After years of silence on the project, we recently learned that The Chinese Room had taken over development duties on Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2. One of the first and most significant changes from the original version that we learned about was that players will now take the role of an Elder Kindred rather than a newly turned Thin Blood. It’s an unexpected change, and The Chinese Room has explained why you’ll be playing as an Elder Kindred in Bloodlines 2.
What Is the Playable Character in Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2?
In Vampire: The Masquerade lore, Elder Kindred are vampires that have been undead for at least 300 years. Surviving for so long tends to warp their ideas of morality, leaving them indifferent to the wider world, and that is what The Chinese Room wants to tap into.
Your character will awaken in Seattle without the full suite of powers that they’re used to. Even so, their knowledge and status are valuable tools for the various factions and individuals at conflict in Seattle. Therefore, the decision to cast the player as an Elder Kindred in Bloodlines 2 is ultimately a way to logically put the character at the center of everything that’s going on.
It also allows The Chinese Room a great opportunity to focus on themes of power. Elder Kindred are removed from their humanity and ideas like friendship, instead viewing the world through the lens of power. Casting players in that role poses a narrative challenge in terms of having a relatable character, but it means the team can focus on a story driven by the competing interests of the different clans.
The Chinese Room also chose to cast players as an Elder Kindred because of the role-playing opportunities it provides. The decision allows the team space to play with the existing knowledge of the playable character and having them learn what it means to be a vampire in the modern city of Seattle. It’s a rich framing device that will hopefully inject The Chinese Room’s vaunted storytelling prowess into the action-RPG format.
KEEP READING: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Dev Explains the Game’s Seattle Setting & More
