A former Epic Games boss shared a juicy anecdote about the creation of the Battle Royale mode of Fortnite. He was born during an Uber ride.
We tend to forget: before becoming a global phenomenon and a phenomenal entertainment platform, Fortnite had a more than timid start to his career. At its launch, it did not have this Battle Royale mode which would attract millions of fans every day around a quest for survival. And imagine that this addition, revolutionary and largely inspired by PUBG, was born in an Uber. This is what Donald Mustard revealed to Game File in an interview published on April 22.
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Donald Mustard served as creative director at Epic Games for many years, before stepping down last September. He obtained this promotion in 2016, with the objective of “ shake things up “. A year later, he and other leaders of the multinational had the idea of integrating the Battle Royale mode into Fortnite. Everything was decided in the back of a car that was taking Tim Sweeney, Paul Meegan, Kim Libreri and Donald Mustard on a date with Disney. The rest, we know it.
The origin of the Fortnite bus? A school bus crossed on a route
“ The four of us were in an Uber in California, heading to a Disney meeting. We were already discussing the idea of having a Battle Royale. We had to do it. And why not do it in Fortnite? So in this car we made that decision. We said, 'We're going to do it, we're going to rebuild the team, we're going to put it in Fortnite, we're going to have our Battle Royale.' », confides Donald Mustard. He then took it upon himself to write a first document, still in the back of this Uber. The driver was unaware that his passengers were creating a bulldozer.
What does Donald Mustard respond to accusations of copying PUBGwhich already enjoyed immense popularity in 2017 (it still holds the record for the most people connected at the same time on Steam, where Fortnite is certainly absent)? “ My philosophy is: all video games are inspired by each other. To me, it's just an evolution of Quake. »
Note that it was also at the back of this Uber ride that the introduction of the parties on board a bus came. Donald Mustard explains on this point: “ A school bus passed us in traffic, and I figured the players were going to come from a bus in the sky and jump out.. » Launched on September 26, 2017, the Battle Royale mode tears up everything in its path and becomes one of the greatest successes in the history of video games. Today, Epic Games continues to feed the machine, for example with other modes (Lego in the lead) or by hosting a Disney park.
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