The Unreal Engine 4-powered game will have many different elements

Jul 21, 2012 12:41 GMT  ·  By

Epic Games has begun sharing more details about Fortnite, its next big project, and has emphasized that it will blend different types of gameplay mechanics, from regular combat and shooting, to crafting and scavenging, while focusing on a cooperative experience.

Fortnite was revealed to the world at the end of 2011 and has only recently received its first actual details, including big reveals like the fact that it's the first game powered by Unreal Engine 4.

Besides the technical aspect of the game, the gameplay will be a blend of many different things, according to Producer Tanya Jessen and Epic Games' Creative Director Cliff Bleszinski.

"When Fortnite's ideas were pitched originally, there was a lot of thinking about the future of games and where things were moving," Jessen told Polygon. "Cliff was really into the idea of having more dynamic worlds where you can craft and build. And I was thinking, 'I love playing co-op games with my friends' but they have a 'That's a shooter! I can't play that!' attitude. There should be ways to get those [types of] people playing together."

Fortnite's gameplay focuses on scavenging and building up a fort during the day, while players will have to withstand the invasion of different monsters during the night. This combination will keep the experience from getting stale.

"I'm an ADD gamer," Bleszinski said. "One minute I'll collect and scavenge and explore. The next minute I'll want to crush whatever's in front of me. We've got the killing thing down at Epic. We know how to kill bad guys. If you want that, that's still in this game. But opening this up to wider audiences is really exciting."

Both developers emphasized that there are still many things that have yet to be determined, including the game's actual pricing strategy, but a beta stage will released in 2013 that allows players to help shape the PC-exclusive game.