Wildfire: Forest Containment by candlesan

[raw]
made by candlesan for LD 43 (COMPO)

CoverPhoto.png Wildfire: Forest Containment is a game about fighting forest fires.

This game is about using three tools to stop and contain forest fires.

AllThreeTools.png * Tractors - Sacrifice a tree to prevent the spread of fires. * Helicopters - Drop Water to douse flames * Airplanes - Drop Fire Repellant to slow down the spread of fire.

:fire: :fire: :fire: Play Now :fire: :fire: :fire:

Theme Interpretation

I chose this interpretation of the theme because: * To fight a forest fire you create a firebreak by uprooting some trees, sacrificing healthy trees to stop the fire. * When fighting a forest fire, sometimes firefighters make the tough decision to let one house burn to save many others * Forest fires, though terrible, are necessary for ensuring healthy future vegetation.

Post-Jam Changes

  • Allowed clicking and dragging on minimap to look around
  • Added the high score leaderboard as a meta-wrapper.
  • Made it more clear when a tree is smoking that you can't uproot it
  • Added the option to skip early years when you've proven you can beat it

Tools used:

  • Unity
  • Photoshop

Other

Forest fires in California have destroyed over 130,000 acres of land and claimed the lives of over 40 individuals.

If you enjoyed this game, please consider a donation to http://www.cafirefoundation.org/support-us/

Ratings

Overall 81th 3.775⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 146th 3.525⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 48th 3.8⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 31th 4.2⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 202th 3.525⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 235th 3.15⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 25🗳️ 18🗨️

Feedback

pandan
03. Dec 2018 · 07:06 UTC
Such a great take on the Theme! I hope in the post-jam version you can click the minimap to jump the camera around. :v:
KunoNoOni
03. Dec 2018 · 19:47 UTC
I loved the fire, was it a made using a shader or the particle system? The graphics are well done and remind me of gaming in the 90's :) The topic of the game fits the theme so perfectly, and I like that you are bringing awareness to this horrible but very real situation going on right now in California. It's a simple yet very powerful game and I enjoyed playing it!
Nottingham
04. Dec 2018 · 08:31 UTC
I really like this concept and how the game turned out. I watched the whole development process on candlesan’s live stream. Given the potential scope of this game and candlesans creativity; the biggest sacrifice was not being able to see more implemented!

Raised a lot of awareness into the theme of the game but also to game Jam community too! it has inspired me to take part in the next LD Jam and look forward to being part of the game jam community.

We all know it's a serious issue but doesn't turn the game edgy. it's tastefully done, and more importantly, fun!
🎤 candlesan
04. Dec 2018 · 19:55 UTC
@pandan Thanks for the suggestion! I added the functionality to jump the camera using the minimap in the post-jam version.
🎤 candlesan
04. Dec 2018 · 19:56 UTC
@kunonooni The fire was done using the particle system. Thanks for the great feedback!

@nottingham Thanks for hanging out in the stream and I'm glad you were able to enjoy the creation of this game. I look forward to playing your next game jam!
Eric Smith
04. Dec 2018 · 23:16 UTC
@eric-smith
pandan
04. Dec 2018 · 23:32 UTC
@eric-smith haha yeah i linked @candlesan to your game!
Really crazy how two similar ideas were formed under this theme!
Both of your guys' fire fighting games are great <3
Eric Smith
04. Dec 2018 · 23:57 UTC
@pandan I was broadcasting my development all weekend on Twitch so I'm not sure if it was a coincidence but cool none the less.
🎤 candlesan
05. Dec 2018 · 01:42 UTC
@eric-smith Hi Eric! I broadcast my development all weekend on Twitch too! This is a crazy coincidence indeed. It's cool to see that great minds think alike. I think if we were both streaming, it would have been pretty obvious to either of our viewers if either of us had copied the other.
Eric Smith
05. Dec 2018 · 02:00 UTC
@candlesan You know whats even more scary is that I was calling it Wild Fire in the beginning.
Gurbx
07. Dec 2018 · 18:16 UTC
Really cool game and I ended up playing it for a while. I don’t think you could have implemented the theme better. It fits it perfectly!

The game seems simple at first but there is quite a lot of depth there. It’s an easy to learn and hard to master kind of game, which is a balance that is hard to hit, so awesome job there. The way the tools in the post jam version were introduced makes it even better.

I got a bit frustrated at the start because I really wanted to contain the fire quickly at the most obvious choke points, but the tractor wasn’t fast enough, and the fire spread out of my control. Eventually I made peace with the fact that some sacrifices must be made and started planning ahead more. A really cool “realization of the theme” moment. After a while I also started to get a better idea of how quickly the fire spreads and could better judge the areas that had to be isolated and when to use the right tools. In other words, the learning curve is super nice! There is also a really cool element of risk and reward with judging how close you can make the isolation zones to the fire.

Some suggestions on improvement.

I think it would be helpful to show the tractor on the minimap. Since the tractor targets the closest marked tree to itself, it’d be useful to know where the tractor is when its off screen to get a better idea of when the tree that you mark will be removed.

It would also be nice to be able to “priority mark” a tree to make the tractor target it immediately. Right now, if you notice that there is a tree that needs to be removed quickly that isn’t next to the tractor, you’ll have to unmark all the marked trees closest to the tractor, which is a bit annoying.
Some sound would of course also have been nice.

Overall, it’s a super solid entry and I enjoyed it a ton. I love that you are taking the opportunity to raise awareness for an important cause at the same time. Super awesome!
Matank
08. Dec 2018 · 09:58 UTC
Original take on the theme, and was very fun and challenging.
🎤 candlesan
08. Dec 2018 · 18:31 UTC
@gurbx Thanks for the detailed feedback, this was really appreciated. Thanks also for checking out the post-jam version as well.

Adding the tractor on the mini-map is a great idea. I'll add that to my TODO list!
Emperor Eagle
09. Dec 2018 · 23:00 UTC
Good use of the theme in a cool game!
patvanmackelberg
10. Dec 2018 · 01:33 UTC
Very cool simulation, great little 3d objects too :P
masterkrepta
10. Dec 2018 · 01:42 UTC
I loved the progression of the levels here. You introduce the new mechanics at a reasonable rate.
naali
10. Dec 2018 · 02:06 UTC
It was fun and brings awareness to an important issue. The theme fit nicely into the game.
commanderstitch
10. Dec 2018 · 07:56 UTC
THis is a great game. It's fun and really goes and shows the amazing spreading ability of fires. The take on the theme is perfect. less so with helicopters and airplanes, but i get it.
rplnt
11. Dec 2018 · 21:00 UTC
I have to say I really enjoyed this (even though it was frustrating!). The few issues I had:

- unable to zoom out at least a bit
- plane and moving map used the same "action" - this was major - I would use different mouse button and/or allow to move map with keys
(once the controls got stuck for a few minutes - not sure how or how I fixed it)


But overall a good job and a good game.
(just noticed I played the post-jam version I guess)
mAnimal
11. Dec 2018 · 21:14 UTC
Nice concept. About the jam version, there was pretty random if you are able to complete the level or not. The mechanics works well. Its always nice to observe the post-jam versions. Showing features one by one is awesome idea with this concept. Nice entry!
Fnissalot
12. Dec 2018 · 16:29 UTC
Really nice! much better than i expected. Played it multiple times!
rumor
12. Dec 2018 · 16:38 UTC
This is absolutely stellar for a compo submission. I'm impressed with the depth and balance of the game. @gurbx pointed out how frustrating it is when the fire spreads out of control and the way you eventually "make peace" with having to make sacrifices, and I agree completely. It's a brilliantly-done learning game in that way.

The rough edges are few and far between. It's not terribly clear that you need to click and drag to aim the plane. The tractor is so slow as to be basically useless after the first couple levels. Building fire breaks is an important containment tool so it'd be nice to see that option upgraded in some way on later levels to keep it viable (multiple tractors moving faster, something like that).

And it might be out of scope, but it could be interesting to add another layer on top with managing funding, like use your expensive options (helicopters and planes) less to retain more funds for later levels. Or other municipalities can lend you equipment later if you help them out now. But that's all pie in the sky. What you delivered is already fantastic, and very impressive. Great job!
rumor
12. Dec 2018 · 16:45 UTC
Just so you know I'm not just saying that to be nice:

![brilliant_resized.png](///raw/01b/91/z/1f9e1.png)
folex70
13. Dec 2018 · 21:37 UTC
a solid entry here! congratulations! i rope you evolve and launch this game on steam!
🎤 candlesan
14. Dec 2018 · 19:34 UTC
@emperor-eagle @patvanmackelberg @masterkrepta @naali Thanks for taking the time to play the game and rate!

@naali @commanderstitch Thanks for the kind comments on theme. Going into the final 20 this was one of my least liked themes but as the firefighting theme expanded it became one of my favorites and I'm grateful for having been "forced" to work with it.
🎤 candlesan
14. Dec 2018 · 19:44 UTC
@rplnt Thanks for playing! Yeah the original jam submission had the plane and camera panning as separate actions and I totally agree with you that is a better system. The post-jam version I switched the input to make the game more touchscreen friendly - but ideally I should just have different input mechanisms for different platforms.
🎤 candlesan
14. Dec 2018 · 19:46 UTC
@manimal Thanks! I got a suggestion 1 hour after the jam ended to unlock those initial tools one by one and that was one of the very first things I changed in the post-jam version! (that and being able to click the minimap to move it around)
🎤 candlesan
14. Dec 2018 · 19:47 UTC
@rumor I'm honored! Thank you - you are too kind. I love the idea of being able to have continuity between levels. I think in addition to a budget you could also purchase your upgrades. Like maybe being able to purchase a second tractor as an upgrade to help you in future levels could be a fun mechanic.

@folex70 Thanks! That'd be pretty neat to continue work afterwards and release on Steam.