(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP-xlJJj0O0)
What is Firewatch I hear you ask? Firewatch is a recently new game available on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux and the PlayStation 4. This first part features me making the worst relationship choices ever in a videogame and gives you a step-by-step walkthrough of how to get dumped. Caution: Using these relationship choices in real life may get you smacked in the face.
Firewatch is a first person adventure video game developed by Campo Santo and published by Panic Inc. It was the debut video game by both companies. Firewatch follows the story of a volunteer fire lookout in the aftermath of the Yellowstone fires of 1988.
Firewatch Plot:
The story takes place in the Wyoming wilderness in 1989. Players take on the role of Henry (voiced by Rich Sommer), a fire lookout who is assigned to his own tower in Shoshone National Forest. Through exploration of the surrounding area, Henry uncovers clues about mysterious occurrences in the vicinity that are related to the ransacking of his tower while out on a routine patrol and a shadowy figure that occasionally appears watching him from afar. Henry's only form of communication is a walkie-talkie connecting him to his supervisor, Delilah (voiced by Cissy Jones). Players may choose from a number of dialog options to interact with her when players discover new interactive objects or environments, or refrain from responding. The player's choices will influence the tone of his relationship with Delilah. As the story progresses, new areas will be opened up for players. The game also features a day-night cycle, but time will only shift if players successfully complete all the objectives set for that period of time.
Firewatch Development:
Firewatch is the first video game from Campo Santo, a San Francisco-based developer founded by Jake Rodkin and Sean Vanaman, who were the creative leads of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead; Nels Anderson, the lead designer of Mark of the Ninja; and Olly Moss, an artist. Chris Remo composed the score. Firewatch runs on the Unity game engine.Development for Firewatch began with a single painting by Moss. Jane Ng, lead environment artist at Campo Santo, was tasked with translating Moss' key art into 3D environments while maintaining his stylized, elemental artistic vision. Moss, who had previously been known primarily for his graphic design work, joined Vanaman and Rodkin to found Campo Santo after spending many years working on the periphery of game development. In creating the aforementioned painting, Moss emulated National Park Service posters from the New Deal era in both color palette and iconography. The walkie-talkie interaction in Firewatch is inspired by the player's relationship with Atlas in BioShock, as well as the dialog system from The Walking Dead. The development team went on a camping trip to Yosemite National Park for inspiration for the game. The game is also inspired in part by Vanaman's and Anderson's experiences growing up in rural Wyoming.The game is a first-person game played from the perspective of Henry, and Delilah will only talk through the walkie-talkie. This gameplay decision is made as the team hoped to avoid lip syncing and minimize the amount of animation needed, as both of which are very expensive for them due to the limited team size and resources. According to Anderson, it will be unfeasible for the team to add them to the game.The game was announced in March 2014 with a tentative release date of "2015". At GDC, the company housed a public playtest away from the main building and game artist, Jane Ng, hosted a panel on the design and aesthetic of the game entitled The Art of Firewatch. In June 2015, the team visited E3 and confirmed that they would be bringing the game to PlayStation 4 as the only console version. Unforturtunately, Firewatch Xbox One gameplay was never developed. Hopefully, Firewatch gameplay Xbox One will be reconsidered in the future.
Firewatch Reviews:
Firewatch received mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the Microsoft Windows version 82/100 based on 35 reviews, and the PlayStation 4 version 76/100 based on 30 reviews.
