Play toy
FireStarter's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio | #3 | 3.923 | 3.923 |
| Overall | #5 | 3.904 | 3.904 |
| Artwork | #5 | 4.231 | 4.231 |
| Theme Relevance | #10 | 3.885 | 3.885 |
| Gameplay | #12 | 3.577 | 3.577 |
Ranked from 26 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Comments
So I watched you gameplay of FireStarter, you made interesting comments.
We should work on camera rotation for next updates, to see the game board with different views.
The visual assets are not isometric tileset but real Low-Poly 3D models with a 45° camera rotation in orthographic view. We may plan to add more plant varieties in new updates too :)
The programmer should fix the bug you found with bushes as well.
Thanks again, chizel9000, for this interesting video gameplay it's really useful to us.
Happy to help. I look forward to seeing future improvements. Really nice little toy here. Not sure what it would take but it might be cool to add some critters and waterways... Maybe a day/night cycle to compliment the seasons. Throw in a rising and setting sun/moon. Thanks for answering my questions and keep up the great work!
We kept the design simple for the Jam but we might add some cool features such as new landscape elements if we keep working on it.
I already thought about a day/night cycle, which could be cool as an aesthetic feature :P
However, I don't see the interest in a city version. Humans have enough troubles for now x)
Hello Guys! I really like the Audio and UI of your games! I don't really understand the goal of this game but I can assure you that it is really addicting! Congrats!
If you have time, please play our game too! I'll also follow you guys to see your future games! Goodluck! :)
Hey Kinaiya.ATRIDO ! Thank you for your comment :)
If you don't understand the goal of this game, it's simply because it don't have one, which defines it as a "toy". The player creates his own objectives and plays with the system. Just like in a sandbox, a god game or some simulation games.
If we keep working on this project, we might create some achievements, scenarios or various objective.
Whatever, you don't have to fear failure when there is no failure/win conditions, it's just a chilling game :)
I don't have much time for now but I should take a look to your game ASAP. Also, I hope you'll enjoy our next projects :D
One of the most original submissions of the jam. It is interesting to see what happens if we play around with these elements, and this makes the game addictive.
Art, particle effects and sounds are simple but very good.
Also you used the theme of Rebirth in a very genuine way! Congrats!
Thanks for your feedback Sekai02 :)
It looks like you enjoyed playing the game as much as we liked making it!
As the game was really simple in its design, we had to give our best on visual and audio work. I was personally responsible for those parts so I'm really pleased to read this ^^
Keep having fun with (virtual) wildfires :D
This is definitely one of the most interesting submission, as it's the rebirth of nature as opposed to most submissions (including mine) that involved the rebirth of character's lives, so kudos for thinking outside the box!
The visuals and audio design are both really nice! The clarity of the information presented is also superb, as while I did read the "How to Play" section, the UI was clear enough to have been able to skip the "How to Play" section and still know what to do.
The responsiveness of the simulation was also great. My only point of feedback here would have been to apply the changes to the wind gradually instead of instantaneously.
Overall, even though it's not exactly my preferred genre of game, I enjoyed playing this one a lot! It was oddly relaxing to start wildfires and watch the forest burn...maybe that's due to the pleasant visuals?
Anyhow, great stuff! And no, I won't be starting wildfires for real :)
Thanks a lot for your feedback gamecoder95 :D
Our main interest during brainstorming was to avoid ending up with classic things related to the theme, such as a Phoenix or a Roguelike game. We really wanted something both simple and original and it seems that we have succeeded.
Now, talking about the wind, the prog did try to code something with a cool smooth transition but it caused too many problems and we had to remove it to focus on more important features. We didn't want to waste time on already working and balanced features, this would have been integrated into polish phases but not in priority, so, probably for the next updates :)
It's cool to see you liked the game, even if it's not your kind of game :) This allows us to gather important feedback to make the game more enjoyable for everyone.
(Also, it's a good thing you didn't start any wildfires for real, too many forests have already burned.)
Thanks again!
Yeah, I mean, who in the world would do something so cliche as to make a Phoenix game? ...
Your reasons for not focusing on the gradual wind application were valid, and from what you mentioned it shows that you guys know how to manage scope - so great job on that!
Well, I'll be looking forward to updates if you guys do do that. HMU if you need a playtester; I'll do my best to help out when I can. :)
Nice take on the Rebirth theme of the rebirth of nature after a disaster. It's nice just having something to mess with without having a specific goal in mind. I did find a bug though that sometimes the bushes still have embers despite it regrowing back.
Hey Scubadoo2 !
It's cool to see you enjoyed the game :D
The ember actually represents heat propagation, before a fire begins on the cell.
If the plant was isolated, it might be some remaining heat, slowly cooling down. If this happens again, please provide a screenshot to help us fix a potential bug.
Thanks for the feedback :)
A fun toy :). I love sandbox games like this, and the amount of detail that went into stuff like the seasons and wind direction was really cool. It was fun to play around with stuff and see under which conditions a fire spreads, and which conditions it doesn’t.
The weather particle effects were really nicely done, and the audio effects that accompanied them added to the immersion (chef’s kiss!). The only suggestion I’d have is to make the particles fade out instead of instantly disappear (especially the smoke and clouds) which would give it a more organic feel.
I’m going to be playing around with this a bit longer, heh.
I'm glad to hear you loved the game suryanaren :)
Trust me, the prog of the team went crazy with the fire and rain logic and it was a nightmare to balance. But we finally got something playable that everyone could enjoy playing.
The clouds and smoke already fade out, but it might be a bit too fast. I note this feedback and should fix it for next update ;)
Thank you for your comment :D !
Very... very nice game! I don't need to say any wishes, because it is very good, so I can't see anything bad and I don't want to do this too! It's lovely, but realistic and you have fun to spam fire and kill the nat... uh I mean help the nature and make it rain.
Very good job and keep this work!
Maybe, if you want to make a bigger game from it, you can make for example, an open world, where you can go as a player, but it is only an idea, if you want to make the game bigger.
The only issue I found was the UI. If you go to full screen, the UI don't resize right, but it is not bad.
Anyway, good job and I hope, your team will get, what you deserve.
Best regards
Mudy
Wow, thanks a lot for this feedback Mudy :D
Obviously, there are two ways to go here. Either urn everything or protect nature from wildfires.
However, I don't think making it an open world would be a good idea for the following reasons :
- The type of gameplay you are proposing here is TOTALLY different from what we have here x)
- Stop with that open-world hype please T_T other game genres still exist.
- Integrating a playable character would mean changing controls, camera, and props as well. Just a waste of time for a single feature.
- Playing as a character would make the player a live pyroman while we wanted it to be "natural forces" to act alone in this toy.
Still, we will make this game bigger with new features if we keep working on the project, but the core gameplay will stay the same.
Now, talking about this UI problem, the game was not supposed to be playable fullscreen. It's a problem I should fix soon.
Thanks again for your comment :)
First, your're welcome :D
And yeah, you're right, it wasn't a good idea, but hey, I don't follow the open world hype O<_O
Me, who had the idea of the open world.... I'm so proud... but wait, our world is like an open world, f*ck.... ok anyway, my idea isn't new, but:
Yeah, the another genres exists of course, like racing games, an cars, and racing games and.... cars...and... ?
No, I'm joking, your genre is very great and keep this genre! Improve it and ... make it RTX and 8k ready Imao, bakause it ss improtant lol.
(Also joking xD)
And it is nice, that you want to improve your game and you can take critic with humor :D
Yeah, UI and full screen are another things, so that is the only issue.
So... have good success :D
I like it! A lot of attention to detail in this - sound and visuals were on point, especially for a game jam game! I can't say much on the gameplay as it's a simulation, and because of that I don't see much room for this to grow beyond what it is right now, but that's ok! Great job overall.
Thank you for your feedback, Adam!
We both (in the team) studied in a Game Design school, which might explain our keen attention to details ;)
Also, we would like to keep working on this project with some advanced settings, new features...But don't worry, we'll preserve the core gameplay and don't change it that much. We know where we are and we know where we want to go with it.
The game is complete and theme-relevant. I didn't get it the first time, but played the second time and liked FireStarter.
Yes, the game is also supposed to teach you how to play through its gameplay. The player will understand how things work by tinkering a bit with available tools and observe the system's reaction ;) So it might be hard to get how things work at the beginning, but you begin to get it after a while.
Thanks for your comment ekitkin!
Very interessting pick of the theme. This is a really nice sumlator that you've created. I thought I could stop the fire by spamming rain. Well clicking them too often so that the clouds turn black wasn't that helpful :-P.
You did very well on the effects - specially when everything is burning it looks really dramatic. Also I like the how-to-play. The game is explained very well also with images. Thats really good!
One thing that I would add is a settings menu so that the player can control the audio.
So I'd say you did a really good job here.
Thank you for your feedback Tomate Salat :P
And that How-To-Play section was made on the last day, I used my last drips of inspiration to make something clear and simple so I'm glad to hear that it's cool :D
Oh, and settings should come in the next updates if we keep working on this project (with some cool features already planned).
I love this simulator. I spammed the fire and then spammed the rain. Looks like the fire won this time hahahaha. Nice job!
Awesome simulation game. I love that it was a "toy" sim game - I knew what to expect. I thought the particle work was amazing in this game. Solid submission. One thing I would change would be to use a different color palette!
Really cool simulator, the particle effects are awesome! Especially the fire, great job!
Wow!! I've been on the lookout for your game since the first you posted the low-poly models on Discord, and this is SPECTACULAR!! I really adore all zen-like, relaxing/comfy garden type games. I've the biggest fan of all things non-stressful in games and this is the literal definition of a peaceful and charming game! I can tell a huge part of the development was spent on brainstorming creative and fun mechanics and there are so many (seasonal changes, wind direction, weather manipulation). There are a lot of different aspects to explore! But the graphics are so lovely as well. I just stared at my screen for so long watching all the particle effects of the rain, fire, and snow (especially the fire!! There's such a beautiful spark flying animation and the ground has leftover embers that are really mesmerizing). Overall, beautiful game! I would seriously buy this with more fleshed out mechanics and some kind of inventory/shop feature! :D
Thank you so much for your feedback, Sola !
I wish we could keep developing this game even further, but I don't believe we would go for a premium monetization model (because free things are cool too :D).
I, honestly, surprised myself with my FX skills creating beautiful, yet simple, particle effects (some of them didn't get integrated to avoid feedback saturation ^^').
Reviewing all those positive feedbacks makes me believe that we would really take time to bring some updates for the game (we kept tons of cool ideas from brainstorming sessions).
Thanks again for your joyful support during this jam <3
Cool game!
Just have an impression that something is off with fire...
Fire just destroys everything. And finally, my goal for this game is to win a big race to stop fire spreading xD
Even if fire annoys me
Fire spreads fast and I think that is a side appreciable. The wind system is original too.
Finally, hope that you will make a lot of news features!
This was such an outstanding simulation game. I loved going through every season playing around with the elements to see how I could reshape the surface. Lovely mechanics, easy to pick up and really fun to play with. Like all sandbox games, I always feel like there's a limit to the replayability unless there are objectives in the game, but that really just calls out for this game to have a sequel or an update where additional things are added in. Outstanding entry for a jam!
Thanks for your feedback Gad!
We have tons of interesting features on a list that we would like to implement in the next updates. We believe this project has a good potential that only needs to be exploited :)
Talking about objectives, we wanted to give it a "toy" aspect, which means no objective, the player imagine his own objectives y paying with the system. However, we had the idea of creating scenarios with specific starting conditions and why not a given condition to reach.
Of course, the lack of objectives kills the replayability, but we wanted this toy to be chill to play. You don't care about failing because there is no failure when there is no victory :D
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