Game News Vampire: Bloodlines trailer

[Ausir]

Tags: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

There's a spiffy new 16 MB <a href=http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?channel_id=59&object_id=566186&adtag=network=ign&site=pchub&pagetype=medialist&page_title=Vampire%3A+Theasquerade+-+Bloodlines>trailer</a> of the Troika's new game - Vampire: Bloodlines at <a href=http://www.ign.com>IGN</a>. I hope you'll be able to see it, since i have some problems with access to it. If you can't download it from there, you can also find it <a href=http://www.duckandcover.net/kreegle/vampiremasquerade_051203_01_free.mov>here</a> (cheers, Kreegle!). Take a good look at the jiggly boobies of the goth vampire!
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You can also see a <A href=http://www.eye-on-troika.net/index.php?module=Static_Docs&type=user&func=view&f=vtm_bloodlines/trailer1/vtmb1_01.htm>scene-by-scene commentary</a> of the trailer at <a href=http://www.eye-on-troika.net>Eye on Troika</a>. Good job!
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Spotted this at <a href=http://www.rpgdot.com>RPGDot</a>.

 

[EEVIAC]

Whoops, I submitted this as news not 20 minutes ago. Ignore my mail Saint.

I may have to avoid this game because of the hat shown on this page. I cannot express how much I hate those hats. And what's with the preponderance of boobs?

 

[chrisbeddoes]

Proper "Linkage"

http://www.eye-on-troika.net/index.php? ... mb1_01.htm

 

[Sabotai]

I hate to say this, but I have some eerie FOBOS vibes after reading some of the lines and commentary of the trailer:

"In Life
Two Things Are Certain
You Live
And You Die
But For Some, Death Is Only The Beginning"

Is it me or doesn't this get more cliche?
And as EEVIAC also mentions what's with the jigglyness commentary?

Andrew Meggs (Troika's Lead Programmer) was right. A static screenshot does no justice to the jigglyness of those boobies. You really have to see this video to see them in action.

I had almost succeeded in repressing all the memories of the "Aribeth is hot and her boobs are jiggling when I talk to her"-threads at the BIO-boards. Next we'll be seeing some nice thongs.

 

[DeviantBoi]

I made that comment in regards to a post by Andrew Meggs in the Bloodlines Inn forum. Here's the link ...

http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=49908549&start=50010303

I've seen the trailer several times and it does look light a straight-out shoot-em-up, but there is still SO much that we don't know about the game so I'll reserve judgment until I know more.

It's funny to compare Activision's PR strategy with that of Atari (the company previously known as Infogrames). Bloodlines was only just announced last week and we already have a minute and a half of game footage! And what do we have for Greyhawk? Apart from that leaked trailer, absolutely nothing. If it weren't for the Greyhawk team posting at the Greyhawk Inn, we would't know anything. I'm hoping things change after E3.

Jesse.

 

[Flarnet]

Sigh.

So perhaps if we set up a fund and send some really gorgeous hookers over to the Troika office to fuck all of them over once a week, they could actually focus on games instead of lesbian sex, big breasts and gimmicky engine features?

I'm sure quite a few developers and fanboys will sing the song of how sex and vampires have always been tightly connected. This is of course correct, and has worked very well in books and movies.
But in computer game development there is not an uninterupted line between the vision of the writer/director and the consumer. And this is where it goes wrong, where the vision of sensual and multifaceted desire has to pass by a cubicle landscape filled with nerds who's concept of sex and women is so pathetic that I wish I wasn't so bloody smitten with this biz.

 

[Sabotai]

AndrewMeggs: This is a Troika game, and as with Fallout and Arcanum and ToEE, there are more words of dialog in this game than there are in many novels. But this time around, we've also got really big guns and bouncing breasts and realtime dynamic shadows and guys who wear their sunglasses at night. I want to believe that a game can succeed at being both smart AND sexy.

This reassures me somewhat...I see Chirs has been pretty busy at the IGN-forum as well. I tend to avoid the IGN-boards for reasons discussed in the
IGNtop100 thread/Ultima Underworld thread: http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1487

 

[EEVIAC]

I hate to say this, but I have some eerie FOBOS vibes after reading some of the lines and commentary of the trailer:

I had almost succeeded in repressing all the memories of the "Aribeth is hot and her boobs are jiggling when I talk to her"-threads at the BIO-boards. Next we'll be seeing some nice thongs.

When you think about it, if you walk down the street, girls wearing boob-tubes are everywhere. I'm from a sunny part of Australia so its not unusual at all to see girls walking around in bikinis. Its not quite as preposterous as FOBOS.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I'm sure quite a few developers and fanboys will sing the song of how sex and vampires have always been tightly connected. This is of course correct, and has worked very well in books and movies.

Well, yeah, that's how the setting of Vampire: The Masquerade is. I'd much rather Troika have used a setting or a license that was much less cliched, and much more original if they wanted to make a vampire title.

 

[Sabotai]

When you think about it, if you walk down the street, girls wearing boob-tubes are everywhere. I'm from a sunny part of Australia so its not unusual at all to see girls walking around in bikinis. Its not quite as preposterous as FOBOS.

That's true, in this setting girls in bikinis are more plausible than in a Fallout setting. What I was worried about (somewhat less now) is that these days game developers think that it's enough for a game to contain

a) lots of stuff to kill
b) lots of weapons with uber upgrades and
c) a lead female character with a cup D+ and jiggling boobs even when standing still.

However, Troika has a reputation for making intelligent games and I hope they come up with a smart game with jiggling boobies.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I hope the dialogue is a LOT better than what's shown in the trailer though. One or two dialogue options is pretty slim pickings.

 

[HanoverF]

Looks like Gizmos back...

 

[Ausir]

That's Gizmo's ancestor, actually .

 

[triCritical]

I hope the dialogue is a LOT better than what's shown in the trailer though. One or two dialogue options is pretty slim pickings.

This is a response from CMoore about what kind of RPG Bloodlines is. Its interesting because he talks about the dialogue.

Hello there...

Just to set this straight for all of you out there wondering just what Bloodlines is going to be like...

Bloodlines is going to be a serious RPG in every sense of the word. Our dialogues are going to be deep and our characters are going to be very well developed...for any of you who know V:TM, you know that story and character interaction are VERY important. It will be no different in our game, and we hope that the trailer doesn't give you the wrong idea. There will be combat, of course, as there will be active uses for your disciplines (ie, sneaking up on people on breaking their necks). Bloodlines will try and represent ALL of those things that are important to the WW universe, and in true Troika fashion we want to make sure that all of you have the best RPG experience possible.

So...! Forgive us if we wanted to show off our graphics a little in the trailer. We've had so much fun creating a unique look for our environments and our characters, and we wanted to give all of you a taste of what you'll be seeing. Have no doubts...when Bloodlines hits the shelves you will playing a true Troika RPG...

cmoore.2003

This is the question I asked them

I read Gamespot preview and I am dissapointed.

I read Leon's interview, in which he states that this will be no Deus Ex shooter, instead skillz and stats will determine your success in combat. I am then happy.

I watch interview, and I see bouncy boobs and shoot'em high game with minor dialogue (got that from St. P). Suffice it to say I wasn't thrilled from the trailer.

Will this game be more like MW or DX as far as the combat is conscerned? Leon says that stats will determine if a gunshot hits, this sort of implies levels and stats and just the kind of stuff RPG purist like myself love. I honestly am tired of the DX hybrid that just have not afforded the kind of RPG feel I want in the game.

I think asked him this.

I had no problems with showing off the graphics and the game certainly looked like it had style. The game looked great and I liked "The Hunger" like feel. I would say the only thing that probably bother me, and it is minor,was the cliche giant breast chick, but that is very minor.

Some more questions when you have a moment. I am unfamiliar with the WW setting and do not know the rules of combat and how character stats and skills are created and used. Will this be a faithful adaptation of the ruleset as with ToEE, or will you just use it as a basic template? Furthermore, will combat be statistical in nature or more like if the cross hairs are pointing at that persons head then he is dead? On one side of the coin you have realism. On the other you have RPG style combat mechanics, that give the feeling that you get better as you level up, or as your skills improve.

BTW, thanks for the response, I an now in anticipation mode again.

And he replied with this

We are being extremely faithful to the V:TM system...when you see our character sheet, you will understand what I mean. It was very important to us to keep as much of the V:TM system in place, as this is what has made the license so enjoyable.

We have made changes only when they are necessary...mainly in places where the system doesn't translate well onto the computer screen. We will have more information for you in the coming months, but rest assured that our game will be an accurate representation of what you all love about the WW universe.

cmoore.2003

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

That's one thing I also wonder, whether or not the gameplay is open ended or level based. Can you travel from location to location, or are you forced through a progression of maps like Dues Ex. I'll be fairly disappointed if it's map mission based.

 

[triCritical]

That's one thing I also wonder, whether or not the gameplay is open ended or level based. Can you travel from location to location, or are you forced through a progression of maps like Dues Ex. I'll be fairly disappointed if it's map mission based.

I second that.

 

[udarnik]

Well, yeah, that's how the setting of Vampire: The Masquerade is. I'd much rather Troika have used a setting or a license that was much less cliched, and much more original if they wanted to make a vampire title.

Saint_P is right. I just saw the trailer. All my comments about Vampire being a good setting in the hands of a creative and restrained GM were ridiculously naive. OF COURSE if you're going to slap VAMPIRE in big letters on your box than it's going to have every cliche in the book. Churches, crosses, and mascara-application-impaired girls are just the start. Bikers and cemetaries and tattooed bartenders will soon follow. Hopefully the game won't be crippled by its own unoriginal setting.

On the plus side, I really need a game that'll heat up my massively overpowered 3D acclerated graphics card, so hopefully even if it turns out to be a lackluster game it'll at least be a decent tech demo. Jiggling boobs may be cynically exploitative of the target audience, but at least they show attention to detail in the character animations - something computer rpgs give short shrift, and having ragdoll physics should be a first for the genre as well. Too bad videos are so low-res. I hope there'll be some proper screenshots soon.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Saint_P is right. I just saw the trailer. All my comments about Vampire being a good setting in the hands of a creative and restrained GM were ridiculously naive. OF COURSE if you're going to slap VAMPIRE in big letters on your box than it's going to have every cliche in the book. Churches, crosses, and mascara-application-impaired girls are just the start. Bikers and cemetaries and tattooed bartenders will soon follow. Hopefully the game won't be crippled by its own unoriginal setting.

One thing that gets me is that vampires in that setting are so.. current. They're up on all the latest raves and goth trends and such. It's like nostalgia doesn't affect them at all, which is utterly silly considering they're supposed to be pining for their human days, so you'd think they'd be much less "hip" than they are in that setting. If they're clinging to their human days to retain their "humanity", then why don't they show that?

If a vampire was turned in the 1960s, you'd think they'd dress accordingly, to remind themselves more of what they were. You'd think they'd wear those bright colors, go-go boots, and so on. After all, our clothing is one of the best expressions of who we are, and if you're clinging to who you were, then it makes little sense to be trend chasing. This is especially the case when that trend is something that really, really stands out like the whole gothic punk crap.

That's the part that really, really bothers me about the whole VtM setting. They're vampires who cling to their human selves and want to hide in human society, so that whole damned gothic-punk shit makes no sense at all since it flies in the face of both those mantras. The only reason it's even in there is because it's a cliche and a ludicrious one at best.

 

[DrattedTin]

Well, Saint, consider a few things.

1. Vampires get turned in the modern times. Naturally they'd dress like a lot of other people.

2. The masquerade: Dress like those around you. Won't you stand out if you're wearing a tophat and silk cravat?

3. Taste. Some people like to keep with the times.

That said, I DO hope not every vampire is a cliche.

 

[Spazmo]

Taste? You think being a goth involves taste?

 

[DrattedTin]

Taste is not a compliment, it's a noun.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Well, Saint, consider a few things.

1. Vampires get turned in the modern times. Naturally they'd dress like a lot of other people.

Goths are a small fringe of people. If they were going to dress like a lot of other people, they wouldn't dress goth or punk.

2. The masquerade: Dress like those around you. Won't you stand out if you're wearing a tophat and silk cravat?

As opposed to the fur coat and Cat in the Hat hat?

3. Taste. Some people like to keep with the times.

Not when you're desperately clinging to the past to retain your humanity.

 

[axel]

That's one thing I also wonder, whether or not the gameplay is open ended or level based. Can you travel from location to location, or are you forced through a progression of maps like Dues Ex. I'll be fairly disappointed if it's map mission based.

I second that.

This point will be a key factor on whiether or not I like it.

 

[POOPERSCOOPER]

hey

It looked like it had a low amount of dialogue choices, but that will probably change, also with the gothic type town it doesn't seem like there will be lots of people walking around that can interact with.

I think the guy in the fur coat and the cat in the hat hat, looks cool. Probably some pimp who got bitten by some vampire.

 

[Section8]

I want to see a vampire that pines for the glory days of disco. I also find it somehwat amusing that everyone laughs at goths in reality, but give them a fang or two and they're so tres cool.

For no particular reason, here's Tom Baker: