Tristan and Oliver grab onto their walkies as they go bit-spotting in the Wyoming forests of Campo Santo’s gorgeous hit Firewatch - specifically these three bits:
1. Open World Metroidvania & environmental breadcrumbs - lifting the lid on the reactive open world and its systems.
2. First Person Characterisation - Defying the generic blank slate player character trope most first person games resort to and creating an immersive emotional attachment to a character players can’t see.
3. The Passing of Time - One of the game’s biggest themes; how it was handled and convincingly represented to the player largely through environmental storytelling.


Find us on twitter at:
3-Bit Design: @3bitdesign
Oliver - @oliverwauters
Tristan - @theatrewalker

Some references:
Realism in Games: What Makes Firewatch Feel Personal - Randen Banuelos, Game Developer (article)
Firewatch critical analysis - Andrew Haining, Game Developer (article)
Critical Play: Firewatch - Kaleb Morris, Game Design Fundamentals (article)

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