Fire Place

Fire Place lets you build and tend a fire over the course of a night, watching its changing flames and listening to its crackle. You can display it on a living-room screen during gatherings and add another log when the fire begins to dwindle.

Environments

The game includes four settings: a forest in the Northwest, an old brick fireplace in Seattle, a bright Santa Fe stucco setting and the Washington coast. Three artists have also contributed their own touches, with additional environments from featured artists described as being added as the season progresses.

Build and tend the fire

You use balled-up newspaper, logs of different sizes and matches to build the fire, then manipulate the fuel with an iron poker and tongs. A volumetric simulation models air heat and velocity, while settings let you adjust values such as the room’s ambient heat, the rate of diffusion and the heat coming off the logs. Graphics settings let you change the fire’s rendering style.

Sound and atmosphere

The fire is accompanied by a dynamic soundtrack by Michael Bell, as well as the crackle and flicker of the flames.