Additional lore media
During the development of INFRA, additional lore snippets were posted as part of its promotional materials on IndieDB, Facebook, Indiegogo and Imgur. After the release of the game, the developers provided additional information and answered community questions on Steam Discussions and Discord.
Indiegogo campaign synopsis
Let us introduce Stalburg in a few more words. Stalburg is large Baltic/European metropolis, which was founded during the medieval times as a mining town. It used to be one of the most important European steel producers, a major industrial power. The city is rich in history, with medieval castles and other historical locations visitable in game.
It is also realistic – everything in the city has a function and the city is planned to function like a real city. Multiple different districts with personalities and backgrounds of their own. From the 1900s industrial areas to modern business parks and wooden old towns. Now decaying infrastructure was built during the 1960s when the city's industrialization was at its peak. The city is aesthetic – there is lot of art glorifying city's industrious past. The city embeds interesting political history, defined by its industrial past. Major political axles are anti-technological vs. technological and liberal vs. authoritative. The city is at a point of redefining itself. These multiple political parties and organizations add to the story, a deep networked story in which corruption has far-reaching roots.
~Posted on INFRA Indiegogo page, 2015.
Stalburg backstory
The game is set in city called Stalburg, which is an major European city on the coast of the Baltic sea. The city used to be major industrial power in the Europe, famous for it's steel.
The city was orginally founded as an small iron mining town during the middle ages. Since then the city has grown slow and steady until the industrial ages when a lot of metallurgy plants started to pop around the city. During the 1960s the city's industrialization was at it's peak generating a lot of wealth for the city.
Since then then the industry of the city has been in decline, which culminated in the suspicious collapse of the city's flag carrier steel manufacturer, Stalburg Steel. The decline has lead to many social problems within the city, such as, alcoholism, wealth inequality, decaying infrastructure and crime. City is now trying to redefine itself to restore it's former glory.
Picture from Stalburg's central metrostation with art glorifying it's industrious past.
Stalburg has nearly two million citizens living within it. The city has a complete metro system covering the majority of its districts.
Saddly many of the city's suburban areas have been impoverished after the city's golden age. Currently many metro drivers are afraid of driving the metro in said suburbs due crime and poor condition of the metro system and demand higher pay.
The player will visit the metro during his journey.
View from the more wealthy area.
Bergmann Group
The Bergmann group were founded by the visionary businessman Eric Kleinmann and an engineer Xeander Berg during early 1900's. The company specialized in underground construction and it has built the majority of Stalburg's undeground infrastructure, such as water and sewage systems.
During 1960's the company lost its innovation potential along with it's most innovative engineer, which caused the decline of the company until it was sold for Walter Co.
This Bergmann constructed watertunnel brings more than 90% of the fresh water to the city. Old status reports claims that it's literally on its collapsing point.
Stalburg Steel
Stalburg Steel used to be the City's flag carrier steel manufacturer until it's suspicious fall which happened, even when the factory were completely profitable. A lot of conspiracy theories revolve around the Stalburg Steel's fall, some claiming that trade unions were the major cause. Other believe that Walter did it. And some claim that it was done by foreign steel manufacturer.
The plant used to have one of the Europe's and world's largest blast furnaces.
This now overgrown and abandoned converter hall were used for converting iron into steel.
Some people have taken over the factory's lands for their own purposes.
Hammer Valley Hydro
Alex Hartman constructed a 40m tall hydro-power dam in the Hammer Valley during the 1960's to supply in high-demand electricity to power the city's blooming industry. Hartman also constructed other major dams withing the city. Hammer Valley Hydro went to bankrupt after the fall of city's #1 energy consumer Stalburg Steel. After bankrupty Alex started to suspect and investigate Walter's actions.
Hammer Valley Dam also feeds water to the Bergmann watertunnel.
Walter Corporation
Huge construction company owned by construction tycoon, Jeff Walter who were the city's richest man.
Walter Co. built large part of the city during the peak of it's industrialization. Walter Co built many prefabricated concrete flats and suburbs for the city's working class. Currently majority of the said buildings and suburbs are in terribly poor condition and populated by impoverished people.
And railroad.
National Consulting Group
NGC is an engineering consulting company founded after fusion of many smaller engineering companies. Currently player is employee of the said company.
With a cod in a water tank.
Osmo Olut
Osmo-Olut is the Stalburgs largest brewery producing self proclaimed "world strongest beer". People claim that Osmo-Olut is one of the main reasons for the alcohol problem in the city due it's agressive marketing and huge visibility.
~Posted on Imgur, June 30 2015.
Stalburg City Tales
Stalburg City's water supply system tunnel no. 1, commonly known as the Bergmann water tunnel is named after its builder the Bergmann Corporation. It is the lifeline for Stalburg city, bringing a vast majority of the fresh water consumed in Stalburg. According to the last maintenance reports of the tunnel, the tunnel is in a very bad shape. It has been speculated that the tunnel is in an imminent danger of collapsing, which would leave most of the city without potable water. It's not a question of if the tunnel is collapsing but rather when it is going to happen. While being vital for the city and unknown for the majority of the populace, the tunnel has gained a legendary status among some urban cultures spawning urban legends around it.
~Posted on Loiste Interactive Facebook page, April 14, 2016.
Walter Corporation backstory
Stalburg city was bombarded completely in the World War II. After the war, many of the surviving citizens of the city moved elsewhere. Stalburg city was a ruin filled with homeless people, thieves, beggars and prostitutes. Old buildings and historical monuments now in ashes or otherwise badly destroyed. Stalburg was a city with nothing left but deprivation and desperation.
Then a young and a rather wealthy man called Jeff Walter saw his opportunity. He was determined to rebuild the city to its former glory. Founding a company and hiring hundreds of homeless people from the streets to help to rebuild the city, Jeff Walter was on a mission. His company built entire districts with affordable housing, huge factories, hundreds of kilometers of roads and other vital infrastructure. Jeff Walter practically rebuilt to whole city from next to nothing. Jeff Walter was idolized and very well known for his achievements and thanks to him the future seemed as bright as ever.
Suddenly everything collapsed, with the companies going bankrupt, unemployment rate skyrocketing and the people moving back to the streets as they couldn’t pay for their housing. Jeff Walter disappearing and his company in deep trouble, the city was, yet again, sliding in to a chaos. Some say Stalburg city will never get back on its feet again, some even predict it will slowly turn into the same ashes it was before Jeff Walter rebuilt the city. A flourishing future turning into bitter ashes, the city was once again only a faint memory of its previous glory.
~Posted on Loiste Interactive Facebook page, May 14, 2016.
INFRA: Game Design Document - Stalburg history
Stalburg is a fictional Baltic city of Hanseatic and Novgorodian origins.
History
Early middle ages (before 1200)
There were small unnamed fishing village in the area of current ‘Fishermen bay’
Late middle ages (1200–1400)
Hanseatic league and Novgorodian traders founded Stalburg as iron mining settlement, in the area of currently known ‘Old town’. They also constructed small castle to protect the new founded settlement of Stalburg Between 1200’s and 1400’s the settlement grew and granted full city rights. Castle was also expanded.
Renaissance (1400–1600)
During 1400’s the original settlement suffered great damage during the Stalburg Fire. After the fire the city was decided to be relocated to the current site of the city center at a bay 5km east of the original location due it’s obscure location for port and rough cliffy terrain. The old castle was abandoned and new fort were built to cover the location of the new Stalburg.
Neoclassicism (1600–1800)
The city started to grow fast and it became wealthy and important harbor and trading city in the Baltic region. Many new sea forts were built to protect the important port.
Industrialization (1800–1900)
The city’s status as important port and iron mines allowed the city to industrialize fast, boosting the city’s growth and economy even more. Many factories were constructed in districts around the times city limits and coast, such as ‘Foundry’. Railroads were also constructed. On the other side of the coin, the fast industrialization caused many people seeking jobs to migrate into the city, faster than new apartments and tenements we’re built, forming slums around the city. During that time the city also suffered some sanitation, pollution and health issues. At the late 1800’s work started on improving the sanitation and water quality. Sewers and water pipes were built under the city and some of them are still operational.
Modern times (1900–)
At early 1900’s to further improve the water quality (and to response the growth of the city), city contracted Bergmann to construct water tunnel from the northern lakes. During the early 1900’s the slums we’re removed and replaced with proper housing.
Metro system
The city of Stalburg has 4 line citywide metro system operated by Stalburg Mass Transit. The player will use and visit parts of the metro system during his journey. The metro system is also a way for the player to perceive the scale of the city and his movement relative to it.
~Snippet from INFRA: Game Design Document posted as part of Stalburg wiki page, July 26, 2017
Developer's commentary
On when was the Ampstrand line constructed
"70's-80's."
~Oskutin, posted on Discord, March 3, 2019
"Only few of those units operate on some lines. Could say that it was failed investment from SMT and only few are operational/built at all. They didn't function like they supposed to be, hence cancelled the order and only got few units."
~Oskutin, posted on Discord, June 4, 2019
On Erzfell city
"Erzfell is like Kiruna, Kiruna-like city."
~Oskutin, posted on Discord, June 23, 2020
"Erzfell is huge iron mining town on mountains."
~Oskutin, posted on Discord, April 16, 2021
On the city borders of Stalburg and the neighboring municipalities
"Is it known that the map is not just City of Stalburg but there's also neighboring municipalities pictured? The border can be found on this, anything "C" is not Stalburg anymore. Cellecter is the name of the municipality to on the west side. (Coastal metro line) is a joint effort with two municipalities. Every time there's a station called "railway station", that's another municipality, but some of them might be municipalities that don't exist anymore in the current day, eg. Fisch River is probably part of Cellecter by now. (R15) is a north-south line to the Eastport. It uses the Tarfell exchange station for connections to Central, kinda like a heavy metro in a way.
I refine my statement. AT LEAST everything C is not Stalburg municipality. Parts of B might also not be."
~Yucca
"Tarfell is not Stalburg, Tarfell is separete municipality"
~Oskutin
"Yeah exactly what I was thinking, but Raft Isle and Whiprock are probably part of Stalburg, so the line is not clear. But yeah, at least C is not Stalburg anymore. The zones are based on distance from city center and muni borders."
~Yucca
"A = Stalburg, B = Stalburg + parts of Tarfell, C = not stalburg."
~Oskutin, posted on Discord, June 23, 2020
On construction history of the Stalburg metro
"Earliest ones are from 1950s. Most are 1980."
~Oskutin, posted on Discord, June 1, 2023