Storytelling and Gameplay en Abyme in Firewatch

Alfonso Cuadrado Alvarado's article, published in Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association (November 2022, Vol. 6 No 1, pp. 123-146), analyses the 2016 walking simulator Firewatch by Campo Santo. It applies a mise en abyme (specular narrative) methodology, drawing on Genette, Dällenbach and Tena Morillo, to examine how the game's narrative and gameplay levels function. The article describes Henry's relationship with his wife Julia and his relationship with Delilah, as well as the secondary plots involving Ned and Brian Goodwin and the missing campers; the game is set in Wyoming in 1989. The author argues that the Delilah and Ned/Brian storylines reflect and intensify the main story rather than composing a narrative mosaic. The article also argues that gameplay and narrative are deliberately decoupled, with the player's actions having no relevance in the game's fictional world. The article argues that the player's frustration is the effect of the mise en abyme, and its conclusions describe Firewatch as constructing sensations and experiences around frustration and the futility and cowardice of escapism.