Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus — How American TV helped a Swedish designer craft a ‘Nazified’ America

Tommy Tordsson Björk and his colleague Jens Matthies have created a haunting portrait of 1960s America that has been overrun by the Nazis in an alternate history in the upcoming video game Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. That’s pretty good for a couple of Swedish guys, as their vision is seeming a little prescient these days.

Fortunately, Tordsson Björk grew up in Sweden in the 1980s, when the country was awash in media from the United States. He almost felt like he was growing up in the U.S. himself, since he watched so much TV. That helped him craft the atmosphere of the game and the story about a new American Revolution, as the oppressed Americans led by hero B.J. Blazkowicz take their country back from the occupying Nazis.