It has to be a pretty cool experience for your ideas to appear in a video game. And it must be even cooler when everyone pitches in to help make those ideas become reality. The new Fortnite Tender Defender skin is actually the idea of an eight-year-old kid, and a Reddit community helped make his original idea into a reality.
This goes back to around September, when a father of a Fortnite fan named Connor posted his idea (pictured above) of a chicken trooper on Reddit, hoping that developer Epic Games would add it to the game. It soon gained traction, with the rest of the Fortnite subreddit helping Connor, the 8-year-old boy who came up the idea, realize his dream. They drew pictures and concept art in the hopes that Epic would notice.
After a bit of radio silence, Epic did end up contacting one of the artists who drew the art for the character. Feathers started to appear around the watch tower at Lonely Lodge, and leaked files showed that a chicken character was definitely happening. Yesterday, it was announced that new Fowl Play gear, including the Tender Defender skin, was now available. When Connor heard about the news, he was elated, according to his father.
“We are so excited,” his father wrote on Reddit once the big news came out. “I surprised Connor with the skin (right before we had to leave to an event) and he and his brother loved it. Thanks to everyone on Reddit who made this possible. You made his day. He is sporting a permanent grin. You guys made me the coolest dad alive.”
There’s a reason Connor’s dad is possibly the coolest alive: Fortnite is one of the most massively popular games around right now, sporting over 125 million players players as of July 2018. Other recent collaborations for player skins include NFL inspired jerseys, but those skins have been used for more nefarious, less heartwarming means.
