JOSEF CHOVANEC

Loop Firefighters – School Demo

Game Media Studio

You mentioned that you wanted to create a game based around helping and rescuing others, rather than violence. Did this idea find its way into the game mechanics, and if so, how?
I find the theme of firefighters interesting mainly because they are heroes by definition – they risk their lives for others. It is not about violence or armed conflict. From my previous experience of developing war simulators, I noticed that combat is the dominant theme in games. These games give players an adrenaline rush, and in Loop Firefighters, I tried to evoke a similar effect through the game mechanics. Here, however, the antagonist is not a person, but the element of fire. The conflict is about trying to save lives and property versus letting everything burn down. That is also the core mechanic: the player is only rewarded once the fire is successfully extinguished. If they fail, the game ends. It is essentially a classic game loop, but with a different goal.

You have said that the player in Loop Firefighters is not the main protagonist, but rather an external factor. What contributed to the decision to limit the player’s control options?
In games, I like the trend of automating routine tasks as much as possible, leaving players in control of only the most entertaining parts. I also draw on the tradition of European board games, which are often building-based strategy games. The player stands above the map and decides what to do from the widest possible range of options available to them. I have always enjoyed these games the most, so I wanted to evoke that feeling here as well.

The game works with a loop of resolving threats, replenishing resources, the emergence of new risks, and repeated intervention. How do you understand this loop? Is it a strategic system, or do you consciously use it as a metaphor for crisis management?
I see it as both; for me, these two levels complement each other. Purely mechanically speaking, it is a strategic system that has to entertain the player and present them with challenges. But at the same time, the loop is a direct metaphor for what a real-life intervention looks like. A crisis is not a single event, but a process: you put out one fire, but in the meantime, you run out of water, and something else starts burning a little further away. It is precisely this “endless” quality and the need to constantly reassess priorities that, for me, is the essence of crisis management. So, I am striving for a model of the world that, while simplified for the game, conveys to players the real sense of responsibility and the dynamics of what a firefighter’s work consists of. I would also like to see it have a deeper impact, so that it conveys the message of just how commendable and important a firefighter’s job is.

photo: Polina Davydenko