Fortnite for Switch Gets Motion Controls...SAD!
Fortnite for Nintendo Switch is the first and only version I have played up until this point. I have an iOS device but the thought of touch controls makes me uninsterested. I have a PC but leaning over the keyboard hurts my back over time. I really wanted a version I could play with physical controls on the recliner and in bed. The Switch version of the game finally gave me that and it has been hard to set down.
The Switch version of the game has a...reputation of sorts. As with the mobile ports of the game, the game is harder to control than other versions. This comes from a large part of the player base using Joy-Cons for their go to way of play. Either because they are playing in handheld mode or because they are just using the standard grip that came with the system out of the box to play in TV mode. They Joy-Cons have a glaring issue that I’m sure any veteran Switch player could tell you. The right thumbstick, which is used to move the camera and aim in Fortnite, is directly below the face buttons. This means to properly play the game, you have to really work your thumb. This leads to inaccurate movements as your thumb constantly bounces back and forth between the face buttons and thumb stick. This motion is not natural and is therefor harder with the Joy-Con. This problem is fixed if you have a pro controller and are playing in tabletop or TV mode but if you’re in handheld, expect a hard time.
So why go on a tangent about the downfalls of Joy-Con aiming when this article is supposed to be about the gyro aiming? Simply put, Joy-Con is the default way players receive their console and therefore the most popular way of play. Giving the players the option to play in handheld mode means that it has the most overall market appeal. Also, according to a Nintendo (and signal boosted by a Eurogamer article), more people play in handheld mode than on a TV.
Gyro aiming is a very popular way for Switch players to play shooters. I must admit, I love playing Splatoon 2 that way. There is one major issue with gyro aiming though and that is inability to lay down during the experience. The gyro aiming is based on the accelerometer’s relation to gravity. Simply put, if you lay down and play, your squid just stares at the sky. This issue is especially exacerbated in handheld mode since bedtime is the most likely time I will be playing a game in bed.
So gyro aiming isn’t super accessible all the time but it’s something that Switch fans have become used to and enjoyed. Why is it being a feature a problem? Simply put, you cannot play at the same level as people with gyro aiming whenever you are playing with just stick controls. I will refer back to my earlier point. The Switch version of Fortnite has a reputation for having a very “noob” player base because the controls are hard. This means everyone is on a level playing field. (Sure, you can play cross play with other systems with better control methods but I have never found another system when doing fill game. The only time I encountered players on other hardware is when I manually joined a party with the other hardware.).
By giving people the option to have motion controls on Switch, you are allowing a better control method to constantly be exposed to the player. No longer are all Switch players surrounded by people that are in the same situation as they are, they are now subject to constantly encountering players with a gyro aiming scheme. This isn’t an isolated case of a superior control method making games hard for the other control scheme. Overwatch had the same issue when people started using adapters to plug a keyboard and mouse to their Xbox One and PS4 consoles. It was much easier to be accurate with this control method and therefore a ton of players using this got boosted through the ranks, giving the people that worked hard on the standard controller method a stark disadvantage and discouragement from continuing to play.
As someone who has extensive PC gaming history as well as extensive history in playing games on a standard console back in the day I can say with confidence that gyro aiming gives players the advantage over people with even a standard console controller with proper stick placement. While it may not be as fluid as a keyboard and mouse in movement and playability, it definitely is better than a standard controller. It allows for easier target tracking when they are moving along the X and Y axis of the screen. Bunny Hopping, the usage of jumping to prevent enemies from properly aiming, is common in Fortnite already. Gyro aiming would give you a perfect ability to track these targets. It makes sniping considerably easier as it allows for tight precision aiming.
By allowing people with a vastly superior control method to play with people playing on small analog sticks that don’t allow for natural controller movement, Epic Games is making gyro aiming the standard for people who want to win. If you ever want to get that victory royale, you better turn those gyro controls because you are constantly putting yourself at a disadvantage if you don’t.
And this requirement for motion controls to be competitive is turning me off to the game in the same way that it turned me off to Splatoon 2. I love playing Fornite in bed (typically at absurd hours of the night) but now that I am going to be constantly at a disadvantage by playing in that way, I don’t know how much longer my Fortnite addiction will continue. I am a competitive person and knowing I am always handicapped makes me really discouraged to pick the game up. Again, the same reason I stopped playing Splatoon 2 long term.
I know that the gyro aiming isn’t as good as Splatoon 2 in this game, but It will be in time. Epic is constantly updating this game. The gyro aiming will be fine tuned in time and will eventually be spot on.
There are a couple of ways that I recommend this could be fixed. You could separate the player base into 2 groups for Switch. Standard console aiming and Gyro assisted aiming. Sure, this would fragment the player base, but with all the other platforms to pull players from, you could always put gyro assisted players against Xbox One players since they are 100% more likely to not be playing with a Joy-Con. The second and final way I would recommend that Epic Games could fix this issue is to disable gyro controls all together. It would again level out the player base and I would argue that most people refusing to play the game without gyro aiming probably aren’t the audience that will stick with the game long term. They have little experience with 2 stick aiming in shooters, meaning they probably were Splatoon 2 players before this. That community is very loyal and I doubt they will have the same retention rate to the game. It’s better to frustrate a niche community of players that are likely to ditch the game in the future anyway than the people that are used to this kind of shooter on console and therefore more likely to stick around and be paying customers for longer.
TLDR: Don’t take away my ability to be competitive in Fortnite when I’m laying in bed at 4 a.m.
The Switch version of the game has a...reputation of sorts. As with the mobile ports of the game, the game is harder to control than other versions. This comes from a large part of the player base using Joy-Cons for their go to way of play. Either because they are playing in handheld mode or because they are just using the standard grip that came with the system out of the box to play in TV mode. They Joy-Cons have a glaring issue that I’m sure any veteran Switch player could tell you. The right thumbstick, which is used to move the camera and aim in Fortnite, is directly below the face buttons. This means to properly play the game, you have to really work your thumb. This leads to inaccurate movements as your thumb constantly bounces back and forth between the face buttons and thumb stick. This motion is not natural and is therefor harder with the Joy-Con. This problem is fixed if you have a pro controller and are playing in tabletop or TV mode but if you’re in handheld, expect a hard time.
So why go on a tangent about the downfalls of Joy-Con aiming when this article is supposed to be about the gyro aiming? Simply put, Joy-Con is the default way players receive their console and therefore the most popular way of play. Giving the players the option to play in handheld mode means that it has the most overall market appeal. Also, according to a Nintendo (and signal boosted by a Eurogamer article), more people play in handheld mode than on a TV.
Gyro aiming is a very popular way for Switch players to play shooters. I must admit, I love playing Splatoon 2 that way. There is one major issue with gyro aiming though and that is inability to lay down during the experience. The gyro aiming is based on the accelerometer’s relation to gravity. Simply put, if you lay down and play, your squid just stares at the sky. This issue is especially exacerbated in handheld mode since bedtime is the most likely time I will be playing a game in bed.
So gyro aiming isn’t super accessible all the time but it’s something that Switch fans have become used to and enjoyed. Why is it being a feature a problem? Simply put, you cannot play at the same level as people with gyro aiming whenever you are playing with just stick controls. I will refer back to my earlier point. The Switch version of Fortnite has a reputation for having a very “noob” player base because the controls are hard. This means everyone is on a level playing field. (Sure, you can play cross play with other systems with better control methods but I have never found another system when doing fill game. The only time I encountered players on other hardware is when I manually joined a party with the other hardware.).
By giving people the option to have motion controls on Switch, you are allowing a better control method to constantly be exposed to the player. No longer are all Switch players surrounded by people that are in the same situation as they are, they are now subject to constantly encountering players with a gyro aiming scheme. This isn’t an isolated case of a superior control method making games hard for the other control scheme. Overwatch had the same issue when people started using adapters to plug a keyboard and mouse to their Xbox One and PS4 consoles. It was much easier to be accurate with this control method and therefore a ton of players using this got boosted through the ranks, giving the people that worked hard on the standard controller method a stark disadvantage and discouragement from continuing to play.
As someone who has extensive PC gaming history as well as extensive history in playing games on a standard console back in the day I can say with confidence that gyro aiming gives players the advantage over people with even a standard console controller with proper stick placement. While it may not be as fluid as a keyboard and mouse in movement and playability, it definitely is better than a standard controller. It allows for easier target tracking when they are moving along the X and Y axis of the screen. Bunny Hopping, the usage of jumping to prevent enemies from properly aiming, is common in Fortnite already. Gyro aiming would give you a perfect ability to track these targets. It makes sniping considerably easier as it allows for tight precision aiming.
By allowing people with a vastly superior control method to play with people playing on small analog sticks that don’t allow for natural controller movement, Epic Games is making gyro aiming the standard for people who want to win. If you ever want to get that victory royale, you better turn those gyro controls because you are constantly putting yourself at a disadvantage if you don’t.
And this requirement for motion controls to be competitive is turning me off to the game in the same way that it turned me off to Splatoon 2. I love playing Fornite in bed (typically at absurd hours of the night) but now that I am going to be constantly at a disadvantage by playing in that way, I don’t know how much longer my Fortnite addiction will continue. I am a competitive person and knowing I am always handicapped makes me really discouraged to pick the game up. Again, the same reason I stopped playing Splatoon 2 long term.
I know that the gyro aiming isn’t as good as Splatoon 2 in this game, but It will be in time. Epic is constantly updating this game. The gyro aiming will be fine tuned in time and will eventually be spot on.
There are a couple of ways that I recommend this could be fixed. You could separate the player base into 2 groups for Switch. Standard console aiming and Gyro assisted aiming. Sure, this would fragment the player base, but with all the other platforms to pull players from, you could always put gyro assisted players against Xbox One players since they are 100% more likely to not be playing with a Joy-Con. The second and final way I would recommend that Epic Games could fix this issue is to disable gyro controls all together. It would again level out the player base and I would argue that most people refusing to play the game without gyro aiming probably aren’t the audience that will stick with the game long term. They have little experience with 2 stick aiming in shooters, meaning they probably were Splatoon 2 players before this. That community is very loyal and I doubt they will have the same retention rate to the game. It’s better to frustrate a niche community of players that are likely to ditch the game in the future anyway than the people that are used to this kind of shooter on console and therefore more likely to stick around and be paying customers for longer.
TLDR: Don’t take away my ability to be competitive in Fortnite when I’m laying in bed at 4 a.m.
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