Thank you. There’s multiple reasons for this choice. I wanted the WW2 setting because I like the hands on feel of vintage technology, which gives more room to the human component in decisions and tactics. Of course the conflict itself is unmatched in terms of scope, stakes, and historical significance.
Now regarding Germany, it can be broken down into two main aspects: technology and history.
First, through the influence of the admiral Donitz, it was the only nation that saw the potential of submarines in a combat capacity. Even the British regarded submarines as no more than mere coastal reconnaissance vessels. And so early on the Germans put a lot of effort in improving the technology, which turned their U-boats into the most effective combat submarines. I also think they look the coolest, which matters for the game’s visuals.
Now from a historical standpoint, they played an immense role in the battle of the Atlantic, which many WW2 experts consider one of the pivotal moments of the conflict. Had the unrestricted U-boat campaign been a success, Germany could have blocked all supply routes from the United States. In that scenario, war would have taken a very different turn, possibly giving the victory to the Germans. But Hitler didn’t fully commit to Donitz strategy, and didn’t allow to build nearly enough boats to destroy ships faster than the Americans could build them.
It’s a great opportunity from a gameplay standpoint, because U-boats started with the upper hand, being a real threat to the allies. It offers a gentle introduction to the novice player. But around 1942 U-boats began to lose ground, and by the end of the war they had become the hunted, and their crews ended up with the highest casualty rate of all armed forces, losing 75% of their men.
So I guess you can see how that choice makes sense. I’m not sure what you mean by narrative, but if I understand “story”, then one thing I’m not a big fan of is dialogue and pre scripted events. They tend to give a predictable, rigid structure to the campaigns. My ideal is a game that has enough interlocking mechanics and gameplay depth to create a loose organically generated backbone that lets the player fill in the blanks and live their own story, if you can call it that.
I go over these concepts in various devlogs if you’re interested in going deeper. But this one is a good introduction to the game: