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World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 from Hardsuit Labs

Roguey

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Obviously both LaCroix and Ming Xiao are antagonists to the players, but villains? Not really. And where LaCroix is pretty all-out selfish we don't even really know Xiao's motives that well.

? Xiao spells out her motivations to you when you ask her about her people. She wants control of LA and all the vampires there gone because you're in the way and they don't want to share.

I’ve been following her for news on Cascadia for a while. Anyway, she’s like 23 and all the Zoomers do pronouns. They see it as a painless gesture of solidarity that makes people who are, uh, gender nonconforming feel less weird. A lot of this stuff you guys call virtue signaling is just attempts at politeness—surely a genteel southerner like yourself can understand that.

Politeness? Tell that to ContraPoints. It's an authoritarian powergrab, "You will accommodate me, you will permanently allocate my preferences into your brainspace or else."
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Hell yeah, Rik Schaffer cashing in:

NEW YORK, NY – Milan Records, an imprint of Sony Music Masterworks, announces VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) with music by composer RIK SCHAFFER (Elder Scrolls Online, Dark Age of Camelot). Available Friday, October 25, the soundtrack features previously unreleased music from the first installment of the role-playing video game, which will return for its much-anticipated second installment in 2020. The vinyl edition of the album will include a digital download card that includes both the entire album as well as eight special bonus tracks not available anywhere else.

Of the soundtrack, composer RIK SCHAFFER says, “Of all the games I have scored over my career, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines was the best because I was given free rein to write music without censor, and drawing from my own life experiences. This is where the best music comes from for an artist.”

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES is the 2004 cult classic roleplaying game from Troika Games. Based on the White Wolf tabletop roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade, Bloodlines follows a character who is killed and subsequently revived as a fledgling vampire. The game depicts the fledgling’s journey through early 21st-century Los Angeles as they navigate the grimy underworld of vampire politics in the City of Angels. In the ensuing years since Bloodlines initially released, it has been embraced for its world-class writing, narrative design and immersive score, and is considered one of the greatest roleplaying games of all time. A sequel is scheduled for release by Paradox Interactive in early 2020.

VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK)

CD / Vinyl Tracklisting –
  • 1. Bloodlines Main Theme
  • 2. Hollywood Main Theme
  • 3. Wolf Spirit Map
  • 4. Disturbed Combat
  • 5. Santa Monica Theme
  • 6. Chinatown Theme
  • 7. China Boss Battle
  • 8. Nosferatu Warrens
  • 9. Downtown Theme
  • 10. Disturbed and Twisted
  • 11. Disturbed and Twisted Combat
  • 12. Edward’s Theme
  • 13. Crypts Combat
  • 14. Moldy Old World
  • 15. Dark Asia
  • 16. The Prince’s Dream
  • 17. All That Could Ever Be
Digital Tracklisting –
  • 1. Bloodlines Main Theme
  • 2. Hollywood Main Theme
  • 3. Wolf Spirit Map
  • 4. Disturbed Combat
  • 5. Santa Monica Theme
  • 6. Chinatown Theme
  • 7. China Boss Battle
  • 8. Nosferatu Warrens
  • 9. Downtown Theme
  • 10. Disturbed and Twisted
  • 11. Disturbed and Twisted Combat
  • 12. Edward’s Theme
  • 13. Crypts Combat
  • 14. Moldy Old World
  • 15. Dark Asia
  • 16. The Prince’s Dream
  • 17. All That Could Ever Be
  • 18. Main Theme Aggro Mix
  • 19. Mission Impossible
  • 20. Creepy Ambiance 2
  • 21. Mission Impossible Combat
  • 22. Crypts
  • 23. Sewer Enter Lair
ABOUT RIK SCHAFFER

Composer and musician Rik Schaffer founded Womb Music in 1996, bringing his decade-long career working in the industry as a member of various national bands. Since the company’s inception and with the help of Rik’s partner Margaret Tang, Womb Music has become one of the industry’s leading audio facilities, working with major publishers, developers and corporations on over 120 game titles, films and television shows, 4 major album releases and dozens of commercials. From top quality orchestral emulation to recording live orchestra, acoustic instrumentation, electronic or ambient composition, Womb Music has more than 20 years of experience composing original music and providing voice over for games, television and film. Working closely with clients to achieve an amazing, immersive audio experience. Their long list of interactive titles include The Elder Scrolls Online, Call of Duty, Neverwinter Nights 2, God of War, X-Men: The Official Game, Imperator, Fantastic Four, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, Dark Age of Camelot (and its expansions: Shrouded Isles, Catacombs and Trials of Atlantis), The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian, Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon, X-Men Legends, Spawn: Armageddon and many more.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Woke UI update: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...5-feedback-ux-design-in-bloodlines-2.1241985/

Hello friends,

Rachel Leiker, Lead UI/UX Designer for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 here again. My team and I are responsible for designing all the menus, HUD, and interface elements in the game. We also spearhead the cross-disciplinary practice of UX at the studio.

What is UX you ask? Well gather ‘round and let Auntie Rachel learn ya a thing or two. UX - or User Experience – in games is the process of expressing content and systems in a way the player can interpret. A lot goes into making games, and not all of it can (and frankly, should) be exposed to the player. It is our job as the UX department to figure out what pieces of information the player needs, when they need it, how they need it, and then evaluate if it is good feedback or if more can be done.

In an earlier post, our Creative Director Ka’ai talked about the Pillars of the game. UX works with similar pillars, and they help us to inform and focus the kinds of feedback we give to the player:
  • Show the World of Darkness
  • Be a Vampire
  • Hierarchy
  • Consistency
  • Accessibility
Show the World of Darkness

The setting of the game dictates a certain aesthetic – modern day Noir, old versus new, tradition versus progress. We reflect this direction by presenting the player with a not-so pristine interface throughout the game.

Visual inspiration for the UI has been heavily influenced by Neo-noir and modern styles of media. The basic DNA of the style are high contrast, dramatic use of color, and high texture density to reflect the multi-layered quality of the world. With this in mind, we also needed to be careful not to obscure necessary information in style. The function of the thing is always more important than the form of the thing.

We established some basic scales for iconography and texture treatments - Modern, not Sci-fi; Scruffy, not grungy:

sVfU5-qLUVN8-CyfYE3JHHqBypm2uTkhkYZ9tnqz5tHKp9PRsQMPIyMf7NLJ8sfBQ2rIEOdwifTfb0ZzAmJm9aZgysl1y-59kCBoUa_vUvuaawcG_Ji-RXixG3TxLH1Mzq2a9Xmc



Be a Vampire

A HUD and menus are not typically something one would expect to deal with as a vampire, so we cultivated and curated every interaction to support that fantasy. Color scheme, interactions with the world, and character management have all been designed with this in mind.

To a Vampire, blood is everything. It sustains, it empowers, it demands. In the UI we use the color red very sparingly and only when it pertains to blood - Blood gain, blood loss, using blood, and specific feedback regarding health status. This is to help emphasize to the player that their very precious resource is changing, and they need to act accordingly.

Hierarchy

A game with complex systems needs sophisticated feedback. Hierarchies allow us to give the player the right information at the right time without overwhelming or underserving their needs. Every piece of feedback is given a priority against all other forms of feedback, which allows us to easily arrange their placement on screen and their visuals to help the player understand what is most important at any given time.

In the HUD, related items are grouped together – Navigation, Blood-related systems like Health, Hunger, and Disciplines, Combat, and others all have a specific place based on the attention they demand of the player. The more efficiently we can get the necessary information to the player, the more time they can spend immersed in the world and less time engaged with the interface. Notifications also follow this rule – things that demand less of the player’s time are small and appear in a certain location, while Very Important™ notifications such as Quest Completed dominate screen space and player attention.

HUD Priority Heat map

QhFZcWpuDdNTCR-l_L0LNwXoNiuqh3aHYJD9kOQ2SPxizl11xPWSpD057J6zxkCSJ2RPdmudcvW77vCJuxmUbRCpDjh0lRSfQHH2Hlgxz8La3cMjfQp1g92wxAqvU_TXe8EXLCZV


HUD Grouping breakdown

2Bkj67BW7319jk17vFIu44gtFU64Iog6IiTLvvxRjAqPvfpdBh6Bn_zAnjkSyxGX0kSrZRzhqCDFdc8OLEqbxdX3K5TJSuHRctFdLMmJDdu3OHsgcJGzkNtB5wCiDtc8fErGPlZ9



Consistency

Players can expect the UI to function the same way no matter how they are using it. From Character Creation to Quests to navigation, the player performs an action and the expected result occurs. The goal here is to make managing your character less of a chore and something you enjoy doing. By making it easier for the player to engage with and understand the menus during gameplay, we ensure that they spend less time thinking about the UI and more time enjoying the game. We achieve this by having a consistent menu layout through all pages, consistent input and button locations, and having precise, easily discernible visual feedback if player interaction is required or not.


Accessibility

This appears at the bottom of this list because it is really the foundation for all our work. Hardsuit Labs as a studio is invested in making games that can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Wherever, whenever possible, the game UI and UX supports accessible features. For example, color is never the primary source of feedback. We use contrast, texture, iconography, FX, text, and layout to provide the primary feedback and use color as secondary enhancement. This helps players with color vision deficiencies without having to have a separate color-blind mode. We are able to test this by including testers with color vision deficiencies in our QA process to give us feedback. Inclusion is part of the accessibility process as well, we have been very conscious about creating iconography that is non-gender specific and considerate of cultural sensitivities. The icons are designed to not rely on gendered tropes (such as pouty lips for seduction or a man’s dress shirt to represent wardrobe), and we use straightforward ideas for icons that can be interpreted no matter the native language or culture.

I’ll be able to talk more about the accessibility options when we get closer to the game’s release, we have many options that we are implementing in the game to make it an enjoyable experience for all of our players. Designing for accessibility is not only great for the players who need them, but it enhances the experience for all players across the board.

UX is so much more than just meters in the HUD and upgrading your skill tree. It really tries to maximize the enjoyment of the player by removing obstacles and solving problems with good design. When you play Bloodlines 2, our goal is to make sure you get the most out of your time with the game and are able to fully immerse yourself in your story. The various UI elements and UX design are all there to give you what you need without getting in the way, putting the proper amount of Feed into your Feedback*.

Thanks for your time, if you have any additional questions or comments, I would love to read them!

-- Rachel Leiker
 

Ismaul

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Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech A Beautifully Desolate Campaign My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
Woke UI update
iseewhatyoudid.png
What's "woke" about it? You trying to clickbait?

Edit: Oh I missed it there's two sentences at the end:
Inclusion is part of the accessibility process as well, we have been very conscious about creating iconography that is non-gender specific and considerate of cultural sensitivities. The icons are designed to not rely on gendered tropes (such as pouty lips for seduction or a man’s dress shirt to represent wardrobe), and we use straightforward ideas for icons that can be interpreted no matter the native language or culture.
 

Prime Junta

Guest
Woke UI update
iseewhatyoudid.png
What's "woke" about it? You trying to clickbait?

Edit: Oh I missed it there's two sentences at the end:
Inclusion is part of the accessibility process as well, we have been very conscious about creating iconography that is non-gender specific and considerate of cultural sensitivities. The icons are designed to not rely on gendered tropes (such as pouty lips for seduction or a man’s dress shirt to represent wardrobe), and we use straightforward ideas for icons that can be interpreted no matter the native language or culture.

Cool.

Also you're going to need an intimate understanding of American East Coast late capitalist mores and pop culture.

(Then again wokeness is a part of American East Coast late capitalist mores and pop culture so I suppose it makes sense when you look at it that way. But I am fed up of whiteoids trying to out-compete each other on wokeness.)
 

Terenty

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Messages
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I hope they put trigger warnings before every menu in the game

"before you open the next menu, we would like to let you know that we voted Democrat and donated 10000$ to the lgbt cause. Proceed with caution."
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Re: trigger warnings, more from Cara Ellison last week: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ing-bloodlines-2.1236078/page-3#post-25778230

I am sorry, but trigger warnings before the start of a quest sounds like a absolutely horrible idea.

Agree. Which is why I stated "a part of the accessibility menu where we outline the thematic content of each mission" in my original post. You would have to go there, and then read a matrix, if you wanted an outline of the content. You wouldn't be 'spoiling' anything if you did that. Content warnings appear at the beginning of TV shows. This is not any different. We would not be giving a plot rundown.

By the sound of it, trigger warnings are still on their "wish list", rather than a current feature of the game. As I suggested above, such warnings could be an optional UI element, & could still give players who choose it the option to ignore said warning, as well as the ability to choose not to learn what the trigger warning refers to.

It would not be a UI element. It would be a literal screen with text on it outlining some themes, such as 'body horror' etc in the accessibility menu. You would only go there if you knew ahead of time that there are some things you personally would have to watch out for.

Ah, fair enough. So just a more detailed run-down than what you'd get with the usual PEGI/ESRB ratings? Not to be immodest, but I think my UI idea could work quite well too ;).

Yes, slightly more in depth than the 'adult themes' PEGI but much less in depth than IMDB :)

But also please remember, that this is still being worked out, is not set in stone, and we may find a better solution closer to release. This is all up in the air, and reflects my own personal research, not the team's, and I thought I would ask you what your opinions were. We don't know what the best answer is until we look at it in depth, we just wanted to let you all know that we are thinking about how to include everyone in an unintrusive way.

Well this is a surprise. Just kidding but besides Brian Mitsoda, Margaret Tang and her husband Rik Schaeffer is there anyone who is also back from Troika / Bloodlines 1 Team?

Uuuuuuuuh. I don't think so? I enjoy that you are describing Rik as Margaret's husband hah - she's basically my ideal evil fairy godmother at this point.

I can't comment further on our voice cast yet as Paradox will release that info soon, but we are planning on having a director's commentary which Brian and I have promised ourselves to, if that's any consolation.

We will have multiple endings, where no one ending is canon, with a set of vignettes for many other characters you may have interacted with during the game. We are trying to make the game as reactive to your conversations as possible.
 

just

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this game sure gonna be fun.
hope they find time to implement non-gender specific checkboxes so you can confirm before every quest you're fine with all the triggers.
 

zapotec

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Woke UI update
iseewhatyoudid.png
What's "woke" about it? You trying to clickbait?

Edit: Oh I missed it there's two sentences at the end:
Inclusion is part of the accessibility process as well, we have been very conscious about creating iconography that is non-gender specific and considerate of cultural sensitivities. The icons are designed to not rely on gendered tropes (such as pouty lips for seduction or a man’s dress shirt to represent wardrobe), and we use straightforward ideas for icons that can be interpreted no matter the native language or culture.
gender-neutral-restroom-sign-gyf-prints.jpg
 
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Codex Year of the Donut

Nifft Batuff

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There will be a switch in the UI to remove every racial connotations. For example, the skin color of every character in the game will be gray. (as in Lathe of Heaven by U Le Guin)
 

anvi

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I hope the push for 'accessibility' covers the uninstall button too, got a feeling I will need it.
 

Vincente

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Inclusion is part of the accessibility process as well, we have been very conscious about creating iconography that is non-gender specific and considerate of cultural sensitivities. The icons are designed to not rely on gendered tropes (such as pouty lips for seduction or a man’s dress shirt to represent wardrobe), and we use straightforward ideas for icons that can be interpreted no matter the native language or culture.

Turns out Bloodlines was sexist for using man and woman lips icons while talking to them respectively.
 

Zombra

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Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Trigger warnings appear only at the beginning of a movie not before every fucking scene.
Good thing that's not happening here in any way either. Unless you are leaving the auditorium before every scene to go ask the theater manager if you will like it. How dare they allow you to do that.
 

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