Artistic Statement / Use of Theme
With "BRUSHFIRE", we wanted to tell a story about climate change that felt personal without pretending the solution is simple. The game’s central conflict is rooted in two opposing worldviews: Reini, an apprentice guardian sent to protect the Canadian boreal forest, believes that healing can start with a single act or a single person who chooses to care. Smokestack, on the other hand, embodies the idea that no individual effort can make a difference. He is the manifestation of collective human greed and excess, and he thrives because he believes people will never change.

Smokestack doesn’t destroy the forest himself. He doesn’t have to. His strength comes from inaction, from the way people delay, deflect, and give in to convenience. To him, Reini’s determination is not just naïve, it’s insulting. He sees the wildfires as inevitable. But Reini chooses to act anyway. Through its painting mechanics, dual-mode gameplay, and the story that unfolds, "BRUSHFIRE" will try to challenge players to consider the cost of doing nothing and the power of doing something.

Development Summary
Originally, the project was imagined as a top down experience where the player would paint away natural disasters and guide animals from a more removed lens. One of the biggest changes was moving from an abstract concept to a clear story with defined stakes. As prototyping went on, the team came to the conclusion that bringing the player down to the forest floor would give more impact, making it into a 3rd-person adventure game. From this, Helios and Reini were created from discussions about mentorship, burnout, and generational responsibility. Smokestack was meant to be the antithesis of this, the literal manifestation of unchecked industrial ambition and greed.

We encountered challenges balancing gameplay with story, and had to cut several planned mechanics, such as saving NPCs and trapped animals, as well as a larger overworld. Still, we’re proud of how much we accomplished for such an ambitious project with a small, multidisciplinary team of artists, programmers, writers, and designers, a team of 12 in total.

Release Plan
Currently, BRUSHFIRE is a small demo focused on the tutorial area and a main hub area. Our plan is to expand it into a short but polished experience. The moment to moment gameplay will be the biggest thing that we work on, enhancing the combat and painting mechanics, as well as developing the story to its conclusion (with a boss fight between Reini and Smokestack!) Our scope for this game is definitely larger than just the jam, so we want to make this the best it can be. We believe this project has strong potential and are excited to keep working on it. We want to get it to a place where it is suitable for wider release, possibly to Steam.

Topic Tags
Wildfires, Unnatural Fire, Poluutants