Is Fortnite Battle Royale really ‘plagiarizing’ PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds?

It is undeniable that Fortnite from the manufacturer Epic Games has truly revolutionized the FPS multiplayer genre by combining elements of survival, crafting and tower defense gameplay. tower), thereby giving players completely new experiences. If there’s one thing that Fortnite is still lacking, it’s probably a PvP mode where players can battle each other. Players call, Epic Games answers – Fortnite Battle Royale is born.

However, this has caused a lot of heated controversy due to the many similarities between Fortnite Battle Royale and the popular game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), culminating in when the developers of PUBG had had to voice his disappointment at Fortnite blatantly plagiarizing his game.

There have been many different opinions, but can be divided into two main streams of opinion: those asserting that Fortnite has copied the main features of PUBG, and those that argue that the similarities between the two games. not as serious as in Bluehole’s accusations (besides, the community has a neutral section, not interested in this issue very much).

Here is my opinion on this!

Lobby and early game

The early game is the most obvious similarity between the two games. In both Fortnite and PUBG, players will all start in a lounge area before boarding the plane to other areas. In this lobby, players can pick up weapons and attack other players, but they won’t lose any health.

After the countdown is over, players will enter the main map by means of a plane – for PUBG, for Fortnite, it is a flying bus. The players then decide for themselves where they want to jump, and then jump out of the plane to the area they want to go to. In PUBG, players can deploy their own parachute whenever they want, or the parachute will self-expand when it reaches a certain height. With Fortnite, the parachute is replaced by a device called a glider. Parachutes (and gliders) help the player land slowly and safely, allowing enough time for the player to swing back and forth and choose where they want to land. For example, when too many other players landed on the same house, they simply hovered over to another house.

Map

The second obvious similarity, and in my opinion also the last point, between the two games is in the operation of the map. At the beginning of the game, players can freely go anywhere on the map, and the map in these games is also quite large (PUBG’s is still a bit wider than Fortnite’s). However, over time, every player will gradually be forced to enter a circular area on the map, or they will be eliminated. This circle has the effect of limiting the player’s play area to the end of the game, and also helps the match end faster.

Speaking of which, considering only the above two criteria, I agree that the similarity between the two games is too obvious to be called a coincidence.

But, as soon as the match started, my opinion completely changed.

Inventory management

In terms of the amount of items a player can carry, PUBG doesn’t have much of a limit. This depends on the level of the backpack that the player is wearing, for example, a level 1 backpack has a capacity of 170, besides, the belt also has an additional capacity. Therefore, players have more options of what to bring with them, they can carry armor, weapons, ammunition, different types of grenades and extremely useful consumables (blood, water, etc.) , etc).

However, in Fortnite Battle Royale, the regulations on the bag are very strict and tight. Each player only has 6 slots for weapons and consumables, of which there is already a slot for pickaxes, so there are really only 5 slots left. For example, players can only carry 3 weapons, a health pot and a battery for armor. This greatly limits inventory management, and when you want to use a consumable item, the player is often forced to drop a weapon on the ground to pick up the consumable item, after consuming the item. That item just picked up the weapon. Besides, when looting, the items on the ground are marked to highlight them, each item has a different color depending on the rarity, so when considering replacing weaker weapons, The player also does not need to spend too much time, which can be beneficial and sometimes harmful. On the other hand, Fortnite has almost no limits on ammunition capacity and materials for crafting.

Crafting items

The biggest difference between the two games is that Fortnite Battle Royale has a crafting system (inherited from the original Fortnite) and PUBG does not. Indeed, Epic Games’ game focuses a lot on building buildings, and the Battle Royale mode is no exception.

Fortnite Battle Royale makes gameplay more interesting as players can create their own covers instead of having to rely on pre-existing ones, and they can even build their own sniper towers and use retaining walls and traps to keep enemies out. The enemy climbs up.

Combat system

Another big difference between the two games is that Fortnite Battle Royale is somewhat more casual, at least compared to PUBG. Weapons in Fortnite are extremely easy to use. While some weapons have certain advantages depending on the situation (such as shotgun at close range and shotgun at range), in general, gunfights between players are still fairly balanced. Heal items are also quite scarce, so it is not easy for players to want to heal continuously after each small battle.

via GIPHY

However, in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds things are much more complicated. Weapons in PUBG are not only much more difficult to master than Fortnite, but players also have to loot additional accessories for the weapon to be effective. Weapon accessories can help reduce recoil, increase accuracy, reduce silence, or increase magazine size, etc. Also, since each player usually carries a lot of healing items, they tend to limit their abilities. more “dry” situations, but will instead try to get covers and heal if possible.

Conclusion

After analyzing the above factors, I truly believe that Fortnite Battle Royale is not so similar to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds that it should be called “plagiarism”. Agreeing that there are a few aspects where Epic Games has admitted that they are inspired by PUBG, many might even say that those features have been blatantly copied. But, isn’t that typical of the gaming industry? Take the cool features and add your own substance?

So my answer is no, Fortnite Battle Royale didn’t plagiarize PUBG. Furthermore, it’s my personal opinion that the reason why Bluehole is reacting so strongly on this is because Epic Games’ Fortnite Battle Royale is a Free to Play game, and they probably feel it’s competitive. unfair.

Source: 2p