Fortnite Monster Design: Meet the Husks

It's been awhile since I've had a look at Fortnite, which is understandable since the game is currently in pre-alpha. Last time I had a look, the concept of what Fortnite is turning into is a completely different game from what it's turned out to be – and you won't hear me complaining about that. Originally, it was a post-apocalyptic horror survival multiplayer, but luckily it's morphed to be so much more than just that. Developer Epic Games has changed their upcoming game Fortnite quite a bit since its initial conception, which they walk us through the evolution of the game's style in this new “Monster Design: Meet the Husks” video. I highly recommend this video for fans of behind-the-scenes kind of stuff. It's really fun to see the artwork evolution for Fortnite through the perspective of this one monster.

So, what has changed? Originally, Fornite started out full of creepy, gorey things, as survival horror games tend to do. Over time, the art design has shifted away from your typical survival horror to a stylized, almost cute type of art style. Now, I can say that Fortnite is anything but your typical survival horror game. Personally, I think the typical is overdone to a point that when games and anything else in the genre utter that zombie word, I generally cringe and move on. Unless you're doing something that isn't your typical, run of the mill zombie thing, I just don't care anymore. The genre is so oversaturated that I've gotten to the point of a general disinterest. Back before I became jaded and bitter, however, something about Fortnite grabbed my attention. What it did then, it's managing to do again now. When this video arrived in my inbox, I thought to myself something along the lines of, “Oh, hey. I almost forgot about Fortnite. I wonder what they're up to these days?” I clicked on the link leading to the new Husk video and I was pleasantly surprised.

Oh, and if you dig this video as much as I do, Epic is currently taking applications for the alpha stage of player testing. You can head on over to the Fortnite site to sign up for that. Here's some info from the press release:

As you heard last Monday, Epic Games’ action building game, Fortnite, entered its initial Alpha testing phase (OT1).

Epic is gathering more potential players for the next wave of public invites, so folks can head over to http://alpha.fortnite.com/ to sign up for future tests.

Art Director Pete Ellis takes us on a guided tour of the evolution of one of Fortnite's many monsters, the Husk. You'll see the art from the beginning, including the Husk, and watch it evolve into the style that is what Fortnite is now. It's been quite a journey to watch all of this unfold, and I'm pretty excited to continue to monitor this game through development. You can be sure I signed up to be an alpha tester as hard as possible. Do you like the direction Fortnite is going in now or do you prefer a more traditional style of horror survival gore?