Dead Island Is Real… Kinda
One of the hot video games that hit at the beginning of this year’s fall release schedule was Deep Silver’s Dead Island. It was a bit of a sleeper hit, actually. Generally, if you didn’t see their incredible announcement trailer, you didn’t know a whole lot about the game, other than it was a zombie-killing rpg. In case you missed it, here’s that initial trailer again:
If you’ve played the game, you already know its strengths and weaknesses. If you haven’t, you should definitely give it a try.
Either way, you probably didn’t know that the game is based on some real places, though some are moved halfway around the world to the fictional island of Banoi, off the coast of Papua, New Giunea.
The Resort
The resort where the game begins is the fictional Royal Palms Resort. Though there are several real resorts named Royal Palms, the central inspiration for Dead Island’s resort is the Palm Jumeirah Beach Resort in Dubai. The logo should look a bit familiar:
Okay, so the logo is a bit similar, but it’s just coincidence, right? Let’s take a look at the design of the resort’s main building from one of the pool areas:
Let’s move to the other end of the property and catch the view from there:
Also, I hear the place is beautiful after dark:
Other Locations
Other locations in Dead Island are also based on real places. The Lifeguard Tower that serves as shelter to a number of survivors, including Sinamoi, is based on the famous lifeguard towar at Bondi Beach in New South Wales, Australia.
Moresby City is where the difficulty level in the game really starts to ramp up. The undead are present in the city in a higher concentration than they were in the resort area. The city is also based on the real world capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby. This video shows some of the buildings of Port Moresby.
Don’t let the seemingly peaceful images fool you. Port Moresby is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, even without zombies. It consistently ranks among the 10 most dangerous cities in the world, with some of the world leading unemployment, violent crime, carjacking, rape, and murder rates. It has been called the “worst city in the world.” Raskol gangs (like the one you’ll find inside the police station in the game) virtually rule the city.
This Isn’t What I Meant When I Said “Real”
The folks at the Going Nowhere Show have made a live action Dead Island video that is hilarious:
Thank You for Flying Oceanic
Dead Island, like many video games, is filled with many easter eggs and homages to other well-known franchises within and outside of the zombie horror genre. If you search the jungle, you’ll find a replica of Camp Crystal Lake of Friday the 13th fame, complete with Jason Voorhees and a nice chainsaw weapon. The jungle is also home to the wreckage of Oceanic Flight 1012 which, earlier in the game, called out a mayday warning that all engines were out and they were attempting a crash landing on the island. Yes, Oceanic is the same airline from the tv series Lost, which begins with Oceanic flight 815 crashing onto a mysterious jungle island. The airline was also featured in an episode of X-Files.
What real word locations or easter eggs have you found in the game?
