I Just Discovered Firewatch (Off-Topic)

by Schedonnardus, Texas, Wednesday, September 07, 2016, 12:52 (3004 days ago)

So i missed the firewatch thread from back in the Spring *Spoiler* Cody didn't like it.

I downloaded it on Steam and have been playing here and there. No story spoilers, but I am really enjoying this game. I am an ecologist by trade, so this game really is really neat to me. The first time i walked through a patch of burned forest, I noticed that there was fireweed (Epilobium sp)blooming everywhere, when suddenly Delilah came on the radio to talk to me about fireweed.

Same as the quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) stand. It was in a lush, well watered area (where they should be) and Delilah tells me that they are all interconnected underground as a single organism. That's mostly true, there could still be new individuals that came up from seed, but aspen can spread underground and send up new trunks. Resprouting from roots is also a reason that aspen can bounce back quickly after a fire (though they don't mention that in game).

Anyways, having spent a lot of time in eastern Oregon, idaho, Nevada during grad school, I really enjoyed the amount of detail spent on the environment.

Story-wise, I am enjoying that as well so far. While i don't know if i will replay it much, i think $20 is a fair trade. From what i've read, ppl have been completing it in 4 hrs, but i've already put in about 5 hrs. I guess i'm close to the end, but i'm not sure. In the beginning, i was ignoring the objectives and trying to cover as much as the map as possible and familiarize myself with the area.

I would've liked for there to be wildlife in game. Other than running across an Elk in the opening sequence, i haven't seen anything other than birds in the distance. Delilah keeps telling me about bears, but i haven't seen one.