberately designed for mass consumption. In general, the evolvement of mass or pop culture has become possible due to the process of industrialization, which gave birth to new forms of business, media, and social identity (Brandt & Clare, 2018). Since creation of video games is a part of a huge industry, it has a goal of creating popular products to generation revenue. According to real-life evidence, in regard to a mass production framework Fortnite is a successful commercial product. For this reason, the application of the theory of Karl Marx to the analysis of Fortnite as a product of mass production makes it possible to assume that this video game follows the ideology of mass consumption. The scholar characterizes ideology as a set of beliefs and practices that shape a society through the collective adherence to shared values (Brandt & Clare, 2018). In the case of Fortnite, it shapes the society of young individuals, who enjoy playing video games in a shared virtual environment. For this reason, the analyzed video game is an effective disseminator of the ideology of mass consumption since the players consume the product as well its internal digital content such as clothes and appearance of the virtual characters.
Fortnite: Battle Royale is a result of mass production that shaped gaming culture, which can be considered a part of popular culture associated with the consumption of video game content in different forms. According to Ray Browne, a culture theorist, popular culture is commonly associated with commercial and entertaining aspects of culture (Forbes & Mahan, 2017). As a product of the gaming industry, Fortnite has managed to combine both of the aforementioned characteristics. On the one hand, this product is freely distributed but offers in-game transactions such as purchase of virtual clothes. On the other hand, playing a video game or viewing another person playing is a modern way of entertainment for the youth. Consequently, it is possible to characterize Fortnite: Battle Royale as an effective product of the video game industry that represents an effective example of the use of modern methods of mass production in society.
Fortnite and Fandom
Another component of mass culture that is closely related to Fortnite is fandom since the game and some of the most popular video streamers have numerous fans around the world. From such a perspective, the analyzed video game can be characterized as one of the most famous products the consumption of which attracts different audiences. According to Daniel Boorstin, an American historian, the phenomenon of fame represents a significant proportion of the public domain since the public is attracted to the image of a popular product or person (Brockington, 2014). The modern statistics shows that Fortnite is a “famous” item in the popular culture because it is not only the video game that attracts the biggest number of gamers but creates stream views (Olsson, 2018). The popularity of Fortnite: Battle Royale as a product of culture is constantly increasing due to its attractive image. Culture analysts believe that a public image plays a crucial role in the way the public perceives a product or individual (Brockington, 2014). By creating attractive characters and a picture that resembles cartoons, the developers of the game effectively targeted young people. Eventually, the audience of the game generated fandom communities that increase the popularity of the product even further.
Scholars highlight that in the situation with fame and fandoms, the audience is a critical component of popularity. They state that the audience has a critical impact on the popularity of a specific product or individual, as public attention leads to fame (Deflem, 2017). A factor that has seriously contributed to the popularity of Fortnite is online streaming via such platforms as Twitch. The latter is a video streaming service that has popularized the phenomenon of video gaming in general as it allows the audience to watch other people playing. Moreover, it has contributed to the creation of popular images of a true gamer as well as such games as Heartstone, League of Legends, and Fortnite because the most popular online streamers keep playing them (Olsson, 2018). The top-rated streamers attract the largest audiences of players and viewers, who spend time watching other people play popular multiplayer online games (Gerber, 2017). As a result, specific streamers and video games, such as Fortnite, have become subjects of different fandoms. The popularity of Fortnite confirms the scholars’ presumption that digital technology enhances the possibilities of people to connect, which is why it is sometimes more effective than traditional advertising (Wu, 2017). Therefore, Fortnite has become very popular among video game players and audiences of video streams due to enhanced technology and a social nature of a person.
Conclusion
The analysis of Fortnite: Battle Royale demonstrates that this video game is an important element of modern popular culture due to its ability to attract huge audiences, which interact in real and virtual spaces afterward. The three basic aspects that contributed to the popularity of Fortnite are its focus on community engagement, mass production nature, and creation of fandom. The analysis of the video game from different scholarly perspectives revealed that the game has become a valuable item of popular culture and its popularity is mostly supported by young people. Lastly, the game managed to intensify the creation of fandoms due to the existence of streaming services, which allow the product to build its fame. Consequently, Fortnite: Battle Royale is a prominent example of modern popular culture that managed to become famous due to the target on young people and the use of innovations.
