Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 News

Our Dev Diary schedule continues from August 14th, where we'll go into details about our Dialogue Choice System, with a look into the code we use for it.

• August 14th 2024 - DD #15: Dialogue Choice System
  
• August 28th 2024 - DD #16: The Camarilla
  
• September 11th 2024 - DD #17: The Anarchs
  

As summer approaches we wanted to fill you in on a few processes and reflections our team is grappling with. So much going on right now!

[h2]Audio[/h2]
“One aspect I’ve been enjoying about working on Bloodlines 2 from an audio perspective was imagining how a vampire perceives the world around them. A favourite moment of mine was weaving past moments into the soundscape as if we could hear the past itself. While it might sound a bit corny, I enjoyed playing with the idea of being an ancient being capable of sensing beyond their own time. In an abstract way, it added a supernatural feeling to the game rather than just providing linear sound design for the visual world.
I also really enjoyed how the entire audio team were so dedicated into carving out this unique sounding character and world together. We would always present work, give critiques and just refine as much as possible. I am certain Bloodlines 2 will have a truly unique sound when it releases, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the audio team.”

- The Chinese Room’s Sound Designer Corry Young


[h2]Concept Art[/h2]
Nix
“Here are some experimentations of Nix whom you'll meet in the underground. Although more integrated to the human side of civilisation, we wanted to maintain some of the animalistic feral nature hallmark to the Gangrel clan in her design.”

- The Chinese Room’s Junior Concept Artist Isobel Hine

Pioneer Square Concepts
“In these concepts we were exploring the look and feel of the Pioneer Square section of the city. We were tasked with making sure this area of the city feels cold, atmospheric and is bathed in neon light. One of the main focuses of our art direction is making sure we’re always leaning into this neo-noir look for our world, a high contrast visual identity that is brooding and moody. Additionally, we were tasked with putting together several shopfront ideas that could appear throughout this area of the city.”

- The Chinese Room’s Art Director John McCormack and Lead Concept Artist Michele Nucera

- The Chinese Room’s Senior Concept Artist Jordan Grimmer and Lead Concept Artist Michele Nucera

Financial District Concepts
“Like above, we were also briefed with exploring the look of the financial area of our city. With this we wanted to go in a very different direction, leaning heavily on a more cyan colour palette with high, glass front buildings. We wanted to make sure every area of Seattle feels distinct and instantly recognizable.”

- The Chinese Room’s Lead Concept Artist Michele Nucera

[h2]Code / Programming[/h2]
“Time for an update from code. The team have been working hard on getting the city experience working well. We have been putting the MassAI framework of Unreal 5 through its paces, it’s a new system for simulating crowds and we’ve used it for the pedestrian simulation in our rendition of the streets of Seattle. By leveraging the smart object system, we've created interactive elements for pedestrians, such as cash machines and park benches.
But, the crowds also need to chatter as we can’t have everyone walk around in complete silence. We’ve extended our banter system to allow groups of pedestrians and enemy NPCs to talk to each other, enabling general contextual chat about the world and reactions to you as you complete the missions.
We’ve also been extending the combat system to allow many NPCs to fight, and for pedestrians to fight too with a just-in-time switch from the MassAI system to regular instanced characters, and we’ve made them able to fight each other when the circumstances are right – it’s very entertaining.
Other than that we’ve been working hard on optimising the game to run on consoles and keeping the framerate solid on PCs, and the memory footprint small.”

- The Chinese Room’s Technical Director Nick Slaven

[h2]Design[/h2]
“For my Quests, I like to lean into the protagonist's nature as an outsider in a foreign land. Seattle may at first seem inconsequential to an Elder Vampire but, powerful as you are, you're still at the bottom of the ladder. Phyre must quickly react to a Kindred power structure in chaos and the early missions in the city reflect this.

Rejection by those in power would mean certain befalling, and so Phyre must prove their worthiness to Seattle's elite. Many of my quests follow this thread of pressure being applied to our protagonist. For players to run the gauntlet through Seattle, deciding which relationships to nurture and which to break.
Seattle is frozen in time under a blanket of snow, waiting for a new leader to emerge. Phyre is weakened and in need of both allies and answers. The weakest soldiers on the street, the Courts, and even the Cops will present challenges for players to navigate, or maybe just straight-up punch in the mouth. Our more open areas present players with more of a choice in their approach to combat and we've taken great care in crafting slick traversal options that reinforce that. Can't wait to show you more!"

- The Chinese Room’s Junior Level Designer Jack Goddard

“In the last Dev Diary, I mentioned how we build our levels to support the game’s awesome traversal system. This time, I’d like to dive deeper into this and some other key considerations when designing levels for Bloodlines 2.

Traversal Mechanics
Let's start with traversal. When designing our spaces, we consider numerous factors to allow you to make the most of your Kindred abilities. Many of our environments would have been built for humans in Seattle, but you are a powerful Vampire, and our spaces need to support this. We have created multiple paths, some that are accessible by humans and some of which are only accessible through using your unique movements, enhancing both gameplay variety and immersion. However, using these vampiric abilities can risk breaking the Masquerade, so these paths are designed to be used discreetly, ensuring you remain hidden from prying human eyes.

Space Purpose
The purpose of each space greatly influences its design. Are you likely to be fighting enemies here? If so, the area will look and feel vastly different from one meant for exploration or storytelling. Combat zones are crafted to support various playstyles, from stealth to brawling, and we sometimes design areas to encourage a particular approach to keep gameplay dynamic.

Narrative and Exploration
For spaces focused on story and exploration, our approach shifts. Here, the goal is to provide opportunities for discovery and to guide you towards interesting moments organically. These environments are meant to contrast with combat-heavy areas, offering a slower pace. These spaces invite you to linger and delve deeper into the lore of our world.

Balancing the Experience
Finally, while each space is carefully crafted to fulfill its specific role, we also ensure a balanced mix throughout the game. The interplay between fast-paced action areas and more serene, narrative-rich environments keeps the gameplay experience fresh and engaging.
In summary, our level design philosophy revolves around maximizing the potential of your Vampire abilities, tailoring spaces to their intended purpose, and maintaining a balanced and engaging pace throughout the game. We can’t wait for you to experience the world we’ve built in Bloodlines 2.”

- The Chinese Room’s Level Designer Amy Lee

[h2]Production[/h2]
“We are recording!
My role in Production supports the cinematics and interactive dialogue pipeline, collaborating with the Narrative team to deliver scripts to the VO studio and planning the workflow with the animation team. This involves a lot of spreadsheets, Miro boards, and multiple overlapping schedules. Despite the logistical challenges, it’s incredibly rewarding when recording starts and we see our nighttime Seattle residents come to unlife—sometimes in unexpected ways!
A crucial step in the process is ensuring everyone involved understands the dialogue branches and character reactions to player choices, maintaining consistent performance across branches. Watching our VO Director and talented cast navigate these complex branches and deliver is truly inspiring.
I feel incredibly fortunate to see this process through. It's exactly why I joined TCR: to bring engaging narratives to life. I’m thrilled for everyone to interact with these wonderful characters.
I've experienced everything from laughter to shivers during some of the VO sessions, and I can’t wait for people to enjoy them just as much as I’ve enjoyed witnessing them.”

- The Chinese Room’s Producer Lee Clarke

We're taking a Summer break but will return with more Dev Diaries in August! Feel free to join us on Discord or follow us on social media: Bloodlines 2 Twitter, Bloodlines 2 Facebook, and Instagram.

Summer’s here so we figured it’d be a good time to pull back the curtain a bit and show you how a game like Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is made. This month we’ll give you a couple of glimpses into how the magic becomes a game. In this post we’re focusing on the atmosphere of the game: Concept Art, Level Design, Lighting and Audio.

[h2]Concept Art[/h2]
“For quite a while the Concept Team was working on an Underground area - exploring mood and tone for that section of the game. It took quite a bit of time since it's incredibly detailed. Once everyone was happy with our concepts, we decided to move on to one of the core locations of our city: Weaver Tower, the headquarters of the Seattle Camarilla.

We already had a basic layout for this area, so we focused on the entrance hall first. This is a large and striking space and solving the architecture and lighting fit was a fun task for the Concept Team. After this, we moved onto secondary places like corridors and rooms. We used the Entrance Hall as a main reference for what we wanted to achieve.

Like every location, Weaver Tower needed some unique features. We wanted to have something both mysterious, yet ancient feeling. Naturally, the real world provides the best inspiration, and the meticulous care and time it takes for bonsai trees to develop is where we gravitated towards. However, we also wanted it to feel different. So by juxtaposing the organic form of the tree, we designed it to be made of thousands of brass wires seemingly erupting from a Smokey quartz. All of which was achieved in Unreal Engine 5 to really get an established idea of how these statues fit in the space and create the most impact for players. We hope you’ll enjoy browsing around these spaces!”


⁃ Text - Junior Concept Artist Isobel Hine.
⁃ Image 1 & 2 - Isobel Hine.
⁃ Image 3 – Lead Concept Artist Michele Nucera.

[h2]Level Design[/h2]
“As a Level Designer, I love working on spaces that evoke a range of powerful emotional experiences for the player. I've been exploring how we can best achieve this, while collaborating with our other departments. I am very excited to see your reactions!

Recently I’ve been working on an early level in the game, where I focussed on how we can encourage player learning, and how we can help you to feel confident when playing our game. We also want to build levels that support a variety of playstyles, to make sure that you can play as your chosen Clan.
As a Vampire, we want you to be able to embrace your supernatural movement options. Our levels have been carefully crafted in a way that will allow you to experiment and have fun with our traversal system, and in some places, be challenged.

I can’t wait for you all to play!”


⁃ Level Designer Amy Lee

“In Bloodlines 2 my main focus is to guide you through the cold and looming backdrop that our Design and Environment Art teams have meticulously crafted over the past few years. These quests, set in our nocturnal version of Seattle, allow you to delve into the lives of its many Kindred inhabitants.
Taking place after pivotal moments in the main questline, these adventures will offer you the chance to explore Seattle at your own pace. You will be visiting its Clan leaders, keeping the competition at bay and making decisions that will affect the outcome of your journey as Phyre. These are stuffed with Narrative and lore and I'll be taking you from the depths of the underground to the snow-capped high-rise rooftops.

Having so many great moments of Bloodlines 2's story under my care has always felt like a big responsibility. I am happy to report however, that working with the Narrative team has been wonderful, and bouncing ideas off of them has been some of the most fun I've had here at TCR. I look forward to heading into the night with all of you all, but for now I have more public spaces to deface.”


⁃ Junior Level Designer Jack Goddard

[h2]Lighting[/h2]
“Lighting plays a central role in reinforcing the style, atmosphere of – and most importantly, immersion into – a game world. It can elevate, transform and enrich a simple environment into something much more than the sum of its parts.

The original Bloodlines is iconic for its atmosphere and sense of nostalgia, in part due to how it aptly captured the cultures and attitudes felt at the turn of the millennium. With Bloodlines 2 we wanted our atmosphere to resonate through the same blood-soaked spectacles, but to show the world as it is now.
These nights, many cities have undergone what would look from the outside like a glow-up. Things are shiny and new, flawless, stripped of anything that might bely their history and heritage. Not because we ourselves are flawless, but because we've become better at hiding our monstrosity. But the brighter the light, the darker the shadow. And the more vibrant that light, the more pressing the darkness that seeks to swallow it.

With this in mind, the tenets of Neo-Noir work hand-in-hand with our desire to create an atmosphere of deception and intrigue. Neo-Noir places a strong emphasis on silhouette, form and negative-space to create striking, stylish scenes that have an inviting yet threatening ambience.
Seattle at night is a dangerous place with a diverse range of environments and districts all with their own unique personality. The Lighting team have been working hard to ensure these areas feel enticing, seductive and immersive.”


⁃ Senior Lighting Artist Freddie Pitcher

[h2]Narrative[/h2]
“It is simply a tad too early to reveal what I’m working on right this minute, but I figured perhaps you’d enjoy hearing about how we as Writers create Ambience in games. Something perhaps players don’t think of much (means we did our job right!), but that is still a big part of the overall experience. “Ambients” are the sounds you hear in the game outside of roleplay conversations; this can range from short lines you might hear from a passing NPC to situation-specific enemy dialogue. They're a vital part of developing the game's soundscape to help it feel like a fully fleshed-out world.

It's a process that involves close communication between Level Design and Narrative Design. Getting the ambients right requires understanding every fight, every location, every NPC, and writing unique dialogue to fit. How many enemies are there in this fight? Do they all appear at once or do they come in waves? Why is that NPC here? If you lurk before approaching, can you learn their motivation? Does eavesdropping on them give you a hint for where to go next? What can you learn about the wider world by listening to them?

Ambients are a perfect opportunity for world building, we give each NPC their own personality and a brief look into their life, no matter how minor a part they play. So while it's fun for the player to get a glimpse into their world, ambients really reinforce just that: this is their world. So Phyre (and by extension, the player) is just a small part of it.

Our team mould these around the traversal of the world while accounting for various playstyles; a player who favours stealth might overhear an entire enemy conversation, while a player who prefers to brawl might jump right into the fray and cut off all but the first line. We then move on to implementing every piece just so, to ensure it triggers at exactly the right moment, giving the player an immersive experience that feels alive and natural.

Thanks a lot for reading about this part of game development!”

⁃ Games Writer Cherish Goldstraw

[h2]Sound[/h2]
Hi, all! I've created a few behind the scenes videos showing the process of recording some of the sounds for VtM:B2. I used a variety of different microphone types and techniques to capture close detailed recordings of various textures which would work well for the blood and gore in BL2. I then processed these recordings to bring out the finer details of the sounds to help create a hyper-realistic sonic aesthetic for them bone-crunchy moments in the game.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
⁃ Sound Designer Marcus Bagshawe

See you in two weeks for another sneak peek like this, before we break for summer holidays. In the meantime, do be sure to join our Discord or follow us on socials! Bloodlines 2 Twitter, Bloodlines 2 Facebook & Instagram.

The Clan of Kings, Blue Bloods, Tyrants, Warlords, Patricians, Borgias

Ventrue vampires usually choose their progeny from mortals familiar with power, wealth and influence. Seeing themselves as the rightful leaders of vampire society, Kindred of clan Ventrue take up the mantle of leadership wherever possible, often in the form of high positions in Camarilla Courts.



[h2]Playing a Ventrue in Bloodlines 2[/h2]
Ventrue are blue blooded tyrants who incite obedience in both their allies and their foes. Focusing on the Discipline Dominate, Ventrue forces their prey to obey their command to fight their friends, forget what they’ve seen or even kill themselves. Feeding builds up Fortitude, allowing the Ventrue to soak up more damage in case any enemy is powerful enough to resist their force of will.

[h2]Abilities[/h2]
When you choose your clan, you will start out with a passive ability unique to each clan. You are then able to unlock abilities from the Ability Tree, starting with your chosen clan. Each ability requires spending Ability Points to unlock which are earned from completing missions, combat and exploration. At the peak of the Ability Tree, you can unlock the clan Perk, a reward to those dedicated enough to unlock all of the abilities for a clan, giving a permanent passive upgrade.

[h3]Flesh of Marble[/h3]
Clan Passive: Feeding hardens your skin, making you highly resistant to damage.
[h3]Cloud Memory[/h3]
Cause a target to forget you were there, putting them into a relaxed state.


[h3]Possession[/h3]
Possess an opponent, allowing you to see through their eyes for a period. While possessed, the target can be commanded to attack another person.


[h3]Terminal Decree[/h3]
Use your powers of Dominate to command someone to kill themselves.


[h3]Mass Manipulation[/h3]
Subdues enemies within your gaze, preventing them from attacking. Dominate abilities will affect all subdued opponents while Mass Manipulation is active.


[h3]Thirst[/h3]
Clan Perk: Increases the amount of health restored by feeding.

[h2]Customizing your playstyle[/h2]
There are many different ways to play your character in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. Ventrue rely on the rise-and-fall mechanics of their Layered Fortitude, building up a defense to take on stronger opponents, while using abilities to dominate weaker foes and make them fight their friends or even kill themselves. Each clan has a straightforward way of playing, and does not require ability optimization. At the same time, if you want to, you can customize your playstyle by visiting certain important vampires throughout Seattle, who are sworn to assist you by offering their Blood to help you unlock abilities from their Clan.

Abilities from other clans may cost more AP depending on how well they align with your clans Disciplines. The Ventrue Disciplines are Dominate (the supernatural ability to control others) Fortitude (the ability to resist physical and mental attacks) and Presence (the supernatural ability to attract, awe, or terrify). If a Ventrue would try to unlock the Brujah ability Taunt, which is part of the Presence Discipline, it would cost less AP, than if they attempt to unlock an ability from a Discipline they don’t already have, such as Obfuscate. Unlocking additional Clan Perks will make them stack, so you can collect them all if you wish, elevating your power much closer to elder level.

Activated abilities and the Clan Perks can be learned from the other clans, but your clan passive can not. This means that while you can combine abilities and features from other clans in hundreds of different ways, your Ventrue playthrough will remain different from playing as another clan who branches into Ventrue abilities.


Image: Ability tree for Ventrue with all clan abilities and the clan perk are unlocked. The Banu Haqim ability Split Second has been equipped, replacing Possession.

Picture a group of stylish, ambitious vampires, each with a hunger for authority that matches their thirst for blood. That's Clan Ventrue for you - vampires with a taste for power, prestige, and opulence. Our team had a blast bringing their aristocratic grandeur and ambition to life in the game. Equally at home in the corridors of corporate power and the halls of high society, the Ventrue embody leadership, strategy, and a refined decadence. Whether they're making deals in the boardroom or dominating the nightlife scene, the Blue Bloods always maintain their iron grip on power.

[h3]Designing modern Ventrue for Tabletop[/h3]
Just like the Brujah, the Ventrue are a foundational archetype both in Vampire: The Masquerade’s clan assembly as well as in wider vampire fiction. They represent the vampire as the aristocratic leader — classy, regal, and inhumanly majestic. Many silver screen depictions of Dracula would fit well in this clan, as would any number of his derivatives. Before Anne Rice, the Ventrue represented what most people would consider a classical vampire.

Taking the Blue Bloods into the fifth edition was therefore comparatively easy, as the clan has had a solid identity from its first appearance in 1991, never relying on gimmick powers or tangled setting elements. Their arsenal of Disciplines paint a clear picture of the kind of ruler they represent: Presence to incite awe, Dominate to enforce obedience, and — if the previous would fail — Fortitude to withstand retaliation. A true Ventrue commands from the front, but that is also their weakness.

While Ventrue vampires are no strangers to hierarchies, their tradition of Embracing mortals already used to being obeyed often creates brittle power structures with too many leaders and not enough followers. To many Blue Bloods the throne is more important than what it represents, and more than one Ventrue Prince has met final death because they would rather lead in defeat than triumph as a lackey.
– Karim Muammar, Designer of Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition and Brand Editor for the World of Darkness


[h3]Fletcher[/h3]
“I have two rules: no sneakers, and if you must rip someone to pieces, do it outside. These are original floorboards, you understand.”

You’ll find Fletcher to be extremely polite and well-mannered - as ruthless sociopaths go. He owns several venues throughout Seattle, but you're most likely to run into him in the Makom Bar, tickling the ivories and rubbing shoulders with the other Blue-Bloods.

Educated, intelligent and congenial, you might enjoy Fletcher’s lively conversation, but you’d be wise not to let his affable veneer fool you. He's a Great White amongst lesser sharks, an old hand at vampire politics, and has survived more than one Prince of Seattle.

[h3]Writing the Ventrue[/h3]
“Our design process for Fletcher was to start with the role we needed him to play in the story, in Seattle and in Kindred Society, and shape his personality accordingly. We already knew that the Ventrue would have a deep and long-running grasp on the city, and it takes more players than a Prince to achieve that - Fletcher is neither a king nor a pawn; he’s more of a rook. We always know he is being maneuvered by higher-ranking Kindred, but he also gives us opportunities to explore the history and lore of Seattle and the Camarilla– all wrapped up in a smarmy bastard who’s a hell of a lot of fun to write.”
– Cherish Goldstraw, Writer

[h3]Combat Discipline Design[/h3]
For Ventrue’s approach to combat, we wanted to lean into a feeling of superiority and domination. It means nothing to always be superior, though, so you start off at a disadvantage. Ventrue's capabilities in combat aren’t as strong as some other clans, and so you’ll likely need to start out on the lower end of the food chain, staying out of sight and using spoken commands to keep your hands clean. As they feed, their fortitude strengthens- Ventrue's passive turns their skin to marble, so the more blood they have the more resistant to damage they become. This lets you take much nastier opponents head on and allows the use of Ventrue’s more devastating Dominate powers- where once you were skulking in the shadows, now you are an unstoppable god who can kill with words alone! This rise-and-fall fight mechanic is the main draw of the Ventrue’s playstyle, and should be well suited to players who want to keep things varied, or maybe just seek an absurd level of power...
– Max Bottomley, Senior Game Designer

[h3]What do Ventrue sound like?[/h3]
In creating the Audio landscape for the Ventrue, our team did ponder for a while what sound would emit that power and domination that are central to this clan’s identity. So to sonically portray that commanding presence, we decided it'd be cool to incorporate the resonant, authoritative tones of steel and metal. The sharp, unsettling screeches of dragging metal, the entire spectrum of the available sounds there, they reflect the Ventrue’s manipulative prowess, control, and rule. The players can almost feel the weight of the Ventrue’s influence as they navigate the game.
– Marcus Bagshawe, Sound Designer


[h3]What do Ventrue look like?[/h3]
Commanding influence and timeless elegance – these were the key aspects to reflect in our visualisation of the Ventrue clan. The haunting presence of Hannibal Lecter – the entrapment of his eyes; the ethereal, almost unnatural grace of Tolkien’s Galadriel; characters and quiet luxury from HBO’s Succession – these all were hung on our mood boards for the clan.

The portrayal of Ventrue involved us merging influences from ancient nobility fused with modern high-end fashion. The Ventrue's attire features large, intricate overcoats and contemporary styles, all crafted from lush materials that reflect their elevated status, their longstanding heritage of command. These become more than just garments, but a real declaration – one must know who’s in charge here.
Their mere body language, the way they hold themselves – the player can sense their reputation of honour precedes them. What make Ventrue stand out from many other clans is their ability to rule by their voice and presence alone. You can affect singular or multiple people with one full command of your voice or a look.

The Ventrue's power wear is designed not only for impact, but for functionality, too, be it a corporate boardroom or a clandestine gathering. Emphasising their role as the aristocrats of the vampire society, our visual representations marry traditional high nobility with the cutthroat nature of corporate power structures. The Ventrue stand out as both a beacon of old-world aristocracy and modern-day leadership, dominating any room they enter, whether through the subtle art of persuasion or good ol’ physical power.
- Ben Matthews, Associate Art Director