Dead Island 2can get away with being called “Dead Island” because its interpretation of Los Angeles is completely quarantined and isolated from anywhere else, making it a “metaphorical island”.
Ever since Dead Island 2 was first revealed all the way back in 2014, there’s been one question on everyone’s (read: mine) mind - why is it called Dead Island when it takes place in Los Angeles, undeniably a city and not an island?It’s a question that came back like a boomerang when the game was re-revealed at last year’s Gamescom, and we’ve finally got an answer that makes sense.
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Following our recent preview of Dead Island 2, TheGamer had the chance to speak to the game’s creative director, James Worrall. Alongside revealing more about the impressive gore system and detailing how the game has changed since the first time we saw it, I finally had the golden opportunity to ask Worrall about the Island-sized elephant in the room - as it turns out, the “Island” in Dead Island 2 is simply a metaphor.
Worrall said, “We completely understand the idea around this question. Essentially, Dead Island 2’s story takes place in a city that is completely quarantined and isolated from the outside world as a response to the outbreak. Since the government has decreed the city is locked off from the outside, the city becomes, in a metaphorical sense, an island; a secluded area that assumes its own persona”.
Considering the answer could have just been “this is a sequel to the original Dead Island so we’ve stuck with the name” or my question could have just been completely ignored as me being pedantic (which I was), I was pretty impressed to see that Dambuster had clearly given it some thought. Still think it should have been called Dead City, though.
Speaking of LA, I also asked Worrall what it was about the city that made Dambuster stick with it, even after development had switched hands and the project has essentially been restarted. He explained that the team “wanted our zombie tale to celebrate the human” and that LA is a testament to that, in good and bad ways.
Interestingly, in a similar vein to the whole “Dead Island” thing, Worrall explained that LA gave an extra spin on the original game’s “paradise gone to hell” setting, with the City of Angels' “sun-drenched, exotic vibe” matching up pretty nicely with how Banoi was presented in the first game. Clearly, Dead Island 2 is aiming to be linked to the first game both in terms of its naming conventions and its setting.
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