Tag: Firewatch

This game caught my attention from its very first sentence. The imperative tone that it used to guide a player was interesting enough for me to decide that this game would be worth my time. Having various options of dialogue created an illusion of choice that kept the introduction interactive instead of being a plain, boring narrative.
The cute story with a bitter end opened was revealed in front of my eyes and helped me understand the main character, Henry. Soon enough I realized that he is the one from who’s perspective I will be progressing through the game. It was a nice change from Dear Esther and Gone Home since I got to know the background story before I began the game. This made me feel more connected to Henry and I actually started caring about his well-being as the game began. What also caught my attention was the style in which the game is presented. While Henry’s story is something that could easily happen in real life, the world around him is shown to be very cartoon-like. The colorful surroundings and cartoon like appearance of the main character (I could only see his hands, but still) made it hard for me to take the game seriously at first. However there were some aspects that made this game way more realistic than Dear Esther or Gone Home combined, one of them navigating yourself through the forest. I never realized that it would be so difficult to find my way around with a campus and a poorly drawn map.

I have started playing “Firewatch” and I am very interested in what will unfold. The opening sequence sets up a dramatic, if not unexpectedly tragic turn of events. After a picture perfect start to their relationship, the onset of Julia’s dementia immediately takes a turn for the worst. The fact that the game provides life-changing options for the player to choose from really sets this game apart from “Dear Esther” or “Gone Home.” I like how the opening sequence fades in and out of Henry (presumably) walking through trails in the woods and the narrative explaining his past. I am pumped for how this game will develop and progress. It also helps that this game has unbelievable graphics but it makes my puny Mac Book Air lag uncontrollably.

Liveblogging Firewatch

The development of Henry and Delilah’s relationship has taken a peculiar turn. Delilah seems as if now she’s taken a lot more interest in Henry and it gives me a thought that maybe she knows more than what she’s putting out. The days are getting shorter and the time is moving faster. With each new day that goes by my list of unanswered questions grow…

Firewatch reminds me of certain Japanese role play games I have played because it gives me branches to select what I want to say, or which dog I want to have. Though I’m pretty sure the result is the same, the man ends up entering a tower and starting a unique job, it’s really nice to be provided with scenarios that illustrate a story and the history of the man. What really makes me frustrated is that I cannot pause or get out of the game as long as I am in the game. I was wondering if this only happened to my computer. Anyway, it’s a really nice game but I ‘m not sure whether I can keep on updating the blogs or not since it seems that the uncertainty is not the upcoming tasks of the game but my computer.

I was a bit confused after Day 3 went on to Day 9; I thought I forgot how much I actually played after a break. I know now Henry’s been relaxing and fulfilling his duties within that gap. My take on the game so far is that it really defines what it means to adventure and venture out into the wilderness. I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten lost or had to back track and use my map and compass. The radio dialogue between Henry and Delilah are very interesting and encourage players to drive how the conversation will play out. I’ve learned that certain things tick Delilah off and that could cause her to be unresponsive for awhile, so my prediction of the player being a key role in determining what happens in the game appears to be correct. Similar to Gone Home and Dear Esther, I’d like to point to the lonely first-person experience I’ve been getting. While I can communicate to Delilah, she’s never seen, and I can only wonder about by myself.

After starting fire watch I knew this game would definitely stray from the other walking simulators we’ve played thus far. The intro was very unique as you made choices about Henry’s relationship with his soon to be wife Julia. The intro similarly resembled the film’s Up intro where your given a life story and you see unfold before your eyes in a short period of time. Upon starting the game it felt comforting that you were given tasks and had some sort of objective as opposed to gone home and dear Esther. At this point in the game a story is starting to develop as Henry is tasked with finding whose been up to the latest shenanigans in Yellowstone including cutting the telephone and vandalizing the ranger tower. I am gonna take a short break and get right back to exploring.

These days took longer than all the others. Days 77 and 78 were by far the most engaging days. I couldn’t put the computer down. I was so curious to see what sort of cool organization was tampering with wires and basically running Henry and Delilah’s lives. In saying that, day 79 brought some disappointment. The so called organization that I thought was either a secret part of the government or a spy organization turned out to just be some loser father who managed to accidentally kill his son while teaching him how to climb. The hike to the helicopter also seemed like a century. I would’ve liked the game more if it had a more exciting ending.

The beginning of “Firewatch” really caught my attention. I found it interesting that I was able to choose what I wanted to do. This also made me wonder what my classmates were choosing. I was very excited that I got to choose a dog, and I chose the German Shepherd because that was my first dog. As the intro went on, I liked that it was a mix between being able to choose how the story went, and walking through the woods. As of right now, I am excited to see what this game brings and I have a feeling it’ll be a little different from “Gone Home” and “Dear Esther.”

This game is very weird in terms of time. Days 3-75 took less than 10 minutes, yet day 76 took almost an hour. I also noticed that many quests change throughout. When you look for bear tracks, you realize that you and Delilah are not alone. When you simply want to go back to Watabi from the Fireman’s campsite, you end up realizing that you may be put into a research project involuntarily. It reminds me of the Truman Show. Even when Delilah and Henry are having private conversations it seems that they have a whole hoard of people listening to and stalking them.