“In conclusion: video games, hell yeah.”

May 15, 2020 10:39 AM

Amid the coronavirus lockdown, a group of six teenagers come together to make a young gamer's birthday special in Fortnite. [Game Rant] “A group of six young men playing Fortnite made one mother so proud that it left her in tears. Her teenage son, who has been playing games regularly during the coronavirus lockdown with his friends over the net, booted up Fortnite. Soon enough, the group met a player going by the name JamMaster who seemed "pretty chill," as mom Tiffany Pitts puts it. After playing together for a short while, the teens learned that JamMaster was only 10, but about to become 11 the very next day. While this would normally be a pretty exciting day for a little kid, JamMaster would be stuck spending the day without friends or a party due to the coronavirus. Apparently, Pitts has a good son with good friends, as they decided they couldn't let this stand. The group of teenagers swiftly pounced upon the opportunity to help celebrate the younger player's birthday, taking him on "a bunch of adventures," by fighting together, sharing loot with him, and keeping him up until midnight so they could officially sing him the Happy Birthday song.”
posted by Fizz (9 comments total)

h/t Johnny Wallflower.
posted by Fizz at 10:40 AM on May 15, 2020

Hell yeah!
posted by Secretariat at 1:19 PM on May 15, 2020

awwwwww heck.
posted by Glinn at 2:58 PM on May 15, 2020

I thought Fortnite was a hellscape of in-game purchases. Now I see it is a land of contrasts.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:11 PM on May 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

I cried my eyes out reading this earlier this week. Like I said on Twitter: This is so nice. Video games can be an awesome force for good. (Witness all my best friends that I met playing games.) It's not all toxicity and gamergaters, please remember that.

It's nice to share something valuable with everyone. Thank you.
posted by gemmy at 7:48 PM on May 15, 2020

Another MeFite I've met during this pandemic actually did this for me regarding my birthday, since I wasn't exactly getting people I knew IRL to go to an online gaming party. Not sure if she'd be comfortable or not being mentioned by name so I'll politely not out her (though I did send her this story earlier!), but she's awesome :)
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:50 PM on May 15, 2020 [4 favorites]

Fortnite: meet new people, shoot most of them
posted by Merus at 12:11 AM on May 16, 2020 [1 favorite]

i was worried this had been debunked. thank goodness!!
posted by ovenmitt at 6:28 AM on May 16, 2020

Fortnite is a social space first and a game second. I'm glad these young boys did something nice for another.

We need more kindness and wholesomeness in gaming culture.
posted by Fizz at 8:04 AM on May 16, 2020