VoidBurger's Hot Takeouts: Why We Can't Escape Firewatch

What IS firewatch?

Hell yes, more VoidBurger video is more hella good video

This is not a hot take.

What IS Firewatch?

@boatbloat: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU DID IT!!! You didn't make it 2 minutes into the video! Everyone DRAG THIS FOOL.

@boatbloat: It's literally a game with "Fire" in the name, dingus.

Not gonna lie, I never got into any of the discourse around Firewatch because I ditched the game after my first session.

I felt like I had been pitched a sort of mystery game with some fun dialogue (they mostly showed the thing with the teens at the lake IIRC), but instead got a thing about early onset dementia thrown at me the start the game which I really didn't need. It, admittedly, hit a little too close to home at the time, but also it's my absolute least favorite storytelling device of throwing a bunch of personal tragedy at you right of the bat (a very Pixar move, i.e. Up). It always just feels emotionally manipulative and I don't think I've ever enjoyed a story that did it, you gotta make me care about the characters first before you do that.

RIP Campo Santo

No one has said it yet? This is not a hot take.

I know fantasy booking is gross but damn i wish they’d bring VB on full time.

Was not expecting to see a clip of Dara Ó Briain in here, we're just one step closer now to my dream of seeing panel show references on Giant Bomb.

I should clarify, my comment was a joke. Love these vids, voidburger!

Firewatch, a game that made me cry within the first 10 minutes, and therefore I never continued.

I'm really happy to see this kind of reflection on GB. I hope more people take time to think about the art and media they consume. Push yourself to try new genres and games and think about why games disappoint or excite you.

And still strange to look back on when people arbitrarily wanted to limit what games are or could be.

But also What Is Firewatch?

Wonder how much Red Ventures had to pay to get that clip of Rich Evans on the site. Probbaly the rest of this years budget gone.

@epidehl: I see where you're coming from, it's sometimes an easy chip to cash in to get an audience emotionally invested. In Firewatch though it's pretty central to the story like in Up. You need that background otherwise the themes don't hold up.

I like Voidburger. Can we keep her? Pretty please?

But seriously, I like the comparison between games and Art. Not that there will ever be a definitve answer, but I think it's a great thought exercise.

VoidBurger, I'm.... having.... ART THOUGHTS!!!

These are some of my favorite new pieces of content on giant bomb. Keep up the great work!

This was great. I haven't played firewatch, and now I think I probably should. What is gameplay?

"You haven't even made it two minutes into the video, ya ass!"

I love all bases being covered by Voidburger here.

incredible video from VB!

In defense of Rich Evans who is practically the antagonist in this video, he's a smart guy who speaks from the gut, and he kinda hates art.

Good video, more of this please!

Get this man 50cc of Pure Escapism, stat!

This was 1) very good and 2) made Firewatch seem way more interesting than just a mystery that fails or succeeds to pay off. I suspect Delilah as this disembodied companion voice also heightened the expectations for this mystery after the popularity of Bioshock.

As someone who held off on Firewatch because of all the weird vibes, I'm glad I watched this and know that there is a payoff but not in the place where people might expect.

Only ending that irked me was Mass Effect 3 But I was Irked from the start cause of EA EAing everything with Javik being day 1 DLC. But I choose the "Green/synthesis" and Came to accept, not l;ove it. I enjoyed my time in Firewatch. Kind of glad it wasn't mega happy ending. Love the stuff VB and thanks for sneaking in the Getting a FUCKING PIZZA clip. XD

That was an amazing docuthing! Great job tackling the subject under the guise of Firewatch!

@mechanism: That is NOT a defense. lol

Yo, I don't want to be math either

@johnohara: My wife jokingly after being sucked into the video (she's not a gamer, but loves to watch) and she LOVED watching me play Firewatch and Edith Finch: Is that why you're a fan? Because of her similar math takes?
Me: That's it. That's the only reason! You got me! lol

Had to pause to go watch the original ending of Little Shop of Horrors! Holy shit, I had no idea, and this is coming from someone who could sing along to all the songs.

This is the best series on GB right now. Incredible work, Voidburger

Make VoidBurger the Emperor of GiantBombkind.

ART SCHOOL BETRAYAL DANCE

Have to say when I played this game, I thought this first few minutes with the slide show of choices was incredibly well done but if you didn't frame the rest of your choices in the game based on this, I could see why you would struggle with the end. It really resonated with me though as it really shows Henry's choices as those someone seeking escapism (which was a bit too close to home for me). Etta James I'd rather be blind might be one of the best uses of licensed music in a game. The time vs money argument is lost on me, I'd rather play 10 hrs of something really tight and curated vs some 40 hr grind with mmo-esque quests. Great video voidburger!

VB touches on it in the video, but there is an excellent Innuendo Studios video about genre which delves into the "is a chicken a man/is a hotdog a sandwich" semanticism and dissects it in a very nuanced way using adventure games as a framing device.

Original Mass Effect 3 ending was awesome. Extended Cut messed up the pacing of the whole thing.

Also, best bummer ending is Starcraft: Brood War.

Also, I never realized that Firewatch came out.

And finally, I didn't expect to see Rich Evans here.

this is that good shit I'm here for

Great Video!

I think i'm gonna replay Firewatch this weekend. I love that game.

@meierthered: That's Fair use, baby!

I always felt the paranoia thriller angle being misdirection was more interesting than if it had just played it straight.

Gone Home by the same devs had a similar genre twiist and I remember people complaining about that then too, and that game would have also been way less interesting if it had just played it the scary haunted house story straight.

Big fan of these videos. Super glad GB could introduce me to Voidburger and her ideas

This video was awesome. A bummer, but awesome.

Is this video Firewatch?

This was a thoughtful, funny, well-produced half hour about a game I've always liked, but now probably love.

I'm going to admit it: I found a few of the puzzles in this game a little challenging. Not to say it isn't a "walking simulator" in most respects, and I did "beat" the game without too much effort, but it's not exactly pressing a button to win. You have to, like, interface with the world to proceed and stuff, and you have to think about where to search, what to examine, and how to think about it. That's interactive.

When people say "there's no gameplay," my guess is they really mean to say "there's technically gameplay but it isn't challenging or complex enough for me"or"you can't affect the story in major ways so you don't feel a part of the experience."

While you can't affect the main story trajectory, you can define the smaller moments of dialogue in the game. Not everyone will have the same small moments. Those moments mattered to me. Not just the overall arc.

Trauma, escape, dissatisfaction, commitment... these are the themes Firewatch explores, I think successfully. And maybe you hate this kind of game. But just like hating pop art or impressionism doesn't make it "not art," hating Firewatch doesn't make it not a game.

Out of those type of games, Firewatch was one of the best, along with What Remains of Edith Finch. Gone Home was just ridiculously overrated. I said it back then and I still say it now. Good Job, Voidburger.

hot takeouts and voidburger appearing on other gb vids are the best part of nu giant bomb

What IIIIISSSS Firewatch?!

More Voidburger please k tnx.

I loved this, but I also always had a soft spot in my heart for Firewatch. I very nearly paid the ridiculous fee for them to print out my photos and send them to me.

Great video. Totally here for all the art goblinry.