The Bonfire 2: Uncharted Shores, a new-ish game that I love for iOS and PC/Mac on Steam, is technically a resource-management civilization-building sim. But the gameplay itself is quite different from most any other game in that genre I've ever played. With vibey music and sound effects (the wind, the ocean waves, the ambient/folk loops), a leisurely pace, and visuals that remind me of medieval paintings, the game plays more like a meditative, flow-state, relaxation simulator.
In recent months, as the world outside became increasingly stressful, I've taken to playing Bonfire 2 just before going to sleep, because I find the game's rhythms and daily microtasks (build a hut here, harvest some trees there, and so on) help drown out the incessant, doomscrolling din of my social media-addled brain. (The first game in the series -- The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands -- is even more relaxing, and is basically a simpler version of its sequel.) After helping my little society flourish for awhile, I find it much easier to drift off to sleep. We still seem far away from creating a stable society in the real world, but it's somewhat comforting to know that the one in my hands is just a bit better for my having touched it.
Himanshu, co-creator and lead artist of Bonfire 2 from Xigma Games (a tiny indie studio based in Bangalore), shared with me some insights on the games creation -- and offered some tips for players just starting out. (Minor spoilers ahead.)
What inspired the game's theme and storyline, such as the titan and the other world elements?
The story and theme were mostly conceived by my business partner Govardhan who also did the Programming. [Story elements] were inspired by the movie Spirited Away and Attack on the Titan as the stories have some elements in common such as being set in a fantasy world.
The theme and storyline is a continuation of our previous game The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands which was inspired by games like A Dark Room and Kingdom: New Lands.
Our previous game was a mix of both strategy and survival genre, people enjoyed it but some people felt it was too short and linear. We then decided to work on feedback and thought of expanding on the core gameplay by adding more depth and introducing dynamic gameplay. We moved from 2D side view to 3D isometric view in Bonfire 2 while keeping the same theme and core gameplay loop of building in the day and surviving in the night and added various layers on top by focusing on varied gameplay styles and replayability.
In our previous game, releasing the Titan was the main objective and for us, Titans are the main characters in this Bonfire universe.
Unlike most simulation games, Bonfire 2 is very relaxing -- was that intentional, and if so, what design and gameplay elements did you add to make it that way?
The previous game The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands was mostly a casual experience so anyone new to this genre could easily pick up the game and it worked well on mobile devices. So we continued with the same philosophy in game design while making The Bonfire 2. Even though we added various layers of depth to the game we tried to keep the mechanics simple and easy to pick up. We have a mix of 3D and 2D with a minimalist flat art design to go well across multiple platforms. Also, we tried to keep the UI simple and accessible to support multiple devices.
To support Mobile and PC at the same time we changed simple function like instead of giving direct controls of villagers by clicking around the map as most simulation games. To assign roles players are required to add the individual villagers to the specific buildings and we added depth by giving unique personalities to each individual villager. Micromanagement of workers due to their varied attributes and multiple personality skills is something very unique to our game and adds a lot of depth to the gameplay at the same time keeping the core loop simple of building in the day time and surviving the night.
Can you give new players some tips onucceeding and enjoying your game?
Every villager has unique skills and attributes, assigning the right villagers to the right jobs can be very crucial for the survival of the settlement.
Equipping your villagers with the right tools to work and cart to carry more resources can be extremely handy and will speed up the progress.
Assign enough guards and equip them with armors and the right weapons. For example a guard with high strength deals more damage in close combat and guards with high agility deal more ranged damage.
Last but not least don't forget to upgrade your buildings and choosing the right attribute for your villagers when they level up.
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The tip on assigning a large coterie of guards is an important one -- if you don't, you might eventually find your little village overwhelmed by a nightly invader. But even then, your society will crumble before your eyes in the most chill and relaxing way.
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