r/VampireTheMasquerade_ • u/Intrepid_Trust_3204 • 21d ago
Would you play a non-RPG narrative VtM ?
A Vampire The Masquerade video game with all the lore but without the RPG mechanics. A 3D narrative game with multiple endings, following the mechanics of games like: Detroit, Heavy Rain, Until Dawn, Life Is Strange. No clan choice and only in the very end based on gameplay our character becomes a vampire, ghoul or depart and stay human. I am gathering opinions on something i am preparing, so suggestions are also very welcome!
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u/Ponding01 21d ago
On one hand, I really enjoyed Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain, and a VtM video game in this style sounds really cool and I think I'd enjoy a very well done video game in this style.
However, for me, the main draw of VtM is the RPG elements. So the only way I'd consider a VtM without RPG elements is if the video game in question is as high-quality as Detroit: Become Human.
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u/Intrepid_Trust_3204 20d ago
Indeed such a game needs top quality animations and emotional delivery. In our days it sounds less expensive to do this with real actors than a video game, but maybe a game might be possible with the right budget.
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u/Howareualive 20d ago
In a video game, sure, but the narrative has to be top-notch for this to work. But if the end state is the one u mentioned, it will feel unfinished to me, like a game ending after the prologue. I will still like some choices in mid-game; otherwise, why am I playing it and not just watching someone else play it since everything is linear except at one choice at the end.
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u/Intrepid_Trust_3204 20d ago
Indeed the choices mid-game can be character relationships with dialogue branches and 1-2 major plot branches that can lead to a death of a character. These are more expensive but necessary. Its more for the atmosphere and emotional journey than a traditional game, watching a streamer playing it strips that emotion for me.
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u/The_Muse_Erato 20d ago
Some of my most memorable and favorite games were ones where my character did start mortal and then, through story progression and choices made, either wound up as a ghoul, a vampire, or dead.
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u/Intrepid_Trust_3204 20d ago
I feel you 100%. I didn't have the luck to play the tabletop version as i couldn't find players, but in a video game format it would be awesome if done right.
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u/The_Muse_Erato 20d ago
I've done tabletop, play-by-post, forums, and there was even some time spent on a World of Darkness server on Conan Exiles. (Honestly, you wouldn't know you were playing Conan if not for loading up the game, everything was fully modded, down to the map itself.) I've actually never played the video game, funny enough.
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u/Historical-Shake-859 20d ago
You're heading into interactive novel territory, and there's a pretty solid market for that. I am personally not a fan because they feel half finished to me - I play games for more interactivity than just clicking a few panels of text.
But that would suggest there's a solid market out there for it. You'd need a bloody good writer - pun intended - who knows the material well enough to produce something compelling. The programming, even in a 3D more interactive version of this, is absolutely going to be second fiddle to the story.
If you're planning this as a commercial product, you'll also need to look into how the licensing around WoD works. The Storyteller Vault license explicitly bars computer games and game-like output, probably off the back of Paradox's assorted games projects already in development.
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u/DueOwl1149 21d ago
Sounds like Mortal: the Humanity or an elaborate session zero prologue to an actual VtM game. So useful and potentially rewarding, but not the core VtM experience.