Coming in Clutch: A Fortnite Tale

When I first heard the term "clutch" used in this way, I immediately thought of Henry James. I know, I know. What could the 19th century prose master possibly have to do with 21st century gaming? Well, perhaps nothing at all... except that in Washington Square, Catherine Sloper was supposed to have held on to her man (or was it father?) about as tightly as Fortnite's players hang on to the lead when they clutch up that Victory Royale. 

Okay, so James might have used the phrase "She will cling!" but idiomatically, the sentiments amount roughly to the same thing. 

The Opening

The clutch defines a moment of glory for any of Fortnite's millions of players able to rise to the challenge. It is a fight to the death, a moment in time when the victory is all up to them, a time to step up and be the hero no one ever saw in them. Everybody's watching! Who will it be? In such last-man-standing gaming scenarios that democratize death and privilege the lone victor, you tell yourself it could be anyone. Even you.

Well, actually, I never tell myself that. I've never clutched up anything up in my life! But I've seen it done.

In Fortnite: Battle Royale, the clutch can be performed in a variety of ways and for a variety of audiences. In solo mode, you do it for yourself. In duo and squad mode, your teammates die and its all up to you. Red bars line the top-left screen like an 18th century American flag. You try to get to them fast enough to heal them, but you can't. Then poof! they disappear. 

In this particular game, your four-man squad was reduced to a solo by a whole damn team of Toxic Troopers. You took all those suckers out though, and you're standing here now: broken, but not beaten. That was a little bit of a clutch—a sign of things to come, you hope. But it won't be easy, because you are stuck playing solo in squads. Your heart bids its last farewell to your fallen comrades, but your courage rises. It's all up to you. You're going solo, but you're not really alone because your in-game allies have now become your spies. You have awesome teammates. They stick around and use game chat to alert you to enemy position. (Not like those jerks from the last game who cut as soon as they died.) They watch you in spectator mode. Their presence heightens your adrenaline. Rough situation. But it's a chance for glory. And it demands the clutch. 

You now have an audience of your dead comrades, but that audience of one (or three) can easily be expanded if the person you kill next stays in spectator mode (to which the game defaults once a player dies). Fortnite actually encourages you to watch your slayer. How sadistic is that! 

Time Passes: 

[...skirmish, skirmish, skirmish... ...scuffle, scuffle, scuffle... ...blood and fire and billows of smoke... ]

Whew! You barely escape with your life!

 Middlegame

And now you have an audience of you, your team mates, your seven victims... and all the persons they killed. In fact, 19 people are watching! Holy crap! The pressure rises. You kill some more, thirsty for blood and loot. Your watch count rises: no one is leaving spectator mode! You kill another one and harvest a small crowd, because this newest victim had also had hopes of the clutch—had in fact been clutching (her victims in tow), until now. More eyes on you. The intimidation factor mounts: with the possibility of victory comes the possibility of utter humiliation, elimination: the dreaded feed with your name on the receiving end of a pump shotgun; your vanquished skin exploding into loot.

KA-BOOM!

You shake off the negativity. Focus up. Clear the mechanism and prepare for the next battle. You glance up at the HUD. It's saying there are 10 players left. That's 9, not counting you. You take a breath. Having eliminated that last opponent, you have a few seconds of reprieve. You use them to gather some mats, heal up. You've got a med kit, but damn, that last victim didn't drop you any shields. The med kit eats up 10 precious seconds, and 9 seconds into it you freeze. Shots fired. You know your position isn't safe simply because you've built a fort. A fort shields you, sure, but it's also a clear indication to any enemy that you're in the area, or have been.

But you have an advantage. They're engaged in a fight and, for the moment at least, you're not. You seize that advantage. 

Quickly locating the fight, and noting its direction on the compass, you flank. Not much time. John Wick and Zoey are duking it out. One of them is sure to die soon. You absolutely must ambush the survivor the second he triumphs, preferably while he's busy grabbing loot. Definitely before he has time to heal. You are not above being scummy. The clutch is on: a royal victory is at stake.

Okay. Breathe. Relax. Focus. You got this. 

Alright... there they are... I just need to climb up that hill to get height advantage so I can see them better and get the drop on the victor. Okay... almost there. Just a few more paces. It's a direct path now. Just keep running... Better keep jumping, too. Don't want any snipers lining me up. There. I'll just stay behind this rock. I wish I could build a wall to cover my back, but I can't risk it. They'll spot me. Oooh! John Wick knocked Zoey. Knocked, not killed. It means Zoey's got team mates. But where are they? Not in sight. Damn. I can't afford to wait for them. Maybe if I shoot him now, Zoey will think one of her own teammates took revenge and I'll get away with it. Can't wait. Gotta do it. Okay, Wick's finishing her. Lining him up for a head shot. Go on, Wick. Take your final shot of the game. Then I'll take mine. Bam! Mission accomplished. I'm outta here!

Expecting the HUD to show seven players standing, you look up... and it says 3! People have obviously been doing work elsewhere. You check the map, the circle's some distance away—some hill in Snobby Shores—and the storm's coming in exactly 32 seconds. 

Gotta run. See if you can get circle before the other two. And get a good position. Or both. You know whoever gets circle first gets dibs on the best position—usually the high ground. Pick up some mats on the way. Can't stay still. Remember, the closest enemy might be behind you. 

Endgame

You enter circle... and that's when you see it. Not the enemy, but his ramp going up. On that other hill across the valley. Or ravine.

Damn! Leave it to me to get a final battle where the storm encircles two hills of almost equal height. Forget about height advantage. Only way to get that now is to build up. Waste of mats, and I don't really have that many. Jeezus, just let me get to that house without being spotted.

Okay cool. I don't think anyone saw me. Let me just get my sniper and scope out the situation... Oh crap! That's a damn rocket coming toward me! Shit! They saw me. Gotta get outta here! Run run run run run... Shiiiit! That took almost all my health! I am so one shot. This rock is my only salvation. And it sure as hell won't save me, because that RPG will take it and me out in one shot. This is probably the end, so let me just lay this campfire down and peek out. I can see him from here. I'm sure to get pummeled by another round of rockets... but if I must die, I'll shall nobly die!  

Shoot, there goes another rocket. It hit the house again. What the f—!! Wait. That sucker thinks I'm still in the house. Sniper out! He's aiming at the house again. Stay still, fool. Don't move, don't move, don't you move... Headshot! Yes! He's knocked. 

Wait. Where the HELL is his teammate?

Probably flanking on you, genius! He must have crossed the ravine... or maybe he was never over there. It's a trap. An impending ambush. You better build a fort. Even a small one. He'll see you immediately, but maybe you'll get lucky and spot him while he's coming up the hill. If he comes up the hill. It's just a guess, but assume he'll come from the direction directly opposite the one the RPG was coming from. If he was pushing you along the path of the RPG, you probably would have seen him. Maybe. 

 1 v 1: The Clutch

The good news is, there's one person left. Only one player standing between you and total supremacy!

Yeah, but I wish I had a better gun. I mean, this blue pump's pretty good, but my green burst might not be the most effective in a final fight-to-the-death situation such as this. Wish I had a scar... 

Where the hell is that guy? Should I play safe, or should I push? But push where? I just feel like a sitting duck here. Maybe I should go looking? Yeah! Bring the fight to him! 

Hold up. I'm pretty sure I hear footsteps. Is that... behind me? I see him, I see him! He's coming up the hill right behind me, just where I was when his teammate was RPG-ing the hell outta me. Think I'm still there, bitch? Take this, you—Oh shit!!! Only one bullet. Forgot to reload and now he knows my positi—shiiit, he's firing back! Shooting me. He's shooting me. Panicking just a little here. Gotta build up. Damn. I took damage. Gotta build up, but I need to peek out. Can't kill him if I'm hiding. But shit, he's shooting fast, and I don't think I have enough mats to keep this wall up...

Dammit! Fuck the wall! I'm going in! 

                                Green burst, protect your knight! 
                                                                                         Fiiiire!!!!!

Yeah, that's right, jump asshole! Jump some more. Jump all you want. I'm gonna kill your ass! You gotta land some time. 'Cause I'll shoot you right out of the air. What the—? Don't even think about shooting me. Ha! You missed, sucker! You can't touch me. I'm invincible!!!!!

Okay... time for some pump action. Bam. WTF! Bloom! Shit, Epic! Why y'all keep nerfing the shotguns? Thought that for sure woulda killed him! Fire! Die, bitch! Fire again—Yes! YES! I got him. I won. I won, I won! Tinuvielf won the game!

I am KING OF THE WORLD!

A spectacular outburst: the lobby, the spectators—the entire 99-player cast all in my lobby cheering me on—including the guy I just killed. Everyone erupts into cheers. I don't know how they all got in my lobby. It might break the game, but I don't give a shit. I am the victor! I. Am. The. GOAT!!! Everyone's cheers pound in my headset. The sun flickers, then goes down in a flash. Awesome! Strobe lights flicker on that amazing hill in Snobby Shores where I clutched my first squad win. And suddenly I'm there for real. I'm in the game! A Fortnite dance party erupts all around me: Electro Shuffle, Disco Fever, True Heart, Star Power, Dab, Breakin', Rocket Rodeo... 

Your alarm goes off. Wha—? You jerk awake, look around. You must have kicked your sheets off during the night. Over on your desk across the room, your PS4 is on. You are in the Fortnite lobby. Maybe there's a chance you really... You stumble over to the PS4. Tier 2, Level 6. You go to career, then profile, and you check your stats.

Sigh...

Oh well... A girl can dream, can't she? 😏