Using the brand name appeal of an existing IP is pointless and probably detrimental. Firstly, it's just a glorified recitation of irrelevant factoids that nerds jizz over but which mean nothing to a general audience. Secondly, investing in it is pointless because it will be constantly fucked with by corpos and writer turnover until it loses everything that originally attracted you to it. Thirdly, saying your product is branded after a glorified recitation of irrelevant factoids isn't a substitute for actual substance like gameplay and storytelling. Fourthly, it strangles creativity out of the market by taking away resources that could be invested in new IPs that aren't crushed under the weight of decades of writer turnover and other fuckery.
I don't know why you quoted me because a) it's got nothing to do with what I said, and b) you're completely wrong. The entire reality of the entertainment industry proves that brand recognition is neither pointless nor detrimental.
There is no vampire, dark fantasy, or urban fantasy story that cannot be told in the world of darkness. There is no reason to invest in a new IP unless you don't want an in-built audience for it, or if you don't own an IP of your own. Paradox does. Ergo they'll tell stories set in the world of darkness.
You're only rendered even more wrong considering that this thread is filled with Bloodlines fans. So there goes the point about 'irrelevant factoids' (which nobody cares about and aren't relevant even in a tabletop campaign) or 'creativity strangling'. Unless of course you'd like to argue that Bloodlines itself sucks, at which point I'll just discard your opinion twice. Case in point:
Bloodlines is remembered because of its colorful characters and funny situations, made by Troika. Troika could've invented an original IP and the game would've been just as well-regarded.
That is wrong on the face of it. Of course. Since Troika were the like to make the games they wanted to make and Bloodlines and the wider WoD is what got them going in the first place. Troika are the ones who decided to make Arcanum, to set their D&D game in Greyhawk and to close their studio because they didn't feel like doing mercenary work. But if you sincerely believe that, then making Bloodlines 2 is neither pointless nor detrimental. It strangles no one's creativity. If it did then Troika wouldn't have been able to achieve what Bloodlines is. Even in that maximalist (and unrealistic) scenario, the game would be standing on it's own. So it goes back to all the advantages one has when using an estabilished setting.
I'd also like to reiterate the point that even tabletop campaigns set in the World of Darkness rarely mess with high level lore stuff. People generally focus on, hell, just a gothic punk version of the neighborhoods they live in. Foot-soldiers of the Camarilla don't deal with world ending threats. So the nerd high level meta-lore you seem to dislike so much doesn't even come into consideration. Just as it barely does in the Shadowrun games and Bloodlines itself.
Lastly, Bloodlines is much more than just a vampire plotline. It is the animations, the artwork, the art design, the uniqueness of the setting, the rarity of the genre, the voice directing by Rik Schaffer's wife, Schaffer's soundtrack. It's so many things working together in tandem that the idea of it being hampered because the setpieces are from a tabletop game is insane. To me at least. A good team will deliver a good story in nearly
anyone's worldbuilding.
!
