Middle Isle

An Isometric Exploration and Investigation game set on the tiny Baltic island nation of Brinnestadt at the outset of the Cold War. After a coup destroys Brinnestadt's capitol, you play as journalist Lisse Hågensdatter as she searches for her colleague who disappeared during the chaos.

The Middle Isle Project consists of a single level playable demo for the conceived isometric investigation game. Players explore the ruined capitol of Brinnestadt in the direct aftermath of an extremist coup, piecing together the event from clues in the environment, and picking up important items that lead Lisse to new discoveries about the island's politics, history, and future.

Middle Isle was inspired in large part by our desire to acknowledge, understand, and react to the confusing and chaotic mess that is modern politics. To us, it so often feels like extremism is everywhere, misinformation dominates fact, and the interests of the rich and powerful are the only ones that seem to matter. Asymmetric polarization came to a head last year when right-wing insurrectionists lead a violent riot through the United States' capitol, and no one in power did anything to stop them. We wanted to reflect our thoughts on the attempted coup by imagining an alternate history, building a similar event with similar meanings and politics, and then placing ourselves at the center of it to examine our feelings and reactions.

We are at Works in San Jose. Check out our gallery page:

https://www.shmbfagallery2022.com/middle-isle