Category: Student Posts

“Firewatch” begins in a very unique way. It takes you through a series of branching scenarios in which you must decide which branch to take. This kind of introduction to the game really makes it feel like you, the player, are in control of the backstory of the game. I assume that everyone that plays this game creates their own unique backstory because of the length and complexity of the intro. The result of my choices during the intro ended up with my wife developing dementia and being taken away from me by her parents. I am very curious to see what other backstories are possible to achieve.

The intro to Firewatch was much longer than that of Gone Home or Dear Esther, but it was much more interesting. I was engaged in Henry and Julia’s lives and how quickly they went. Because the game condensed almost 20 years into 20 minutes, it seemed that everything was happening so fast. One minute, Henry is approaching Julia at the bar, the next they’re moving in together and the next they’re getting married and having kids. I also felt bad for Julia. She couldn’t take a great job at Yale because it was too far of a move. She also seemed to get sick very quickly and Henry could no longer take care of her. I am curious to see what Henry’s new job entails.

I had to take a break from the game because some really interesting things started to happen. First, I stumbled into a note that had transcripts of the conversations that Henry and Delilah were having. I don’t really know who could be doing this but the person has been listening to their conversations for quite a while. Just after this, I found a walkie talkie on the floor, which appeared have just been a trap, since after I picked it up someone hit me on the head and the character blacked out. This person might be the mysterious man that Henry encountered one night, who appeared to be following him.

I’m beginning to think that Delilah might be setting Henry up. I noticed that whenever Delilah sends Henry on a mission, it usually turns into something different once he gets there. This could just be a coincidence but I think she might just be using Henry as a puppet. She appears to have been working there for a long time, thus knows about everything that goes on in the forest. If this is true, then she is taking advantage of Henry’s situation and instilling trust into him so that he would not suspect a thing. It is also weird that these things are only happening to him and not any of the other fire watchers.

A lot has happened since day 1. I don’t really remember what day it is currently in the game, but Henry just witnessed his first forest fire. Nothing really major has happened but we can see that he has slowly began to form a relationship with Julia, the other fire watcher who is supposedly set up close to where he is. Up to where I am, Henry has not not yet had any contact with Julia that is not through the radio, but I do not know for sure because the game skips certain days.  That communication with Julia is important, as he is finally able to have a connection with somebody after Delilah got sick. It’s sort of ironic because he is now more isolated from society than ever, yet he himself is no longer isolated because he finally has someone he can talk to.

So I believe that I just finished the opening sequence of the game. It basically gives us a backstory on Henry, the main character of the game. We see that his wife, Delilah, suffers from what appears to be early onset dementia. Having to care for a person with dementia, Alzheimer’s, or any debilitating disease is unfortunately something that many people around the world have to go through. Incorporating this into the plot can help players identify with the protagonist, something that will increase the amount of emotions toward the game.  With this information, we know more about his personal life and his intentions for taking a job as a fire watcher.

Taking into consideration that outcomes can be chosen by the player, it is safe to assume that there will be different outcomes depending on how you answer questions. This gameplay kind of relates to Gone Home, where one can’t actually change the ending of the game itself but can control how they get there, so player A’s experience is going to be a little different from player B’s. I am assuming that no matter what, the ending will be the same for everyone, but it would be interesting to see alternative endings.

This post is going to be my live-blog play-through of the game Firewatch. The beginning of Firewatch starts out with you, Henry, in a bar, and you meet a woman named Julia. I got stuck for about a minute because I didn’t realize that you had to click some of the dialogue. So I just kinda sat there staring at a screen wondering when it would change. I quickly went through the dialogues and Henry ends up marrying Julia. However, Julia develops dementia at age 41 and, she barely recognizes you when you visit her in her nursing home. Then, you take a job in a solitary “firewatch” tower in the woods where your only communication is over the radio with a woman named delilah. I believe that Henry is depressed and needs solitude, which is why he took this job in the woods. I’ll figure that out later.