Build Your Own Box Fight Arena

Welcome back, young creators! Last time, we set up the rules for our game. Now, it is time to build the stage. Imagine you are making a stage for a play. The actors need a floor to stand on. They need walls to hide behind. In Fortnite Creative, we call this building the level.

We are going to build a "Box Fight" arena. This is a cool game where players fight in a small box. We will make two floors. One floor is for playing. The other floor is for hiding our game devices. Let's get building!

What You'll Learn

• How to use Prefabs to build fast.
• How to stack floors to hide secrets.
• How to place walls around your floor.

How It Works

Think of a Prefab like a LEGO set. You buy a box. Inside, all the bricks are already connected. You don't have to snap each brick together one by one. You just drop the whole set down. In UEFN, a Prefab is a group of props built together.

We need two spaces.

1. The Main Floor: This is where players spawn. They walk here first.
2. The Basement: This is under the main floor. We put our game devices here. This keeps the main floor looking clean.

Why hide devices? Imagine if your TV had wires hanging everywhere. It looks messy! Hiding them makes your game look pro.

Let's Build It

We will use Prefabs from the Fortnite library. These are pre-made pieces. You do not need to code this part. You just need to place them.

Step 1: Get Your Materials

Go to the Content Browser. This is your toolbox. Look for Fortnite > Props > Haunted. You will see many tiles. Pick a floor tile you like.

Step 2: Lay the Basement Floor

Drag the floor tile into your world.

• Hold the Alt key on your keyboard.
• Click and drag the tile to copy it.
• Make a row of three tiles.
• Make another row next to it.
• Keep going until you have a 3x5 rectangle. This is your basement!

Step 3: Add Walls

Pick a wall tile from the same library.

• Place walls around the edge of your floor.
• This keeps players from walking off the edge.

Step 4: Build the Main Floor

Now, we build the top floor.

• Go back to the Content Browser.
• Pick a different floor tile (maybe a brighter color).
• Drag it directly on top of your basement floor.
• Align it perfectly. It should look like a second story.

Step 5: Add a Staircase (Optional)

How do players get to the top?

• You can add a ramp prefab.
• Place it so it leads from the basement to the main floor.

Here is a simple Verse snippet. It shows how we might later change the color of a block. This is just a preview of what code can do!

# This is a simple Verse script.
# It changes a block's visibility when the game starts.

using { /Fortnite.com/Devices }
using { /Verse.org/Simulation }

# This is our device. It is like a magic box.
# We will attach this to a prop in the editor.
ChangeColorDevice := class(creative_device):

    # This is a variable. It points to a customizable_light_device
    # placed in the editor. We use light color as our "block color."
    # note: Verse has no generic SetMaterialColor on world props;
    # a customizable_light_device is the closest real device that
    # lets you change visible color at runtime via editor properties.
    @editable
    ColorLight : customizable_light_device = customizable_light_device{}

    # This function runs when the game starts.
    OnBegin<override>()<suspends>: void =
        # Turn the light on so its color becomes visible.
        # This is our stand-in for "painting" the block.
        ColorLight.TurnOn()

Walkthrough:

• class ChangeColorDevice: This names our custom device.
• ColorLight: This is a setting. You can change it in the editor.
• OnBegin: This is an Event. It means "when the game begins."
• TurnOn: This is a Function. It does the work of activating the colored light on the block.

Try It Yourself

You have built the stage! Now, make it unique.

Challenge: Change the style of your arena.

1. Go to the Content Browser.
2. Find the Science Fiction props instead of Haunted.
3. Build a new 3x5 floor using Sci-Fi tiles.
4. Add Sci-Fi walls around it.

Hint: Don't forget to hold Alt when copying tiles! It saves so much time.

Recap

• Prefabs are pre-built groups of props. They help you build fast.
• Basements hide your devices. This keeps your game clean.
• Stacking floors creates two levels. One for playing, one for secrets.

You did it! You built the stage for your Box Fight. Next, we will add the devices that make the game work. Keep up the great work!

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/box-fight-1-set-up-the-game-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/box-fight-2-build-the-level-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/box-fight-2-build-the-level-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/create-platformer-03-building-your-platformer-with-prefabs-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/counterfactuals-lesson-plan-in-fortnite-creative