How to Design Your First Fortnite Game

Have you ever played a game and thought, "I wish I could make one like this"? Now you can! In Fortnite Creative, you are the boss. You build the world, set the rules, and decide how players win.

This guide will show you how to design a simple game. We will start with a basic idea and add just enough code to make it work. You will learn how to think like a game designer. Let’s build something fun together!

What You'll Learn

• The Game Loop: How games start, play, and end.
• Devices: Using tools to change the game world.
• Verse Basics: Writing simple code to react to player actions.
• Scene Graph: Understanding how objects talk to each other.

How It Works

Designing a game is like planning a board game. First, you need a goal. Do players race to the finish? Do they collect coins? Do they survive zombies?

Let’s make a simple "Collect the Star" game. The goal is to touch a glowing star to win.

The Three Parts of a Game

Every game has three parts:

1. The Setup: You place items in the world. This is like setting up a board before playing.
2. The Rules: These are the instructions. "If you touch the star, you win."
3. The Response: The game reacts. When the rule is met, something happens.

In Fortnite, we use Devices for the setup. Devices are special tools you place in the editor. They do things like spawn players or change colors.

We use Verse for the rules. Verse is the language we use to tell the game what to do. It is like giving the devices a job.

The Scene Graph: The Family Tree

Imagine a big tree. The trunk is the game. The branches are the islands. The leaves are the objects, like a tree, a chair, or a player. This is called the Scene Graph.

In programming, we call each object an Entity. An Entity is just a thing in the game. It can be a prop, a player, or a device.

Devices need to talk to each other. If a player touches a star, the star needs to tell the "Win Screen" to appear. They talk through the Scene Graph. This is like passing a note in class. One device sends a message, and another device receives it.

Let's Build It

We will build a tiny game. It will have:

1. A Player Spawn Pad (where players start).
2. A Star Prop (the goal).
3. A Verse Script (the brain).

Step 1: Place the Devices

First, open your Fortnite Creative editor. Press Tab to open the menu.

1. Go to the Devices tab.
2. Search for Player Spawn Pad. Place one in the ground.
3. Go to Props. Search for a star or a bright object. Place it a few steps away.

Step 2: Add the Verse Code

Now we add the brain. Click on the Star Prop. In the properties panel, look for Verse Script. Create a new script and paste this code.

# This is our game script!
# It lives on the Star Prop.

# This function runs when the game starts.
OnBegin<override>()<sided>: void=
    # We say hello to the console.
    Print("Game started! Find the star!")

# This function runs when something touches the star.
OnBeginOverlap<override>(Other: Entity)<sided>: void=
    # Check if the thing touching is a player.
    if Is<override>(Other, Player):
        # Great job! You found the star!
        Print("You won! Good job!")
        
        # Here is where you would add more code.
        # Like showing a "You Win" screen.

Walkthrough: What Does This Do?

Let’s look at the code line by line.

OnBegin<override>()<sided>: void= This is a Function. A function is a set of instructions that runs when something happens. OnBegin means "run this code when the game starts." It is like the "Go" signal in a race.

Print("Game started!") This tells the game to show text. It is like writing a note on a whiteboard. Players will see this message when they start.

OnBeginOverlap<override>(Other: Entity)<sided>: void= This is another function. It runs when two things touch. Other is the thing that touched the star. Entity just means "a thing in the game."

if Is<override>(Other, Player): This is a Condition. It asks a question. "Is the thing touching the star a player?" If yes, we run the next part. If no (like if a rock touches it), we do nothing.

Print("You won!") If the player touched the star, we print a message. This is your reward!

Try It Yourself

You have built the basics. Now it is your turn to add more fun.

Challenge: Make the star disappear when the player touches it.

Hint: Look for a property on the Star Prop called Visibility or Enabled. In your Verse code, inside the if statement, you can change these settings. Try setting the star to be invisible after the player touches it.

Don’t worry if it doesn’t work the first time. That is how we learn! Test your game by pressing Play.

Recap

You just designed your first game! You learned that games have a setup, rules, and responses. You used the Scene Graph to understand how objects connect. And you wrote your first Verse code to handle player interaction.

Remember, every big game started as a small idea. Keep experimenting. You are a creator now!

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/how-to-design-a-game-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/how-to-design-a-game-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/starting-out-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/onboarding-tutorial-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/create-a-free-for-all-game-in-fortnite-creative