The Block Will Add Player Creations to Fortnite’s Map

Replacing Risky Reels, The Block is a new area added to Fortnite’s Battle Royale map that will feature the best fan-made content from Fortnite’s new game mode, Creative. Announced earlier this week, Creative will give players four private islands to build and customize. It encourages fans to make their own mini-game centric areas and, frankly, just get creative.

However, not every fan creation will be eligible. Below are the current submission guidelines, in addition to following the Creative Code of Conduct, as stated on Epic Games’ official website:

• 25×25 tile area on a flat section of your island. It’s very important that your creations can fit nicely on The Block.
• Try to keep your ‘Memory Used’ less than 50,000. Efficiency is just as important as creativity!
• Chests, floor loot and vehicle spawns will be determined by Epic. No need to include these.

It’s still unclear how Epic Games will select what creations to include. Last night at The Game Awards 2018, Fortnite Creative Director Donald Mustard said “all of us” would decide, so it’s possible fan voting will play a role. But for now, the team will be eyeing social media under the hashtag #FortniteBlockParty to look for candidates.

This wouldn’t be the first time the team at Epic Games sourced ideas directly from the community. Last month, we got word that Fortnite would add a fan suggested and fan designed skin to the game. In that case, the artist known on Reddit as Etsyturtle2 confirmed they were contacted and subsequently paid by Epic Games. At the same time, Epic Games remains infamous for unabashedly profiting off of someone else’s ideas as exemplified by the many emotes taken directly from popular hip-hop dances. But whether or not that actually counts as stealing intellectual property remains to be seen, and many argue these dances are owned by all as a part of pop culture. So the question remains, is The Block a way to incorporate maker game elements into a craft heavy Battle Royale game or is it a way to outsource the work?

An ongoing game is highly communal by nature so, either way, The Block seems on brand for Fortnite. Are you excited about The Block? Do you want to see players rewarded (in some capacity) if their designs make it to the map? Let us know in the comments below.

Fortnite’s new game mode, Creative, goes live on December 13, 2018 but you can enjoy early access now if you pick up the Battle Pass for Season 7.

[Source: Epic Games]