This month, the mysterious Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has crept onto the cover of our magazine. We had been in a position to get unique hands-on time and interviews with the builders at The Chinese language Room, together with artwork director Ben Matthews, who informed us in regards to the recreation’s particular setting: Seattle at Christmas time.
Bloodlines 2 was initially in growth below Hardsuit Labs, however after a collection of delays and a few high-profile departures, the sport was moved to The Chinese language Room, a studio identified for video games like Pricey Esther and Still Wakes the Deep. The studios are tight-lipped on how the switch-over really went down, however an out of doors observer can simply spot some components that had been preserved from the Hardsuit Labs model and used within the present recreation. The setting is probably the obvious; you’ll be able to see Christmas lights on the streets of Seattle in trailers for the old version shown at E3 2019.
When The Chinese language Room took over, it was basically given the choice to begin recent, and in lots of areas, it did. For instance, the protagonist was a younger thinblood, however The Chinese language Room determined to pivot and give attention to an Elder vampire, Phyre, who’s 400 years previous. The vacation Seattle setting remained, nevertheless. Once I ask Matthews about placing the sport right now and place, he says it is “a pleasant hook.”
“It is that good juxtaposition of jovial, human world towards darkish, vampire world,” he says, citing the sport’s opening. Phyre begins off in an previous, deteriorating constructing and emerges to see the brilliant Seattle skyline. Phyre has been asleep for 100 years, so it makes for a jarring reawakening. “Elder Phyre, modern-day Christmas Seattle,” Matthews says. “I believe that is a very nice juxtaposition to begin the sport.”
Seattle’s vivid, vacation streets.
Matthews goes on to say that it is not only a narrative transfer; that distinction is a number one philosophy of the sport’s general visible language. “I believe one factor we discovered actually early on within the growth of the sport, by way of the artwork path, was making an attempt to separate the darkish from the sunshine, each metaphorically and bodily,” he says. “Loads of the streets are actually sort of brightly lit, as a result of that is the place the human world is. However the place the vampire world is, the place you as a participant, or as a vampire, need to sort of do your nasty issues, is within the darkness.”
Having performed the sport myself, I can attest to this. The streets are peppered with multicolored lights that replicate off vivid, white snow. The alleys, however, that are unlit and undecorated, attraction to my instincts as somebody who enjoys stealth video games. The titular Masquerade is a rule that every one vampires should conceal their skills from the eyes of mortals, so if you wish to make use of the sport’s vast loadout of vampiric powers, you may should get off the streets.
The trash fireplace is the one supply of sunshine on this alley.
“One factor we actually wished to concentrate to was amount of element over scope,” Matthews says of the sport’s depiction of Seattle. Certainly, the participant does not get free roam throughout your complete metropolis – get too near the map’s outskirts and the model on Phyre’s hand will forestall you from leaving. “We’re not making GTA; this is not a giant, open world, sprawling recreation the place the horizon is your restrict. That was one thing we actually paid consideration to, to attempt to make every part as dense [as possible].”
The workforce is very enthusiastic about its depiction of Seattle’s Pioneer Sq.. Artistic director Alex Skidmore visited the placement in individual, saying, “I believe my mind could not perceive […] I am seeing this daily at work, and now I am right here as an individual. […] I believe we have it spot on.”
Not like Hardsuit Labs, which is predicated in Seattle, The Chinese language Room is predicated in Brighton, England, so the analysis course of wasn’t so simple as stepping outdoors for a stroll. Whereas Matthews by no means had an opportunity to go himself, Skidmore made the journey and gathered numerous materials to reference.
An alley in Bloodlines 2 has fireplace escapes galore.
“I took fairly just a few images,” Skidmore says. “I keep in mind the principle images had been of the alleyways. And once you play the sport, you’ll be able to climb up on, like, ducting and air vents and stuff. I keep in mind initially speaking to individuals [who were] going, ‘Is there that many air ducts and pipes in alleyways?’ And I used to be simply taking footage, like, ‘Sure, sure,’ discovering masses and a great deal of examples.”
Fortunately, the artwork workforce additionally had entry to a a lot bigger assortment of reference images.
“Google Maps is an excellent useful resource,” Matthews says, smiling. “We had so many bookmarks on Google Maps of the place something was.”
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is out this October on PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, and PC. For extra on the sport, you’ll be able to watch or listen to the most recent episode of the Game Informer show or learn our 14-page cowl story by subscribing to the magazine.