What world will you create? I DIDNT REALISE YOU THOUGHT LIKE THAT is an online game by Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley exploring polarisation through critical play.
Simulating a real-time feed, the game’s mechanics mirror the daily choices we make about who and what we platform online. Players meet a unique cast of characters, experience different viewpoints, and reach bespoke endings based on their choices. The game invites players to confront moral complexity through a deceptively simple mechanism: a door. Through it, fictional characters, conspiracy agents or ‘Influencers’, request entry based on their beliefs. Inspired by the aesthetics of contemporary populist politics on social media, the game explores how fringe ideas can move into public discourse and policy.
“I DIDNT REALISE YOU THOUGHT LIKE THAT’ is a reflection of our world, allowing players to reflect on their political opinions and beliefs to understand how their judgements shape and constrict the lives of others.” – Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley
I DIDNT REALISE YOU THOUGHT LIKE THAT immerses players in the post-apocalyptic world first seen in Brathwaite-Shirley’s graphic novel Below the Blue Line, where every negative comment ever written online comes to life, and factions cling rigidly to their own versions of truth and justice.
This online game marks the next chapter of THE DELUSION, a multiplayer video game project addressing polarisation and societal rifts, presented at Serpentine North from September 2025 to January 2026. Available for the first time on digital platforms, this release extends the project’s reach, providing access to Brathwaite-Shirley’s vision of art as infrastructure for civic dialogue and creating more opportunities for online and expanded audiences to engage with urgent questions.
A living archive, the game will continue to grow with new characters and conversations gathered from workshops, focus groups, and other community initiatives.
Important information
I DIDNT REALISE YOU THOUGHT LIKE THAT is intended for mature audiences. It contains strong language and adult themes. Parental guidance is advised.
Biographies
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley (b. 1995, London) lives and works between Berlin and London. Working predominantly in animation, sound, performance and video game development, and with a background in DIY print media and activism, the artist’s practice focuses on intertwining lived experience with fiction to imaginatively retell and archive the stories of Black Trans people. Danielle utilizes interactive technologies to create participatory spaces that challenge traditional narratives and encourage active engagement. Their projects often take the form of immersive video games, where players navigate choices that confront their assumptions and biases, fostering deeper conversations about identity, privilege, and systemic oppression. Through their innovative use of digital media, Danielle not only preserves histories but also envisions inclusive futures where the voices of those that are ignored or erased are central. Their work is both ‘archive and insurgency’, a catalyst for dialogue, inviting audiences to reflect on their roles within broader societal structures.
Serpentine Arts Technologies programme explores the impact of technology through art, research and experimental projects. It supports artists to produce projects that use advanced technologies and convenes people working in art, technology, law, policy, and academia to share knowledge and develop new ideas about technology and society.
The foundation of Serpentine Arts Technologies’ programme is in an evolving R&D Platform that nurtures innovation for future art ecologies by securing a crucial institutional space for pragmatic interventions and necessary risk-taking at the intersection of art, science and technology. This is achieved through dedicated research projects, knowledge-sharing with the wider sector through Future Art Ecosystems, and co-facilitation of a national Creative R&D Working Group.
Glass Castle Foundation is a new philanthropic foundation aiming to provide catalytic support for artists and audiences of the future. We are committed to creating the conditions for extraordinary artists from across disciplines to thrive and experiment freely, and to empowering the infrastructure needed to realise new work that challenges, inspires, and connects us all.
When we asked the question, “Who is Coding Your Future?”, we knew the answer should be all of us. Beyond Code Collective (Beyond Code) bridges the gap between inspiration, training, and employment in tech, connecting learners to educational content, opportunities to develop cutting-edge technologies, and avenues to launch careers.
Beyond Code is a transformative new organization designed to prepare learners of all ages and demographics to unlock the opportunities of a tech-powered world for long-lasting career mobility. Beyond Code’s integrated ecosystem aims to create sustainable pathways to quality jobs while strengthening the digital infrastructure of organizations that drive community impact. With expertise from corporate leaders and technologists, Beyond Code is not only helping learners build the foundation but also supporting technical skills, career training, placement, and entrepreneurship. Learn more at https://www.wearebcc.org/en.
Game credits
I DIDNT REALISE YOU THOUGHT LIKE THAT is commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies, led by Kay Watson, Head of Arts Technologies. This project is curated and led by Tamar Clarke-Brown, Curator, Arts Technologies, with Isobel Peyton Jones, Arts Technologies Producer and Vi Trinh, Arts Technologies Assistant Curator.
Lead Artist and concept development: Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley
Commissioned and produced by Serpentine Arts Technologies
Developed in collaboration with Beyond Code Collective
Made possible by Glass Castle Foundation
Developer: Fonz Morris (Beyond Code Collective)
Executive Director (Beyond Code Collective): Mica Le John
Curator: Tamar Clarke-Brown (Serpentine Arts Technologies)
Producer: Isobel Peyton Jones (Serpentine Arts Technologies)
Assistant Curator: Vi Trinh (Serpentine Arts Technologies)
