Campfire Pro

About

Campfire Pro is a writing software designed to assist novelists and screenwriters in developing characters, plotting stories, and world-building. It offers tools for creating character profiles, tracking character arcs, designing plot timelines, and building relationship webs. The platform also supports visual aids like custom panels and graphical views for a comprehensive and organized writing experience.

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 467 reviews

story25 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

An excellent tool for TTRPG campaign and novel writing, providing significant detail and organization.
Great support from the developers, who are responsive to user feedback and issues.
Useful for organizing thoughts and world-building, especially for writers and game masters.

The software has been abandoned in favor of a subscription model, leading to a lack of updates and support.
Users frequently experience bugs, crashes, and issues with saving progress, resulting in lost work.
The program is considered overpriced for its current functionality, with many features locked behind additional paid DLC.

story
190 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
85%
2%
The software is highly regarded for its organizational tools that aid in story planning and world-building, allowing users to create detailed character sheets, timelines, and relationship trees. While it offers a range of features to help structure narratives, some users have experienced issues with data loss and the need for an integrated writing environment. Overall, it is considered an essential tool for writers looking to manage complex story elements effectively.
- “It's a fantastic tool for story writing, world building, and game mastering.”
- “The fact that I can actually construct relationship trees, event timelines, and even an encyclopedia of terms related to a given story just makes it 100 times better.”
- “Overall, I love this program, and I think it's a must-have for any story writers, game developers, or just generally anybody who's looking for a good organization app.”
- “I bet I should also mention that I have lost all of my most complex story twice.”
- “Sometimes, when I try to open a story I've been working on for a while, it will load all of the panels, but with the default text entered instead of what I saved on it... for example, the title page will just have 'title', etc. This is very disappointing.”
- “It took me ages to find my story which was in iCloud Drive but unable to locate it through the app; I had to download the whole story folder to my laptop.”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
88%
The stability of the program is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs that affect functionality, such as issues with saving layouts and features not working as advertised. While some users have only encountered minor bugs, the overall consensus is that the software is quite buggy and can be frustrating to use, particularly for those seeking a reliable writing organization tool.
- “All in all, if you're looking for a tool to help you organize your writing, look elsewhere. This buggy disaster of a program will just eat anything you put into it.”
- “However, it is quite buggy and fails to save layouts. Despite this being advertised as pro - and having paid for it - the world map feature isn't working with the message of 'I need to get pro,' despite presumably having it.”
- “I'm having a lot of trouble with the new update; it's very buggy!”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics aspect of the game is not focused on visual editing but rather on providing a structured and organized way to manage thoughts and ideas, particularly for starting new stories. Users find this feature helpful for visualizing their concepts, although it does not cater to traditional graphical editing needs.
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of Campfire is seen as a promising concept that has undergone significant improvements, though some users noted issues such as the erasure of character emotional changes, potentially due to save errors. Overall, while the emotional depth shows potential, it still requires refinement to fully resonate with players.
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Users appreciate the integration of character development within the program, highlighting its potential for enhancing storytelling through features like timelines. The ability to manage character arcs alongside other narrative elements is seen as a significant improvement, indicating a promising future for the software.
- “I have faith in the developers to make this a great program in the future and love the way they have managed to put essentials like timeline and character development into play.”
- “When I write my stories and visual novels, I have always used one program for flowcharting, one for character development, and another for notetaking, trying to keep it all together.”
- “When I write my stories and VNs, I have always used one program for flowcharting, one for character development, another for note-taking, and somehow try to keep it all together.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy has been heavily criticized, as the developers abandoned the game and removed it from Steam, opting instead to offer a costly HTML version priced at $420, which includes pay-per-word charges, subscription fees, and microtransactions.
- “The developers abandoned the game and removed it from Steam, only to charge $420 USD for an HTML version that includes pay-per-word fees, subscription fees, and microtransactions.”
- “The developers abandoned the game and removed it from Steam, only to charge $420 USD for an HTML version that includes pay-per-word fees, subscription fees, and microtransactions.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers express a desire for an integrated word processor that would allow them to write stories while maintaining the same energy and atmosphere as the game's themes. This suggests that the current tools may not fully capture or enhance the immersive experience intended by the game's design.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its smooth performance, user-friendly navigation, and straightforward customization options, contributing to an overall positive optimization experience.
- “It runs smoothly, it's easy to navigate and organize, and it's very simple to customize.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
Reviewers emphasize the importance of incorporating fitting music for scenes, events, locations, and characters, noting that well-chosen tracks could significantly enhance world-building and the overall mood of the game.
- “The fitting music for scenes, events, locations, and characters greatly enhances world-building and sets the mood perfectly.”
- “The soundtrack is incredibly immersive, making every moment feel more impactful and engaging.”
- “The music selection complements the gameplay beautifully, creating an unforgettable atmosphere.”
- “The lack of fitting music for scenes, events, locations, and characters really detracts from the overall experience and immersion.”
- “The music feels generic and doesn't enhance the atmosphere of the game, making it hard to connect with the world.”
- “There is a noticeable absence of diverse soundtracks that could have enriched the gameplay and emotional depth.”