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00:05Hello everyone, we're very excited to show you gameplay of Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 today.
00:11I'm Josh, the Community Manager for The Chinese Room.
00:15Hi, I'm Alex, I'm Project Creative Director on Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2.
00:19Bloodlines 2 is a first-person action RPG where you get to embody an elder vampire called Fire.
00:28Could you tell us what clan we're going to be playing as today?
00:31Yeah, so today we're going to be playing as Bruja.
00:34And they have supernatural speed and strength, but they're also known to sometimes lose their temper.
00:41So when we go through the dialogue trees, we'll be picking the more aggressive and intimidating options.
00:47Great, and could you tell us the context for the mission that we're about to see?
00:53Yes, so it's one of the early missions where Fire is now established in Seattle.
00:59She's made inroads with the court, and she's investigating the mark on her hand, which has been holding back her
01:07powers.
01:09And she's got a tip-off that a vampire called Willem, a Nosferatu, might have the answers.
01:15So we're going to show you from where she's tracked him down to his warehouse and is about to confront
01:21him.
01:22Great. Without further ado, let's take a look.
01:32I do not like this.
01:35All those marked freaks were waiting outside.
01:38And yet, none appear to have entered.
01:42Why track Willem to this place and then refrain from attack?
02:01How does anyone find anything in a mess like this?
02:05Perhaps to him, this is an orderly chaos.
02:09Nosferatu trade in secrets.
02:12This is merely another way to hide them.
02:37I recognize this song from before I slept.
02:43Yeah, it's old school for sure.
02:49We may be nearing the end of our search.
02:59That must be him.
03:06Before I could even finish the song.
03:08How cruel.
03:10Am I interrupting?
03:19It's you.
03:21The Nomad.
03:23Willem, I take it.
03:25You had some interesting guests outside.
03:28Expecting trouble?
03:30That depends.
03:31Why, why, why are you here?
03:33Tolly tells me you keep the court's secrets and its histories.
03:38Earlier tonight, another kindred by the name of Isabella used this mark to sap my power.
03:43Do you know anything about it?
03:45No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
03:47All I have to do is keep my head down for just a few more nights.
03:50He's hiding something.
03:53Tell me, Willem, what rumors have you heard about me?
03:57That you were there in Cairo.
03:59They called you the Slayer.
04:01I have been many things to many people.
04:04And what will I be to you, Willem?
04:07And to this lonely, forgotten warehouse?
04:10You're exactly what he said you'd be.
04:13I guess that makes it easier.
04:15Makes what easier?
04:16What happens next.
04:18Now I have to do what he told me.
04:36What the hell just happened?
04:39Do what he told me?
04:42Willem knows something.
04:45We have to find him.
04:52He made the mark bleed.
04:54He knows how to use it against me.
04:57Hives can't just teleport people.
04:59That's not normal.
05:15What the...
05:16An illusion.
05:48What the hell?
06:05Damn it, help!
06:06Sì, Sì, Sì, Sì.
06:50Sì, Sì.
07:12Sì, Sì, Sì.
07:16Sì, Sì.
07:20Sì, Sì.
07:24Sì.
07:36Sì, Sì.
07:41Sì, Sì.
07:48Sì, Sì.
07:51Sì, Sì.
07:52Sì, Sì.
07:52Sì, Sì.
07:56Sì.
08:02Sì.
08:10Sì, Sì.
08:29Sì, Sì.
08:30Sì.
08:32Sì.
08:42Sì, Sì.
08:47Sì, Sì.
09:00Sì, Sì.
09:12Sì, Sì, Sì.
09:22Sì, Sì.
09:28Sì, Sì.
09:39Sì, Sì, Sì, Sì.
09:44Sì, Sì, Sì.
09:47Sì, Sì.
10:20Sì, Sì, Sì.
10:23Sì, Sì.
10:23Sì, Sì.
10:25Sì, Sì.
10:34Sì.
10:35Sì.
10:35Sì.
10:36Sì.
10:36Sì.
10:38Sì.
10:39Sì.
10:41Sì.
10:42Sì, Sì.
11:18Grazie a tutti.
11:45Grazie a tutti.
12:22Grazie a tutti.
12:25Grazie a tutti.
12:55Grazie a tutti.
12:57It's going to be another late one.
13:08I guess I'd hear from you.
13:10Word is Campbell's out.
13:39Now you split it up.
13:44It's going to be another.
13:48It's going to be another.
13:49It's going to be another.
14:06It's going to be another.
14:35It's going to be another.
15:07If I cut off the court.
15:09It's going to be another.
15:24It's going to be another.
15:55It's going to be another.
16:06It's going to be another.
16:06It's going to be another.
16:07It's going to be another.
16:13It's going to be another.
16:30It's going to be another.
16:34It's going to be another.
16:36It's going to be another.
16:39It's going to be another.
16:43It's going to be another.
16:47So we move more to what we call our vampire detective gameplay, so non-combat gameplay, very exploration, about you
16:54having to juice, look for clues to solve ultimately the puzzle and escape Willem's trap.
17:02So zooming out, can you tell us about where our story in Seattle starts?
17:08Yeah, it starts with you wake up in a derelict apartment building covered in blood, having been essentially in vampire
17:17hibernation for a hundred years.
17:19So you wake up with questions and soon as you move through that warehouse, it becomes apparent you're not alone.
17:29Fire has a voice in her head, Fabian. Fabian is another vampire. At this stage, I can't explain why their
17:37voice is in Fire's head, but it's very much to do with the markings that are all over her body.
17:41When she went into hibernation, she was in the Middle East and she's woken up a hundred years later in
17:48America and clearly someone's been messing with her while she's asleep.
17:53So she's got questions and she's quite annoyed. That sort of is our initial drive, is trying to figure out
17:58what happened to her and how to undo it and how to get this voice out of my head because
18:03Fire enjoys her solitary time.
18:05She does not want to share her head with another vampire.
18:07We've had to translate a tabletop pen and paper game into action and a big part of what a vampire
18:15is, is a bloodsucker.
18:17So we really wanted to focus on feeding. Could you tell us about how feeding works in combat?
18:24Sure. I mean, there's two kinds of feeding across the game in general. There's combat feeding and social feeding. I
18:31think we'll talk about social feeding on a later video.
18:34Yes, combat feeding you're using within a combat encounter like this for two reasons.
18:41One, it's the main way to get health. So if you're getting beaten up, too many strikes against you, then
18:47you probably need to retreat and go and feed on someone weaker in the encounter.
18:52But also to power your abilities.
18:56Feeding is essentially a reward for stalking or brawling successfully. You get an enemy to low health. There's a window
19:03where you can feed on them.
19:05So try not to hit them again or they'll die.
19:08And if you can embrace that, you'll get one of the blood pips for each of your abilities.
19:14So these are little pips below each abilities.
19:16We'll fill.
19:17If you can fill all of the pips for an ability, then you can use it and rinse repeat.
19:22Because that will then allow you to do more feeds, which allow you to charge them again.
19:26And if played really well, the abilities synergize together and allow you to do chains.
19:33And the Brujah is designed around that sort of staying in the fight, chaining fight to fight to fight and
19:41keeping combat in flow.
19:42And the brawling as well is something that we wanted to feel very visceral, very fast paced.
19:48How have we achieved that?
19:51Yeah, well, and the key word is immersive.
19:53So the control scheme is quite intuitive.
19:59I really love that pulling the triggers is feed because that's like two fangs sinking them in.
20:04But yeah, the basic sort of actions that Fire has, she can punch.
20:09She can do a heavy strike, which allows her to knock people back, which is very useful for the Brujah.
20:15They can use it to sort of juggle enemies.
20:17If they're overwhelmed, they can go back and get enemies away from them.
20:21The defensive move she has is dashing, which you'll have seen in the, there's one point in the gameplay where
20:29if you dash towards an enemy and stay striking, you time it right, it counters it.
20:33But then Fire also has telekinesis, which isn't usual for a vampire to have.
20:41But there's a story behind that and specifically why Fire, as an elder, has it.
20:46But yes, when stalking, you know, use telekinesis to pick up a bottle, distract an enemy, but you can use
20:51it to literally pull the enemies towards you.
20:54So you can use heavy strikes to push away and telekinesis to pull towards you, giving you a lot of
20:58control over the enemies and how you're encountering them.
21:02So that Brujah very much wants to control the sort of dance of combat.
21:06So the mannequins work a little differently from the other enemies that we saw.
21:11Could you tell us about those illusions?
21:14Sure.
21:14I mean, everything that we saw really is an illusion from when Willem first screamed at the player.
21:22But the initial enemies do fight more like typical enemies.
21:26The only thing that's different about them is the fact that they shatter to sort of glass when they're killed.
21:32But as we get deeper into Willem's sort of maze, essentially his powers are getting weaker.
21:41He's getting more desperate.
21:42So in the first phase, he's able to create believable ghouls and vampires that we're fighting there.
21:49So the ones with a beating heart, they're ghouls, and the ones that are just black silhouettes, they are vampires.
21:56Whereas when we move to the mannequins, he isn't able to create illusions of such quality, and he's also getting
22:04desperate.
22:05And what better to fight a vampire with than an enemy that has no blood?
22:09So the mannequins are made of solid wood.
22:11So you notice in the playthrough there, we're being very tactical about our abilities, because we have no way to
22:17recharge them.
22:18We can't get the blood back.
22:21So yeah, there's a really cool moment where kites a load of them up onto the gangway up above, and
22:26then charges through and gets maximum effect.
22:30And this was to create a sort of peak combat challenge for that mission, because what we've shown there, that
22:36sort of 15 minutes, that's the end of the mission.
22:38The player's actually been across Seattle, you know, going other places, so we wanted to give a peak.
22:44And the actual Willem encounter itself, which is after, is more cerebral.
22:49So we wanted to peak the combat, so then you could shift to this more cerebral, sort of puzzle boss
22:55encounter with Willem, trying to, you know, defeat his illusions.
23:00So yeah, they're a very unique enemy in the game, they only occur there in the game, and they have
23:05that unique mechanic that they cannot be fed on, which makes, you know, really changes up the pace of how
23:11you play.
23:12So the three abilities that we saw include the kind of active ones, and then the rewards for the feeding.
23:20How do they all play into each other, and the combat, and how do you use them?
23:26Yeah, so for that video, we've equipped two of the Brujah abilities.
23:32There are more abilities, but we just wanted to show off those two.
23:36And then we have the passive, which you get when you select the clan.
23:40So each clan has their own feed passive, so every single time they feed, they get some benefit that reflects
23:46their clan's play style.
23:48So the Brujah, we call it sort of a berserk mode, they get flushed with sort of aggression, their arms
23:56literally glow, their strikes do more damage, and more knockback, and things like that.
24:01So you'll notice points where, even though, you know, we feed on people, maybe you'll see the feed flash up
24:10on another person, but we've already committed to the strike.
24:13And we're doing more damage, so we kill them. So feeding, actually, is another sort of skillful reward.
24:20It's another part of the dance that's very important.
24:23As a Brujah, I suppose there's a role-playing element there, right?
24:26Because they are passionate, maybe have a bit of a temper, and that's why we picked the intimidating options here.
24:33So I was wondering what kind of role-play opportunities that gives us in the dialogues.
24:40Yeah, so picking intimidating options, the result very much depends on who you're talking to.
24:46I mean, there are certain characters, say, like Lou, who will, you know, meet fire with fire, right?
24:53They will equally become as angry.
24:55But that can be a good way to find out what they're hiding, right?
24:58Provoke them and get them to talk.
25:00There are others who could clam up.
25:02Tolly would probably laugh at you and dismiss it and sort of see through the bravado.
25:07But ultimately, it will affect your relationships with them over the long term.
25:11They'll get a feel for you.
25:12And also the relationship with Fabian.
25:15So Fabian is a vampire who is in our head for mysterious reasons.
25:20They're with us for the whole ride.
25:23And they are meeting, you know, judging you and fire based on what you're choosing.
25:30So if you're very aggressive all of the time, that's who you are to them.
25:33That's the nearest thing we have in the game to like a true, you know, single judgment of who you
25:39were as a player is Fabian.
25:41Whereas other characters, you might behave differently to each other, put on different masks.
25:45Because it is the masquerade.
25:47Different masks of how you talk and interact with each of them.
25:51Vampires rarely show their true selves.
25:54So it's totally viable for the player, if they wish, to hide their true selves as well.
26:00The supernatural heightened senses give us clues to solve this puzzle that only a vampire can solve.
26:07What sort of puzzles can we expect?
26:10You know, heightened senses is based on sort of all specs in the pen and paper.
26:15We like the idea that Fabian almost as an elder can access it whenever she likes.
26:20So we can use heightened senses to show you things that others couldn't see.
26:26You know, almost like sort of CSI, you know, blacklight or whatever, clues.
26:34To hear things, you know, in focus, in the mission, she could hear the music from greater distance when in
26:40heightened senses than she could otherwise.
26:44And in the maze at the end, it dulled out the fake noise.
26:50All of the Willems chattering to each other, they all got dulled out.
26:53And in the real noise, which was the music in the real world, she could hear.
26:56So it can help you, in a situation like that, actually see and hear reality.
27:03But yes, in other sections of the game, it can help you to see what a human would miss.
27:08Right, follow someone's trail, get evidence of what's happened there.
27:14And there are, yeah, there's quite a few interesting puzzles that we've done across the games using heightened senses.
27:20And I think this mission is a great example of a slightly more unusual version of our art direction in
27:28the lighting, the music, the style overall.
27:31There's books floating around. I think we punched one at one point.
27:34What kind of feeling do we want to kind of pump into that atmosphere?
27:40Yeah, I mean, at this section of the game, we sort of call it the Monster of the Week section
27:45of the game.
27:46And we want the missions to very much stand out before it becomes clear that they're becoming part of a
27:53larger picture.
27:55But that, you can't trust even your own senses, right?
28:02You know, up is down. Red is blue.
28:09So, just making it to the player is really on edge and not knowing what's going on.
28:15I hope when people come to play, because obviously watching it, you're watching someone play through who still roughly knows
28:21what they're doing for the sake of the video.
28:23So, I'm hoping, you know, people are in there really sort of scratching their head, using their heightened senses, and
28:32then feeling clever when they figure out how to move forward, how to get out of there, how to get
28:36out of Willem's maze.
28:38And we spent a lot of time talking to and learning about Willem.
28:42Could you go into a little bit about his place in the court and the masquerade?
28:48Yeah, so Willem is the secret keeper of the court.
28:53But at this point in the story, he's gone AWOL along with the secrets.
28:57So, the court is in complete control of Seattle, right?
29:01The mayor is probably one of the court's ghouls, you know, etc, etc.
29:05They've got dirt on all the people in the city, including other vampires.
29:12And to stop all of that information getting in the wrong hands, there's this role, which is the sort of
29:19secret keeper.
29:20They keep it all memorised.
29:23Willem has all of the information effectively memorised.
29:26So, when he disappears, their sort of ability to keep control over the city gets massively weakened.
29:33And so, hence, it's so important that he be found.
29:37But also, some of the secrets he has are very relevant to Fire.
29:42So, she wants to find him.
29:43As part of the court, Fire has found a place and is doing missions for the Camarilla.
29:50Could you tell us about, like, her title and what capacity she's doing these things?
29:57Yes, so, relatively early in the story, Fire has to get an inroads with the Camarilla.
30:06And she does a mission, which ultimately results in her becoming the sheriff, which is an official role within the
30:12court.
30:12And it's pretty cool.
30:13I don't think we've got to play that in other video games, at least.
30:18And the sheriff ultimately upholds the masquerade and will do, you know, certain quite important, maybe dirty jobs, like finding
30:28the secret keeper who's run off.
30:30But it also gives Fire great privilege.
30:33As the sheriff, she can talk to anyone and everyone kind of has to give her respect, should, should sort
30:42of follow along with the letter of the law and obey her.
30:45Obviously, we have different factions in the city, some who respect the Camarilla, some who don't.
30:50So she will get some reacting in her favor because she's sheriff and some actually where it's become more a
30:57hindrance.
30:58But, yeah, so she's a very pivotal role in the Seattle court.
31:03And that's very much for her own means.
31:05Once it gets her the cover and support of the Camarilla, they're not going to be, you know, fighting and
31:10working against her.
31:11But, too, it puts her in the perfect position to investigate the information she wants to know, which is how
31:17she ended up in Seattle and how she ended up with the mark on and her abilities taken away.
31:23We had some dialogue options that kind of fed into Fire's legend.
31:27Could you tell us about what kind of control we have over her backstory?
31:32Yes.
31:32So you're going to come across lots of different vampires and characters who haven't met Fire, but they've heard of
31:41Fire.
31:41She's very famous, effectively a legend.
31:44The Nomad, right?
31:45The Nomad and other names.
31:49And then as a player, when someone tells you one of these legends they've heard about you, you could validate
31:56it and lean into it.
31:57Fire very much uses it there to intimidate Willem.
32:02You could correct them that it isn't true if you feel that doesn't either fit your character or because you
32:08maybe wish to manipulate your legend.
32:11Because Fire is never saying what her backstory is, everybody else is, the player can then choose the true canon
32:18of Fire by accepting what they're hearing, essentially.
32:23So we thought it was a cool way to have a more defined character, like you would say in a
32:30Bioware game, but not just the I pick, the backstory at the start and that's it.
32:35Have as you go being able to pick and choose and shape your legend.
32:39Awesome. And we will be sharing as much as we can about the new disciplines that you can see for
32:45each playable clan.
32:46If you want to see as much as possible about Bloodlines 2 and the stuff that we're sharing, you can
32:51find us at the Chinese Room on all of our social media.
32:54But until next time, thank you.
32:56Thank you.
33:11Thank you.
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