Paradox Interactive and developer The Chinese Room have together released a new developer diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. This new one shows off how vampires and mortals see each other, with a tagline of “After all, if everyone is a vampire, then no one is.”
The trailer is headed up by Karim Muammar, the World of Darkness Head of Creative Management, and features a chance to “Meet Pandora Graves, Verona De Lancey, Mr. Lemon, and more in various in-game locations”.
Muammar says on the official blog: “What makes a vampire distinct? What transforms them from “alluring nocturnal wizards” to memorable creatures of horror, monsters in all but looks? Tonight, we take a look at this element: the mortals.
The characters you are about to see are all caught up in Seattle’s vampire underworld in one way or another. Most are unaware, thinking their misfortune the result of bad luck rather than the interference of vampires. Such is the way of the Masquerade.”
Muammar adds: “To achieve the stark contrasts essential to gothic horror fiction, the vampire must be viewed through the attraction, addiction, and terror they inspire. Every mortal is a lens through which the audience — and player — sees a sliver of the vampire as they appear to the living world.
They are the canvas on which the Kindred wield their bloody brush, for to be a vampire is to possess terrible powers, allowing one to use and abuse people as tools, food, and pleasure. (Of course, the ratio of these three also says something about a vampire’s moral nature.) Most of all, mortals elevate the vampire experience, providing the backdrop against which the undead stand in bloody relief.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.
