'Subversive, Dark and Menacing;' Bloodlines 2 World Concept Art
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will draw on the rich heritage of the neo-noir style, dividing virtual Seattle into two worlds.
As promised, new developers of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 have published another post on the game's official website. After introducing the "pillars" of the project and the main character Chinese Room took the time to discuss the design of the vampiric Seattle and show it in several artworks. This time we received entry from Ben Matthews, deputy art director of the second Bloodlines.
As mentioned two weeks ago, the second part of the vampiric series will follow the style of neo-noir - an artistic trend that was born in the mid-20th century. Like classic noir, this direction relies heavily on contrasts - visual (darkness and light) as well as moral. The difference is the presence of "modern" motifs, primarily the big city.
Even after this brief description of neo-noir - "subversive, dark and menacing," as the creators described it - fits perfectly into World of Darkness and Masquerade, in which the bright, colorful world of humans contrasts with vampiric darkness. The creators want to further emphasize this with the "unique use of colors and shades" characteristic of this style to create "sudden and sharp" transitions between the two perspectives.
At the same time, the perspective of the protagonist, who is not only a vampire, but also one of the so-called elders, is important. The aged bloodsucker will have to find his way in a strange, modern world, which for him will be, as it were, inverted. It is the dark, depicted in cool colors, "dead" locations that will be a safe haven for the player character, while any exit to the bright world of humans will be a risk.
Neo-noir fits perfectly into the world of MasqueradeSource: The Chinese Room / Paradox Interactive.
As a side note, Seattle in the game will not be a 1:1 copy of its real-world counterpart, but will otherwise remain faithful. The developers visited it and spent a lot of time reviewing maps and Google Earth data, so the virtual Seattle should look like a living American city - though, of course, with a hint of vampiric darkness in the dark corners.
Another entry on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will be published in two weeks and will focus on more concept arts The game will debut in the fall of next year. The title is headed for PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, and we'll also get a comprehensive gameplay presentation in January.
