It's a span of time, and a cultural history, that makes the advent of things like video games read like a pimple on the face of time. It is, all of it, a reminder that for all the wonders of the modern world, people have been living, working, fighting and dying here for thousands of years. Just down the cobblestone street, ancient buildings housing offices and restaurants jostle for space with a modern mall, complete with a KFC and a McDonald's. A stroll through the city's old town, situated on an island in the Odra River, is like walking backward in time, with the occasional stark reminder of the modern world.Īcross the street from the Radisson hotel, in a parking lot, stands a monument built to contain the Racławice Panorama, a gigantic, centuries-old circular painting depicting the 18th-century uprising against Russia. The city itself, nestled in Poland's southwest corner between Germany and the Czech Republic, is ancient, saved from the devastation of World War II by remoteness and luck. Dead Island was Techland's first international hit, and it was a whopper of one, pushing over 5 million units.
Just as anyone who's been in love remembers their first love, anyone who makes video games remembers their first international hit. Heroes, zombies, weapons, plastered over every vertical surface, larger than life. Walk inside and, just past a small and somewhat messy lobby, you'll see the wall art - all Dead Island. This is the place where Dead Island - the blockbuster tropical island-set, melee-happy, weapon-crafting zombie apocalypse game - was made, and the place that, in many ways, was made by Dead Island. You hesitate to boil down a company that's been selling games for over 15 years to just one title, but they'll acknowledge it themselves. And then there's the place with the new cars and motorcycles. There are some houses here and there - small, cottage-like affairs, with well-kept yards. There's some sort of office complex to one side, across a barren field. Here, in this semi-industrial part of the Polish city of Wroclaw (pronounced Vrotslav, with a rolled R), the building could not be more obtrusive. A striking black and red building with a glass front, like a race car. You turn a corner and there it is: Techland.
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