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Development Info Bloodlines 2 Dev Diary #1: Who is Hardsuit Labs?

Infinitron

I post news
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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
Tags: Brian Mitsoda; Florian Schwarzer; Hardsuit Labs; Ka'ai Cluney; Paradox Interactive; Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

Hardsuit Labs' Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 was announced a month ago. There have been several more articles about it in the press since then, including an extensive interview at VentureBeat and two interview videos at Shacknews and Noclip. No gameplay footage has been revealed yet. It looks we might have to wait until E3 for that. In the meantime, Paradox have decided to begin publishing Bloodlines 2 dev diaries on the game's official forum. The first entry is a brief introduction by producer Liz Starr. It's not particularly interesting but it is a good excuse to post those interview videos, which feature Brian Mitsoda and Hardsuit Labs creative director Ka'ai Cluney:



Hello, my name is Liz Starr, I am one of the Producers at Hardsuit Labs, and I have the dream job of working on Bloodlines 2. I am very happy to bring you this dev diary about Hardsuit Labs and the story behind our fantastic team.

Hardsuit Labs began in 2015 with Andy Kipling, Russell Nelson, and a team of about 20 people. We had all worked at another studio together before. When that place went out of business, Andy and Russ – then a Production Director and Tech Director – decided to ask a few of their former teammates to help start something new. Back then, we thought that it’d take maybe five years of bringing older games to newer formats for this band of veterans to gain enough reputation to pitch a full game production.

Two years later, Ka’ai Cluney, our Creative Director, burst into Andy’s office with an idea he and his friend Brian Mitsoda had come up with. Ka’ai is one of those people who seems to have been everywhere and done everything; from design at id Software and Monolith to building roofs in Alaska. He had worked with Brian (of Troika and Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines fame) before. Together, they came up with a concept that lured Brian out of his own indie studio, into our team.

More importantly, it convinced Andy and Russ to go all in and to start pitching that full game project three years earlier than we’d have guessed.

When I discovered that what we were pitching was Bloodlines 2, I was beyond excited. Not only because Paradox has released some games that I give much of my free time to, but also because I am a huge World of Darkness fan. I wish I could tell my LARPing younger Ventrue self that she would one day be working on this game.

Turns out I wasn’t the only one: One of the wonderful things about World of Darkness and Hardsuit Labs is that we have a lot of fans in the team. There’ve been off-hours Vampire tabletop games in the conference room since before the project properly started. Those who were new to the IP were gently introduced to the fandom and have also embraced it.

Nowadays, Hardsuit Labs is a good mix of seasoned veterans and recently bloodied developers of many different backgrounds. One example of strengthening this mix is Cara Ellison, who joined us early last year. Cara's known to some for her work as a journalist (at Rock Paper Shotgun et. al), to others for her work on Dishonored 2... and to even fewer for her testing on GTA4. We value our diversity of experience and the diversity of us as individuals; we know this brings more perspective to our work and company culture, and ultimately creates better games.

For Bloodlines 2, this team is putting all its passion and motivation behind the narrative of Brian and Cara. We can’t wait for you to sink your teeth into it!

It's a start, I guess. I wonder if they're going to publish these on a weekly basis as with Paradox's own titles.
 

Deleted Member 22431

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Liz Starr said:
Hardsuit Labs is a good mix of seasoned veterans and recently bloodied developers of many different backgrounds. One example of strengthening this mix is Cara Ellison, who joined us early last year. Cara's known to some for her work as a journalist (at Rock Paper Shotgun et. al), to others for her work on Dishonored 2... and to even fewer for her testing on GTA4. We value our diversity of experience and the diversity of us as individuals; we know this brings more perspective to our work and company culture, and ultimately creates better games.

:thisisfine:
 

The_Mask

Just like Yves, I chase tales.
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Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I helped put crap in Monomyth
GamesBeat: What do vampires mean to you? They’re definitely something Brian’s been working on, but this is new to you. What’s attractive about them?

Kipling: To be honest, the thing that captures me the most about this IP is the depth of the world in which we operate. In any game I’ve ever worked on, it’s always been a huge desire of mine to experience that world more fully. Whether that’s the most mundane military shooter that I worked on, or something like Bloodlines II, what’s happened here? What’s gone on?

I spent some time as a level designer. I love history. Taking something like your own home city of Seattle and weaving the World of Darkness through it, making you look at everything a little bit differently as you walk through the city, is super awesome. That’s probably the biggest calling to me, the ability to write a really compelling history and story and universe into which, as a gamer, you can fully immerse yourself. I’m the type of gamer that wants to explore every nook and cranny and understand this corner, why that is there, what’s going on, what the backstory is. The World of Darkness allows that, and then Brian fleshes it out with his approach to things. It’s a very deep world, and it’s a very—it interweaves so much different stuff that it’s super exciting. You can’t help but want to immerse yourself into it. That’s the biggest draw for me.

I'll give it to him, it took me a few moments to realize he never actually answered the question.

This guy sounds like a snake to me.
 

KeighnMcDeath

RPG Codex Boomer
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Messages
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Well, pigtales, tight short skirts, and pale vampire tits might not be for everyone. Better not be shit.

So, will Jeanette be in it I wonder?
1011021%20-%20Jeanette_Voerman%20Malkavian%20Vampire_The_Masquerade%20Vampire_The_Masquerade_Bloodlines%20animated%20fugtrup%20vampire.gif
Somehow, i don't recall that image in the game.
vkAE9iU.jpg
Ok, this one I do recall.

Lordy? Looking at the video in op, i'm wondering what the operating specs one will need. Going to save up for a good desktop anyway.
 
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Iskramor

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Rudi


Name:
Rudi

Gender:
Male

Clan:
Gangrel

Allegiance:
Anarchs

A new player on the Kindred scene, Rudi commands an impressive following as an Anarch representative for the oppressed and repressed minorities in vampire society. Though his concerns extend to kine as well, his recent entry into Kindred existence has shown him that the fights mortals must undertake for equality are just as pressing for immortals. Rudi’s nightly life hasn’t changed much since the Embrace. He still makes his haven in Copenhagen, still hangs with the same friends, and still attends the same clubs. He has only expanded his concerns; in addition to advocating for fellow mortal minorities, he now champions Gangrel kept out of havens and feeding grounds by sprawl, stands up for female Kindred in cities run by traditionally misogynistic elders, and encourages the adoption of progressive norms over tradition wherever possible. Some might think Rudi’s combination of practicing Islam and unabashed queerness contradictory, but few challenge the “Bear Gangrel” with this notion. Fast becoming the animale du jour, Rudi wins fellow discontented Kindred over with his targeted approach against elitists and Camarilla hardliners. Some European Princes fear he will lead a crusade in years to come, in an attempt to level the establishment.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Deleted Member 22431

Guest
Liz Starr said:
We value our diversity of experience and the diversity of us as individuals.

Read: we are a monolithic group of NPCs that jumped on the latest political correct bandwagon and anyone who thinks any different is a dinosaur that should be extinct with extreme intolerance.
 

curry

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Messages
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Rudi


Name:
Rudi

Gender:
Male

Clan:
Gangrel

Allegiance:
Anarchs

A new player on the Kindred scene, Rudi commands an impressive following as an Anarch representative for the oppressed and repressed minorities in vampire society. Though his concerns extend to kine as well, his recent entry into Kindred existence has shown him that the fights mortals must undertake for equality are just as pressing for immortals. Rudi’s nightly life hasn’t changed much since the Embrace. He still makes his haven in Copenhagen, still hangs with the same friends, and still attends the same clubs. He has only expanded his concerns; in addition to advocating for fellow mortal minorities, he now champions Gangrel kept out of havens and feeding grounds by sprawl, stands up for female Kindred in cities run by traditionally misogynistic elders, and encourages the adoption of progressive norms over tradition wherever possible. Some might think Rudi’s combination of practicing Islam and unabashed queerness contradictory, but few challenge the “Bear Gangrel” with this notion. Fast becoming the animale du jour, Rudi wins fellow discontented Kindred over with his targeted approach against elitists and Camarilla hardliners. Some European Princes fear he will lead a crusade in years to come, in an attempt to level the establishment.

Is this a joke?
 

Deleted Member 22431

Guest
Rudi


Name:
Rudi

Gender:
Male

Clan:
Gangrel

Allegiance:
Anarchs

A new player on the Kindred scene, Rudi commands an impressive following as an Anarch representative for the oppressed and repressed minorities in vampire society. Though his concerns extend to kine as well, his recent entry into Kindred existence has shown him that the fights mortals must undertake for equality are just as pressing for immortals. Rudi’s nightly life hasn’t changed much since the Embrace. He still makes his haven in Copenhagen, still hangs with the same friends, and still attends the same clubs. He has only expanded his concerns; in addition to advocating for fellow mortal minorities, he now champions Gangrel kept out of havens and feeding grounds by sprawl, stands up for female Kindred in cities run by traditionally misogynistic elders, and encourages the adoption of progressive norms over tradition wherever possible. Some might think Rudi’s combination of practicing Islam and unabashed queerness contradictory, but few challenge the “Bear Gangrel” with this notion. Fast becoming the animale du jour, Rudi wins fellow discontented Kindred over with his targeted approach against elitists and Camarilla hardliners. Some European Princes fear he will lead a crusade in years to come, in an attempt to level the establishment.

Is this a joke?
https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Rudi
 

aratuk

Cipher
Joined
Dec 13, 2013
Messages
466
Hardsuit Labs began in 2015 with Andy Kipling, Russell Nelson, and a team of about 20 people. We had all worked at another studio together before. When that place went out of business, Andy and Russ – then a Production Director and Tech Director – decided to […]

Apparently this company was Zombie Studios Inc., and the game they all worked on (that made the 20-year-old company go under?) was Daylight, a FPP survival horror game which does sound like it could bear some superficial resemblance to a potential Vampire game. I'd hope, from the sound of it, that they've learned a thing or two since then.

:M
 

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