Hearing the name “Fortnite” probably already has you itching to ditch class and kick back on your couch with a controller in hand.

What’s so special about a game that is supposedly a rip-off of the game “Player Unknown BattleGrounds”? Maybe it’s all the cartoonish features that were created so this game could be a little more kid-friendly. I really don’t see what’s kid-friendly about running around and destroying people with pickaxes, but I’m just one person compared to the thousands of gamers who are in a trance over this game.

So what’s the hype?

“Fortnite” was released July 25, 2017, and social media erupted in a fire of reviews and controversy over who is the best player. I can’t scroll anywhere without running across a meme about “Fortnite.” Memes are the epitome of social media, whether it is making fun of something or praising it, and “Fortnite” has become a meme players find worth sharing.

Personally, I am not a gamer whatsoever, but seeing the hype of something as small as a game is astounding. Students at UCM have joined the craze of competing in “Fortnite.” Wyatt Craven, junior digital media production major, is one of the many students who claims he is obsessed with the game.

“I think it’s the best free player-versus-player game of our generation,” Craven said.

He said he typically spends about three hours a day playing the game, but he said that’s nothing compared to some of his fellow UCM students who lock themselves up for five to six hours a day.

I never understood what’s so great about this game, and apparently I’m not the only one either.

“I think it’s dumb,” said Carrington Frevert, an open options major at UCM. “All you do is just run around killing people. Half of the time you’re not even killing people anyway. My boyfriend plays it all the time.”

How about we pick up a book or something instead of a controller?

The hype on “Fortnite” is just like the hype on any other trend we’ve experienced in the past.

We’ll be years into the future and someone will bring up, “Hey, remember when Fortnite used to be such a big deal?” just like we would if we were to talk about creations like the Pet Rock and Beanie Babies.

So instead of playing this game for hours on end, we could use this valuable time to achieve things like pursuing a master’s degree or solving world hunger.

But who knows? Maybe you might create the next big thing that will have us all talking in the future.