World of Darkness Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 - VTMB sequel from The Chinese Room - coming early 2025

[Atlantico]

That describes things they will no longer be doing. Non-combat gameplay will be "things only a vampire can do," whatever that will be.

Which does sound ridiculous. I mean, using vampire abilities in non-combat situations is fine & expected (unless it is a shitty game like Vampir from another walking-sim dev), but saying that every single situation is going to be resolved via those, come on.
The only examples which come to mind of such a gameplay are all comedy-level, like your pc turning into mist to come through a door instead of just pulling the handle, and then we get an off-screen laughter.

Now I think the game is going to be a mix of this

and this

Concept of vampirism, or horror generally, is borderline comedic.

It was supposed to be erotic. But the best laid plans...

When I think back to VtMB and what made it work for me, was that it played the world straight, but was very self aware when talking to the audience. It knows it is extremely silly, but the characters in the game do not. To them, this is all very srs bsniss.

That is a tone that works with this setting. Serious, yet not serious. The voice acting nailed that tone as well. Serious, but not serious.

 

[JarlFrank]

That paragraph described the player pulling a lever and using a keycard to open a door. Is Doom an RPG now?

That describes things they will no longer be doing. Non-combat gameplay will be "things only a vampire can do," whatever that will be.

Pulling levers from a distance with vampire magic?

 

[Wesp5]

Pulling levers from a distance with vampire magic?

Similar things were already part of the HSL version where you had the Thinblood Telekinesis Discipline. Still you would loose blood and if people noticed you, it would break the Masquerade...

 

[harhar!]

Dev Diary Finally something

It reads very generic with lots off buzzwords. Compare it to the ChatGPT version below.

GPT3.5 Dev Diary

**Dev Diary: Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines**

*Intro:*

Welcome to the developer diary for *Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines*, an epic journey into the dark and mysterious world of vampires. In this diary, we will take you behind the scenes of the game's development, from the early stages of conception to the final moments of polish and refinement. Join us as we explore the challenges, inspirations, and aspirations that brought this immersive vampire RPG to life.

**Section 1: Making Bloodlines 2**

Creating a worthy successor to the cult classic *Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines* was no small feat. The first game, released in 2004, had a dedicated fanbase and an iconic status in the world of RPGs. We knew that living up to the legacy was essential, and so began the journey to make *Bloodlines 2*.

*Concept and Vision:* Our journey started with a deep dive into the World of Darkness lore, where the intricate politics of vampire society, the rich history of the clans, and the moral dilemmas of immortal beings fascinated us. We aimed to preserve the essence of the first game while expanding on the narrative, offering more choices, consequences, and opportunities for players to immerse themselves in this dark, urban fantasy world.

*Development Challenges:* Like any ambitious project, we faced our fair share of challenges. Navigating the expectations of passionate fans and adapting to modern gaming technologies while maintaining the game's unique atmosphere was a delicate balancing act. Overcoming technical hurdles, creating a branching narrative, and ensuring gameplay was true to the original's spirit took time and dedication from our talented team.

**Section 2: Feel Like a Vampire**

One of our primary goals was to make players truly feel like a vampire. To achieve this, we focused on several key aspects:

*Immersion:* We aimed to create a seamless, living world filled with NPCs, each with their own stories and agendas. The city of Seattle, with its dark alleys and hidden secrets, became the perfect backdrop. As a vampire, you would need to navigate the intricate web of vampire politics, forge alliances, and make life-or-death decisions.

*Vampire Abilities:* We spent extensive time developing the vampiric disciplines and abilities. Whether you wanted to mesmerize your prey with Dominate, scale walls with Parkour, or unleash your inner beast with Protean, we wanted players to feel the power and temptation of their supernatural gifts.

*Choices and Consequences:* The heart of the game was its branching narrative. Every decision you made, every alliance you formed, had consequences that rippled through the story. Embracing your inner monster or clinging to your humanity became central themes, and no two playthroughs were the same.

**Section 3: What’s Next?**

Thank you for joining us on this journey through the development of *Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2*. We can't wait to see you in the dark alleys of Seattle and witness the stories you'll create as a vampire in the World of Darkness. Stay tuned for more updates, and remember, the night is yours, but the Masquerade must be preserved.

 

[Delterius]

scale walls with Parkour

oh no not parkour it killed the wod mmo

 

[Harthwain]

oh no not parkour it killed the wod mmo

Huh? Why? I like parkour is certain games.

 

[Herumor]

oh no not parkour it killed the wod mmo

No, it didn't. WoD MMO was killed by CCP's incompetence.

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...-darkness-the-inside-story-mmo-ccp-white-wolf

My favorite bit is the following:

This constant build and rebuild approach meant massive issues in the development process. Features that were good enough to retain in one build had to be redesigned from scratch for the next because so many other interconnected parts had changed. Even when there was enough to play, internal testing revealed a confused and unfocused experience.

Most of the sources spoken to for this piece identified the same problematic CCP manager, who had little vision for what the finished game would look like.

“Not once could he answer any question about moment-to-moment gameplay or areas of focus,” says one source. “Instead, he preferred to deliver buzzword-laden rambles… It was not uncommon for him to communicate in onomatopoeia.

"I once saw him looking over the shoulder of a programmer at some bit of User Interface the poor guy had hacked together. He straightened up, put fingers to lips and said, ‘No, this isn't it at all. Make it more... psssshhhh’ He hissed on his fucking fingertips, like the air coming out of a bicycle tire, and then just walked away.”

 

[Tyranicon]

There are some interesting nuggets of information from the devblog, besides the usual boilerplate stuff.

With non-combat gameplay, we found early on we were doing the RPG tropes: find a keycard to open a door, turn on a generator to restore power to a lift. We put in a rule that the non-combat gameplay should be about something only a vampire could do; keep it aspirational.

And

When we were exploring combat, it started off playing like Dishonored (which we love), but that didn’t feel right for a vampire: players were very cautious and afraid of the enemies they encountered. To us, a Kindred should stalk its prey and strike fearlessly like a predator. We want to build an action experience where players feel confident, almost trolling the enemies with their disciplines.

This makes me assume that combat will be very easy against most enemies, with possibly the supernatural/hunters providing the challenge.

 

[Hellraiser]

This makes me assume that combat will be very easy against most enemies, with possibly the supernatural/hunters providing the challenge.

Well you are an elder.

 

[Tyranicon]

This makes me assume that combat will be very easy against most enemies, with possibly the supernatural/hunters providing the challenge.

Well you are an elder.

Setting the player as an elder is a very ambitious design choice and also a very interesting one, if they can pull it off.

I'm tired of loser vampires, especially those that have been kindred for a decade or more, and can still barely afford the clothes on their back (looks pointedly at Night Roads).

The classic vampire fantasy is that you're feared and powerful. Others should be the ones that dread interacting with you.

You're the meanest predator in the valley.

 

[NecroLord]

This makes me assume that combat will be very easy against most enemies, with possibly the supernatural/hunters providing the challenge.

Well you are an elder.

Setting the player as an elder is a very ambitious design choice and also a very interesting one, if they can pull it off.

I'm tired of loser vampires, especially those that have been kindred for a decade or more, and can still barely afford the clothes on their back (looks pointedly at Night Roads).

The classic vampire fantasy is that you're feared and powerful. Others should be the ones that dread interacting with you.

You're the meanest predator in the valley.

VTMB pulled that off spectacularly.
A freshly sired kindred (the player) slowly rising through the ranks and becoming a terror of LA.

 

[Jaesun]

VTMB pulled that off spectacularly.
A freshly sired kindred (the player) slowly rising through the ranks and becoming a terror of LA.

Yeah and then it put you in your place when you meet Mr. Werewolf. That motherfucker...

 

[NecroLord]

VTMB pulled that off spectacularly.
A freshly sired kindred (the player) slowly rising through the ranks and becoming a terror of LA.

Yeah and then it put you in your place when you meet Mr. Werewolf. That motherfucker...

Werewolves are a Kindred's worst nightmare. Even in Lore and Tabletop they are absolute killing machines.

 

[Harthwain]

The classic vampire fantasy is that you're feared and powerful. Others should be the ones that dread interacting with you.

You're the meanest predator in the valley.

The easiest way to pull that off is by limiting the player to interact with humans.

 

[The President]

The elder part does make character progression require plot points to explain. From a narrative point it’s odd as well as you have to have some backstory that happened as the character has been active as a vampire in the past.

Who knows how it would have ended up, but there was a certain appeal to starting as a thin blood and building yourself up. I do remember being pleased with how strong you can grow in the original game when you realize how weak you were to start off.

 

[Wesp5]

VTMB pulled that off spectacularly.
A freshly sired kindred (the player) slowly rising through the ranks and becoming a terror of LA.

Yeah and then it put you in your place when you meet Mr. Werewolf. That motherfucker...

And even before that they used the Ocean House to warn you about that you can't fight everything!

 

[Wesp5]

The elder part does make character progression require plot points to explain.

Or they just ignore it. Wasn't one of the main characters of Swansong and Elder and had to level up like everybody else from ridiculous stats?

 

[Häyhä]

VTMB pulled that off spectacularly.
A freshly sired kindred (the player) slowly rising through the ranks and becoming a terror of LA.

Yeah and then it put you in your place when you meet Mr. Werewolf. That motherfucker...

I'll never forget my first encounter with the Garou in Bloodlines:

*Playing a badass melee Brujah who has been chopping everyone to pieces up to this point and laughing along the way*

*Nines warns not to mess with the werewolf, gets eaten immediately after that*

*The other werewolf appears out of the burning woods*

Me: "Oooo, I ain't scared of you, mangy mutt!"

*activate my high-level Celerity and Potence, pull out my katana*

Me: "Come on you furry motherfucker, let's dance!"

*proceed to Jedi-run up to the werewolf slashing with super-human speed and strength*

*The Garou doesn't even pretend to care, rips my brave but very dumb Brujah to shreds in seconds*

Me: Holy shi-

*Reload*

*Werewolf appears again*

Me: "AAAAIIEEEEIEEEEIEE FUCKFUCKFUUUUCK WHAT DO I DOOOOO NINES HELP MEEEEE!!!" *Celerity-runs away in panic like a schoolgirl*

 

[Caim]

Yeah, Garou are bad news for just about anything you can think of in oWoD in a melee fight. Only a heavily geared mage, mummy or demon can stand up to even a half-decent werewolf. That's why you don't fight them head on.

There are some interesting nuggets of information from the devblog, besides the usual boilerplate stuff.

With non-combat gameplay, we found early on we were doing the RPG tropes: find a keycard to open a door, turn on a generator to restore power to a lift. We put in a rule that the non-combat gameplay should be about something only a vampire could do; keep it aspirational.

And

When we were exploring combat, it started off playing like Dishonored (which we love), but that didn’t feel right for a vampire: players were very cautious and afraid of the enemies they encountered. To us, a Kindred should stalk its prey and strike fearlessly like a predator. We want to build an action experience where players feel confident, almost trolling the enemies with their disciplines.

This makes me assume that combat will be very easy against most enemies, with possibly the supernatural/hunters providing the challenge.

If they take the "only solve non-combat problems in a way a vampire can" thing far enough it means that every time you encounter a locked door you have to do this:

 

[santino27]

Pulling levers from a distance with vampire magic?

Similar things were already part of the HSL version where you had the Thinblood Telekinesis Discipline. Still you would loose blood and if people noticed you, it would break the Masquerade...

It makes sense to use your abilities in situations where doing it the normal way wouldn't work (lever is behind a locked gate in the ultimate gamification example), but given the very existence of the Masquerade, it would be hilariously stupid if everything has to be done the vampire way. "No, I won't turn the handle and pull open the unlocked door... I will scale the wall like a spider monkey instead! Pay no attention to me, wandering humans!'

Edit: Shit, now they have me LARPing. GotY 2024, guaranteed.

 

[Storyfag]

Only a heavily geared mage, mummy or demon can stand up to even a half-decent werewolf.

Tzimisce Elders also could, so I would assume those of the other Clans would also find their ways.

 

[NecroLord]

Only a heavily geared mage, mummy or demon can stand up to even a half-decent werewolf.

Tzimisce Elders also could, so I would assume those of the other Clans would also find their ways.

Tremere fuckers with their Blood Magic could also do it.
But, yeah, a straight physical confrontation with a werewolf is brutal for a Kindred.

 

[Storyfag]

Only a heavily geared mage, mummy or demon can stand up to even a half-decent werewolf.

Tzimisce Elders also could, so I would assume those of the other Clans would also find their ways.

Tremere fuckers with their Blood Magic could also do it.

They are also Tzimisce, just in denial of the true nature of their Blood

 

[NecroLord]

Only a heavily geared mage, mummy or demon can stand up to even a half-decent werewolf.

Tzimisce Elders also could, so I would assume those of the other Clans would also find their ways.

Tremere fuckers with their Blood Magic could also do it.

They are also Tzimisce, just in denial of the true nature of their Blood

I wouldn't say that to a Tzimisce's face.
They can be very creative with their Vicissitude...
A lot of bad blood between Tremere and Tzimisce.

 

[Storyfag]

Only a heavily geared mage, mummy or demon can stand up to even a half-decent werewolf.

Tzimisce Elders also could, so I would assume those of the other Clans would also find their ways.

Tremere fuckers with their Blood Magic could also do it.

They are also Tzimisce, just in denial of the true nature of their Blood

I wouldn't say that to a Tzimisce's face.
They can be very creative with their Vicissitude...
A lot of bad blood between Tremere and Tzimisce.

Eh, for me it is obvious a Tzimisce knowledgeable in Clan history would say things like this, and perhaps even work on bringing the renegade bloodline back into the fold. Caputre a Tremere, force it to Embrace a Childe, then kill the Sire and educate the Childe as a Tzimisce. Odds are, the result would be a koldun.