I know someone who worked on this before the project was overhauled for the umpteenth time. They told me that one of the leads from the og game was fired for his bizarre fixation about his ex wife, and slipping 2000's Era jokes and boomer anti-ex wife jokes into his script.
Also, the game just wasn't fun.
Wait, was the og you're talking about Brian Mitsoda? He was the lead narrative designer and (as far as I know) the only veteran from the first game who worked on the sequel. He got fired around 2020, also apparently has a thing with his ex-wife.
Didn't realize he was an asshat, but it makes sense. There's sometimes a creepy dudebro vibe in the first game.
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The man has a problem with women, especially his ex wife.
Bloodlines is an incredibly hard game to get right. Everyone on the team is passionate, but the priorities are split. Younger writers trying to collaborate with Gen X gamer veterans.
I hope it turns out good. Thats all I can say. Vid gives me dishonored vibes during the combat.
Asian vampire lady featured prominently in the trailer
West Coast city divided against itself
This is just gonna be European Vampires vs Kuei-Jin yellow peril bullshit from the last game isn't it?
Yeah, as much as I love the first game, I can't deny two things: It's racist and it's too horny. Despite taking place in Los Angeles, there's only one Latino character with a name: Nines Rodriguez. And the last third of the game is a literal yellow peril plot with scary Asian vampires who can't be trusted by anyone. And they all talk with racist stereotypical accents. Allying with the Kuei-jin is one of the worst endings too.
spoiler
The Anarchs and Camarilla will all attack you on sight if you ally with the Kuei-jin, and then you're betrayed anyway and you're thrown into the ocean.
spoiler
o7 to Comrade Smilin Jack, amirite?
This game is going to either suck horribly or be so far from what the first game was about that it would be a sequel in name only. Decent chance it will both suck horribly and be so far from what the first game was about that it would be a sequel in name only.
I lost my hope for Bloodlines 2 with the new devs coming in. Zero faith it'd have any of what drew me to Bloodlines in the first place
I don't know what the full game will be like, but the trailer definitely doesn't have that same whimsical nihilistic vibe as VtMB 1. I know it's a trailer meant to get you hyped, but most of it's just combat or exploration. The meat of VtMB 1 was the dialogue and the decisions you could make along the storyline. Also a hallmark of a good game's writing is moral ambiguity. The Anarchs aren't the good guys, the Camarilla aren't the good guys, because vampires aren't good guys. You're a weird monster barely trying to maintain the guise of being human, but this trailer for Bloodlines 2 is like slow motion punching and slamming guys against walls. That looks awesome. But it's too awesome. I wanna play a Vampire game to feel like shit and hate myself. (being sincere here )
If I had a nickel for every time I watched a bloodlines 2 trailer for the first time and was promised it would come out in a year I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but its weird that its happened twice.
Im hoping to be pleasantly surprised but it has had an extremely troubled development. Hope they stick the landing but I’m not banking on it or anything
Brian Mitsoda was a narrative designer on the previous dev team, he was the lead writer of the first game. But who knows how much of his work is left over in this new iteration.
This is something I desperately want to be good. I love the WoD setting and I don't think it's been given much of a fair shake in games.
Yeah I remember there was some issues between him and whoever calls the shots I guess so I’m kind of expecting a lot of his work to be redone but I suppose we’ll see
I’m right there with you, the og is one of my fav games and vtm was the first ttrpgs I ever played. Fingers crossed but usually games that have been in development hell come out kinda half baked. I’m cautiously optimistic tho
first person bad i want to see my hot vampire ass going feral on cops
If it's like the first game it'll be both first-person and third-person
i don't assume it till i see it anymore, fuking cyberpunk & outer worlds both did that "game you'd completely expect to have 3rd person but didn't"
Yeah third person is also better for people who get motion sickness. Should be an option in most games where it's feasible
First off just wanna say I have played through VTM:B I think six times in total, sadly I don't think I ever played the Unofficial patch. It's truly one of my favorite RPGs of all time. It's a great game.
That said I have genuinely little faith in the sequel. I don't even think I'm being cynical about big box AAA RPGs and all that jazz, I just don't think this specific project is going to meet expectations. It has had a long and weird development and not in "they overcame impossible odds" sorts of endearing way. Just plain production and development issues.
I think the heat scars of development hell will leave this game creatively all over the place. They lost key staff at the old studio, the old studio had organization switch ups, switched publishers, lost key staff again, and then the game then switched developers. I'm not saying a good game can't come out of this sort of development, but I don't think a cohesive creative vision can. This especially concerning for me as this is a game were tone and mood are paramount to the fantasy fun factor.
I think a great VTM:B style is needed now more than ever and I think most players would really dig it. I especially think younger katz will really like how WoD games are all about forging new understandings self/identity with weird makeshift families will raging against existing often unjust hierarchies. However, I feel like the news surrounding this project since its announcement make me feel like were going to get a "just release something" sort of title. Any MEGACORP AAA publisher like Paradox probably wants this mess offer their books. Again I'm not trying to be cynical or salty.
yeah The Chinese Room may be a good fit but who knows. there's a minuscule ray of hope but its a very difficult act to follow under the best of circumtances... and development has not been under the best circumstances
now im kinda confident the game will at least be released.
Tabletop, DnD, board games, and minecraft. Also Animal Crossing.
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