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Chop, Hatch, Conquer: Tips from the Creators of Fortnite’s Lumberjack Heroes
The Fortnite Team
In our Creator Spotlight series, we share the stories of how creators successfully marketed their UEFN islands, to inspire the community to build and promote their own.
Grab your axe and chop your way through Lumberjack Heroes, a UEFN island built by ItsJacky!
In Lumberjack Heroes, players chop trees to collect resources and power up their heroes with upgrades and custom abilities. Players can search for eggs that hatch into helpful pets, unlock interesting new areas, and challenge an epic variety of enemies as they progress through this incremental RPG.
We spoke with ItsJacky to find out what made Lumberjack Heroes so beloved by the Fortnite community, and how other creators could draw inspiration for their own UEFN islands.
With a background in electrical engineering, a passion for user generated content (UGC) games, and a few game jams under his belt, ItsJacky decided it was time to use UEFN to build something of their own. “Before I started developing my game, I spent some time playing various Fortnite islands to get an idea of what had already been done and what was possible in the platform.”
ItsJacky “wanted to infuse some RPG gameplay elements, and thus Lumberjack Heroes was born — a game that is a fusion of genres: Incremental, MMORPG, and Gacha.”
“With the development of Lumberjack Heroes… I didn't have any scheduled timelines to define when the game would be ready for release. However, throughout development I spent a lot of time playtesting and at a certain point found that I would unintentionally end up playing the game for longer than I had intended and that play sessions would go beyond an hour.
“As a result of this I believed that the game was in a state that was ready to share. Upon completing the development, I also made sure to thoroughly re-test the game on different devices/input types (keyboard and mouse, controller, touchscreen).”
Once Lumberjack Heroes felt ready from a development perspective, it was time to share the island with the right audience. ItsJacky built a robust marketing plan to promote the island that led to some incredible results:
“Having spent about one year developing the game, I believed I had a unique game that would sell itself if it were properly showcased. So I decided on making a gameplay-focused trailer.”
ItsJacky created a gameplay trailer which showcased the variety of gameplay experiences players may have in Lumberjack Heroes. Since they blended a variety of game genres together, it was important to showcase how those different playstyles converged. They added on-screen text which identified the different in-game mechanics so fans could easily understand what they were watching throughout the trailer.
“I believe the trailer was the key factor in the campaign’s overall success,” says the creator.
Once your gameplay trailer is released and your player audience is engaged, it’s time to shift your focus to maintaining long-term interest. Listening to player feedback and regularly updating your game are proven strategies. As you release updates, consider how to effectively promote your patch notes online.
“It was clear from the increase in active players that a major game update, combined with a marketing push, boosted interest in the island. The update provided additional gameplay content that helped maintain the playerbase for an extended period,” says ItsJacky.
Developing your own experience in UEFN can be exciting and fulfilling, but it comes with challenges. “For my next island, I’d like to explore ways to market the game beyond the Fortnite [audience], whether by reaching out to content creators of specific game genres or promoting the game to niche game genre communities.”
ItsJacky continues: “I've definitely learned about how important marketing is for a game and that I should put more time/effort into it and even design gameplay features with marketing in-mind.”
We can’t wait to see what they create next — until then we’ll just be over here singing The Lumberjack song. Play Lumberjack Heroes using code 7154-1898-4800 or by searching for “Lumberjack Heroes” in Discover!
Check out the Creator Marketing Playbook for more tips on how to successfully market your UEFN islands.
Grab your axe and chop your way through Lumberjack Heroes, a UEFN island built by ItsJacky!
In Lumberjack Heroes, players chop trees to collect resources and power up their heroes with upgrades and custom abilities. Players can search for eggs that hatch into helpful pets, unlock interesting new areas, and challenge an epic variety of enemies as they progress through this incremental RPG.
We spoke with ItsJacky to find out what made Lumberjack Heroes so beloved by the Fortnite community, and how other creators could draw inspiration for their own UEFN islands.
With a background in electrical engineering, a passion for user generated content (UGC) games, and a few game jams under his belt, ItsJacky decided it was time to use UEFN to build something of their own. “Before I started developing my game, I spent some time playing various Fortnite islands to get an idea of what had already been done and what was possible in the platform.”
ItsJacky “wanted to infuse some RPG gameplay elements, and thus Lumberjack Heroes was born — a game that is a fusion of genres: Incremental, MMORPG, and Gacha.”
“With the development of Lumberjack Heroes… I didn't have any scheduled timelines to define when the game would be ready for release. However, throughout development I spent a lot of time playtesting and at a certain point found that I would unintentionally end up playing the game for longer than I had intended and that play sessions would go beyond an hour.
“As a result of this I believed that the game was in a state that was ready to share. Upon completing the development, I also made sure to thoroughly re-test the game on different devices/input types (keyboard and mouse, controller, touchscreen).”
Once Lumberjack Heroes felt ready from a development perspective, it was time to share the island with the right audience. ItsJacky built a robust marketing plan to promote the island that led to some incredible results:
Lumberjack Heroes Marketing Plan
- Shared the game on existing Fortnite channels, like the Fortnite Creative & UEFN Discord server, r/FortniteCreative, and the UEFN Community Showcase.
- Dedicated social media channels were created specifically for the game’s launch, as well as for announcing game patches and fostering organic community building.
- A Gameplay Trailer was built and promoted across platforms such as X, YouTube, TikTok, Discord, and Instagram.
- A website was developed to serve as a global leaderboard and game updates hub.
- ItsJacky ensured that all marketing posts and content included direct links to the island, driving fans back to Fortnite.
“Having spent about one year developing the game, I believed I had a unique game that would sell itself if it were properly showcased. So I decided on making a gameplay-focused trailer.”
ItsJacky created a gameplay trailer which showcased the variety of gameplay experiences players may have in Lumberjack Heroes. Since they blended a variety of game genres together, it was important to showcase how those different playstyles converged. They added on-screen text which identified the different in-game mechanics so fans could easily understand what they were watching throughout the trailer.
ItsJacky’s Five Steps to Creating an Epic Gameplay Trailer
- STEP ONE: Decide, list, and prioritize which gameplay features to best showcase.
- STEP TWO: Review and familiarize yourself with the Fortnite Creative Branding Guidelines.
- STEP THREE: Set up a private game session in UEFN and record the gameplay features, with in-game music disabled.
- STEP FOUR: Compile the gameplay footage, adding text and transitions.
- STEP FIVE: Add suitable music to the gameplay trailer. (ItsJacky used royalty-free music.)
“I believe the trailer was the key factor in the campaign’s overall success,” says the creator.
Once your gameplay trailer is released and your player audience is engaged, it’s time to shift your focus to maintaining long-term interest. Listening to player feedback and regularly updating your game are proven strategies. As you release updates, consider how to effectively promote your patch notes online.
“It was clear from the increase in active players that a major game update, combined with a marketing push, boosted interest in the island. The update provided additional gameplay content that helped maintain the playerbase for an extended period,” says ItsJacky.
Developing your own experience in UEFN can be exciting and fulfilling, but it comes with challenges. “For my next island, I’d like to explore ways to market the game beyond the Fortnite [audience], whether by reaching out to content creators of specific game genres or promoting the game to niche game genre communities.”
ItsJacky continues: “I've definitely learned about how important marketing is for a game and that I should put more time/effort into it and even design gameplay features with marketing in-mind.”
We can’t wait to see what they create next — until then we’ll just be over here singing The Lumberjack song. Play Lumberjack Heroes using code 7154-1898-4800 or by searching for “Lumberjack Heroes” in Discover!
Check out the Creator Marketing Playbook for more tips on how to successfully market your UEFN islands.