Mercedes Jirak

Beginning Fortnite

Intro

Final Paper

Intro Final Reflection Paper

Throughout this semester I enjoyed this gaming class. I finally know how to work an

Xbox controller. I know that sounds ridiculous but before this class I always had to ask what

does this button do? Or, how do I get to this point? For the first time ever, someone else came

over to play Fortnite and they couldn’t figure something out and where a certain button was, and

I was able to show them and guide them on where to go. It was a small thing to do, but I felt so

great about it because I had learned how to work an Xbox and actually use it instead of just

watching other people play. This is a small thing to learn, but I learned much more than just how

to work a controller.

Furthering on the path of what I have learned and accomplished this semester, I was able

to explore and find out different areas on the map and how different places have different chests.

For example, the harder to reach places had more rare artifacts, so I tried at the beginning of each

game to hurry up and get to the cliffs, or floating house above the looting lake. According to

journal from the website, The Impact of Esports, they have done studies about how playing

esports in college can enhance the 21st century skills of players (Zhon et al., 2022). I agree with

this, because I definitely had to learn to incorporate strategic thinking. In the journal it mentions

that the skills learned are teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving, and

communication (Zhon et al., 2022). I feel that my critical thinking skills were incorporate as I

played because for surviving, there were many times when I had to figure out what ammo was
important to keep. I also had to figure out what I was better at shooting, what med kits to keep,

and what rare artifacts to keep as well, like the chug jug for example. All of these aspects can

truly help to make or break a game. If I had a gun, I was not familiar with typically I didn’t do

well in a fire fight and I either had to run away while jumping to avoid being shot, or I simply

just died and started a new game.

Furthermore, in the article, “Why Esports School is a Good Thing” written by Davis, it

states that esports fosters STEM learning (2022). STEM stands for science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics. Davis also mentions that in 2018, a Riot Games director of

collegiate esports said that “Nearly two-thirds of their students in their League Legends players

were majoring in STEM fields.” (2022). This doesn’t surprise me because the more I played

Fortnite, the more I felt like I really had to dive into the skills that I mentioned above if I wanted

to make it to at least the last ten players. There was a lot of strategic thinking and planning that I

needed to do, as I mentioned above. In addition, I had to dive into problem solving especially

when I felt backed into a corner. For example, the time I made it to the last ten players in Fatal

Fields. It was during this time I was in a fire fight, and I used a rift-to-go and it propelled me into

the air and I had access to my hang glider. This is when I decided to land on top of a barn and

hide on the rough. I watched the other players engage in their fire fights and I managed to start

shooting from where I was at. I was shot of the roof, as my opponent broke it and I fell. I then

proceeded to approach the player and eliminate them with my weapon, and I added up taking

first place in that game. This was a great example of incorporating the skills needed for the 21st

century with strategic thinking and problem solving.

In addition, another skill that was mentioned was teamwork. I personally didn’t play on a

team with other friends because I don’t have gamer friends, but I witnessed my boyfriend use my
gaming system and he asked his friends to join, and they played on a team. It was really cool to

see because even though at the time I wasn’t playing for class, I got to see another perspective of

what it is like to communicate over the mic with friends and go through missions with each

other. Watching them play, I saw leadership skills come to the front when one would tell the

other person “Go here and get this” etc. I also saw huge communication skills among all of the

them because they had to help each other out in order to complete their missions and work

together as a team, and that is where the team skills came into play. It was a really cool thing to

see, and it made me wish that I had some friends that liked to play with. I guess I just need to

convince them to go get some Xbox’s or come over and play with me.

In conclusion, Beginning Fortnite, has benefited me throughout this semester. I learned

how to play the game and to run an Xbox in general. Which doesn’t seem like much, but to me it

was huge because now I can play the game in my free time for some relaxation. Before I was too

intimidated to play and then you gave us these step-by-step assignments that really opened my

eyes up and helped me learn about the game and not feel nervous to play. As I mentioned earlier,

I got a victory during this class which is something I never expected and that was an amazing

feeling. So, when I saw these two articles that explained the benefits of esports, I thought what

they had to say was very true because I had experienced those benefits myself as someone who is

in college and took it this class as an elective.

 References

Davis, C. (2022, November 10). Why esports in schools is a good thing. ViewSonic Library.

https://www.viewsonic.com/library/education/esports-schools-good/

Zhon, Y., Guo, K., Su, J., & Kai Wah Chu, S. (2022, September 12). The impact of esports

participation on the development of 21st century skills in youth: A systematic review.

Computers & Education.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131522002111