Fortnite Battle Royale — a spinoff from the studio behind Paragon and several entries in the Gears of War franchise — has gained a lot of steam over the course of the past year, which is likely why developer Epic Games decided to capitalize upon the title’s success and bring the Fornite Pro-Am tournament to E3 2018.
The high-profile tournament paired professional gamers with a host of notable celebrities, including actor John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), hip-hop artist Vince Staples, and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, among others. The goal of each team? To collect resources, build defenses, and ultimately, be the last one standing when the tournament came to a close. That is, after all, the Fortnite way.
Among the many contestants was Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, a gamer who’s been streaming for more than three years and is one of the more prominent Fortnite players. We caught up with her before the big event to discuss a variety of things, including her favorite games and her recent introduction to Fortnite, which she began playing when she saw other streamers picking it up.
“Everyone was so addicted to it, and then I got addicted to it,” she told Digital Trends. Before Fornite, she played games such as Dark Souls III, Blade and Soul, and Tom Clancy’s The Division.
Playing a game professionally can have downsides, however. The Fornite Pro-Am drew many streamers and internet personalities, including ace producer Murda Beatz and pro gamers Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Pokimane. Valkyrae admitted that it was a “little nerve-wracking” to be around such big names despite her success, though, she said that she was excited that the event was able to secure $3 million for charity.
When asked if she had any advice for aspiring or first-time players, Valkyrae had a few tips aside from practicing your aim, something most Fortnite players know all too well.
“Never stop moving,” she began. “And always build as soon as someone shoots at you, because that’s the first thing you want to do: Protect yourself.”
Looking to keep up with Valkyrae and her many gaming escapades? Try following her on Instagram, Twitter, or catching her on Twitch.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.