Interview with Alexandre, aka JALF, content creator on Fortnite

Hello Alexandre, we are delighted to have you today to get to know you better. Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

JALF - Hello, my name is Alexandre, I am nicknamed JALF. I make video game maps on Fortnite. I live in France, I am French, and I am 27 years old.

For those who do not know yet, you created your company JALF Industries in January 2022 which notably includes your activity of creating Fortnite maps. Can you tell us about it, tell us what triggered you to start this activity?

JALF - Exactly! Initially, about 5 years ago, a little before the Covid period, I started playing Fortnite. At first, I was just playing Battle Royale mode to have fun with friends and family, including my cousins. Then the creative mode came to Fortnite and, overnight, I got into it. I was passionate about it because, since I was little, I've loved creating. Whether it's mazes, lots of LEGO, or various creations of different styles, I've always been immersed in creations and constructions. Then, what happened was that I realized my maps were liked. I started creating them for fun in the style of escape games. In fact, I did a lot of escape games in real life and it inspired me to transcribe the principles directly into Fortnite. I made one on the theme of prison which started to be liked and my cousin told me there was a possibility to earn money through Fortnite. So I got interested, asked for my creator code, and quickly started to earn a little bit of income. It was motivating, especially since it's difficult to make a name in this field.

By doing it out of passion, not for money, I was lucky enough to succeed. I found myself overnight creating my company. At first, I was in a micro-enterprise. As the years went by, the community grew, more players joined, and the game's economic system evolved. Since I had been around for a while, I was able to take advantage of it and set up a company. Now, things are going very well and I even find myself collaborating with brands, like Orange and other escape game brands in France, and recently, with Fulllife.

I'm following up on your collaboration with Orange. They have committed to promoting Safe Zones to combat cyberbullying. Can you tell us more about this partnership?

JALF - Orange approached me about three years ago to see if I was interested in creating a new experience that had never been seen before in video games. These are Safe Zones to combat cyberbullying. The goal is to convey a message and help players through video games. The initiative has been integrated into several games, including Fortnite. So I am the creator of several zones in Fortnite. To help as many people as possible, we have localized the zones in several languages. We hope this can help as many people as possible. The goal was to inform while maintaining a playful aspect. For example, there was information on cyberbullying or, unusually, a way to directly call a help platform by dialing the displayed phone number, in the language of the person concerned.

It's true that it's a great initiative, especially since it's a subject that shouldn't be taken lightly. It's really very serious, and we see it on social networks. It's frequent, it happens very quickly, especially when large communities are involved.

JALF - Fortunately, there are more and more people fighting against cyberbullying, although there are also more and more people participating in this cyberbullying. It often snowballs, and we see it in several games. It's a very delicate subject, and we've done our best to help as many people as possible. We did three consecutive seasons with Orange. The first season, we just opened the Safe Zones. The second season, we opened Safe Zones and mini Safe Zones to implement more in the games while reducing the size, as otherwise, they took up a lot of space. Nevertheless, we provided just as much information to help the players who visit them. We thought more about the content, with collaborations with influencers like Squeezie or Valouzz. In this case, they played on the maps to promote them.

Your creations focus a lot on diversity. There are those based on parkour, 1 versus 1, mini-games, or even escape adventures since you are a fan of escape games. Can you tell us about your creation process? Is there a common thread you try to maintain in terms of ideas or themes that are implemented in your maps?

JALF - At first, I only did escape games, but I quickly realized that it wasn't a good idea to box myself in, especially since some people tend to quickly categorize us. So I decided to diversify my range of maps. As you could see, I added maps based on parkour, combat, Sniper vs. Runner, mini-games, etc.

To diversify, I usually choose a theme and a style of game. For example, if I've been doing escape games for five consecutive weeks, I tell myself I can change. Already, for me as a content creator, it's good to change. If you do the same thing all year, at some point, you end up getting tired of it. Even if it's out of passion, I think ideas dwindle over time, and inevitably players will end up feeling it. It won't be pleasant for anyone. So I first choose the theme (dinosaurs, prison, pirates, etc.) and draw the elements related to it. Then I choose a game mode, like combat, for example. Once that's defined, I set up my specifications. I write my map from A to Z, how it will be, what the rules will be, what objectives to integrate, etc. Then I work on the atmosphere. Throughout creation, there are always things that get added.

You offer very different themes. Do you take the opportunity to slip in references to pop culture? Looking at some of your creations, one quickly thinks of Indiana Jones or even Jurassic Park.

JALF - There was a time I used to enjoy doing that. But since there are copyrights to respect and Fortnite already has several collaborations with brands, like Star Wars, we are forbidden to reference them. Indeed, we don't benefit from the contract that remains between Epic Games and the brand in question. As creators, we remain in contract for Fortnite, but it doesn't extend to collaborations. However, there are sometimes a few subtle nods, like a hat on the floor of a pyramid. That way, players who see it either associate it with a reference or overlook it. But it's not stipulated that it's Indy's hat, for example.

You have a lot of maps to your credit. Looking back, what would be the creation you absolutely have to try to better understand your universe?

JALF - I think it's the maps dedicated to the Escape Game universe. Naturally, it's what worked best when I look at the stats, for sure the players love it. I recommend the Escape Game Prison, knowing that I made three of them. It's best to start with part 1 because it's really the one that encourages discovery. It's truly the discovery of an Escape Game from A to Z on a theme known to everyone. It's really playable by everyone, whether you're good at Fortnite or new to the game. Then, behind that, I also created maps a bit more complex. For example, I created a 2D map, it's half Mario Bros., half Only Up. The objective is to climb to the top of the wall while avoiding obstacles placed along the way. Everything is in 2D in terms of progression. There, for sure, if you haven't played Fortnite before, it will be more challenging to play, at least at the beginning. Then, I have one on combat, it's El Cartel. It's one of the very first ones I made and is still relevant today, so I'm very happy with it.

Are there any collaborations with other brands integrated into Fortnite that have particularly impressed you? With which you had fun?

JALF - Precisely, on Fortnite we created a concert for the rapper Juice WRLD who unfortunately passed away. We used his song Lucid Dreams to pay tribute to him. I created a universe with a kind of course in which players were guided. We transcribed the themes addressed in the music, such as paradise, hell, love, etc. It allowed me to gain a lot of experience, it was really nice.

And in the licenses used by Epic Games, like Star Wars, Marvel, etc., which are the ones you have played outside of your work that have marked you the most?

JALF - To be honest, I am a big fan of Marvel. So, whenever there is something, I'm happy! From there, it's pretty easy to satisfy me.

What are your other favorite games apart from Fortnite? Do you create or mod them, at least when it's possible?

JALF - Originally, I wasn't a FPS player at all. I played sports games instead, mainly basketball (NBA 2K) and soccer (FIFA). I played a lot, a lot of FIFA. For the record, I played a lot of NBA 2K, especially since I played basketball for 10 years. But I had a ligament rupture. After that, I switched to FIFA and became addicted. I had surgery, I couldn't move, I stayed in my chair, so naturally, it was one of the activities I could practice. I was addicted until the day I could walk again. After that, I stopped FIFA quietly. Now we can create on Fall Guys so I sometimes have fun on it. I have always loved creating. For example, on FIFA, I found a mod that allowed me to customize my jersey. So I had fun drawing the jersey on Photoshop and then integrating it into my FIFA player. I was the only one with that jersey, even if on paper you weren't allowed. Long ago I even created on Trackmania. After that, I'm on Fortnite now because it has become my job, but if tomorrow a new game comes out with a creation mode, of course, I would check it out out of curiosity.

How did you discover Fulllife? What was the trigger that pushed you to take the plunge and join the Creator Program?

JALF - I discovered Fulllife on social media. You contacted me on X (formerly Twitter) at the time of the collaboration with Fortnite. As a former basketball player, the jersey caught my eye. So I looked at your site and saw that the concept was super cool, really nice. It's in the mood of the day, if we can say, there are lots of different licenses represented, the concept of the capsules is really nice. In short, I really liked it and since I play a lot of video games, when I saw your collaborations with Fortnite and more recently Rocket League, I was seduced.

Thank you Alexandre for the time you gave me and see you soon in the Fulllife Universe.