Bloodhunt devs discuss challenge of making a battle royale based on Vampire The Masquerade SharkmobVampire The Masquerade\u2019s battle royale, Bloodhunt, is perhaps one of 2021\u2019s most surprising titles. Blending the iconic tabletop and RPG series with the FPS genre, Sharkmob\u2019s dev team has revealed the challenges of merging two very different universes, as well as what makes it so rewarding. When you think of Vampire The Masquerade, you likely think of the tabletop game, or the iconic Bloodlines digital RPG series: not a battle royale. Enter Bloodhunt, Swedish developer Sharkmob\u2019s transformative take on the bloodstained franchise. Making its early access debut on Steam in September, the title has captured the imaginations of both those who lurk in the shadows, as well as the more casual FPS gamer. In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Bloodhunt\u2019s Game Director, Craig Hubbard, and Sharkmob Co-founder and IP & Communications Director, Martin Hultberg, explained some of the challenges they encountered when reimagining the iconic franchise for a PvP title. How Vampire The Masquerade became a battle royale While a lot of fans may not immediately connect the dots between Vampire The Masquerade and a battle royale, Hultberg stresses that they truly aren\u2019t that dissimilar. \u201cVampire The Masquerade has always been a game about conflict, although the tabletop RPG tends to focus on resolution through diplomacy, deception, betrayal and so forth,\u201d he told Dexerto. \u201cEven so, combat has always been a viable option and for many groups of players it was still an important part of that experience. \u201cBR [battle royale] offers a clear-cut \u2018king of the hill\u2019 type experience\u201d he continues, explaining that the devs \u201cthought would be an interesting thing to explore, given the competitive nature of the vampires and the idea of hunter and prey. \u201cThere were many challenges, of course\u2026 For BR we had to contextualize things like the shrinking circle, explain why the fighting takes place, translate the powers and so forth. It wasn\u2019t an easy feat, but we worked closely with the World of Darkness brand team to find solutions that would work.\u201d Blood Resonances: \u201cYou are what you eat\u201d One of Bloodhunt\u2019s most interesting features is the Blood Resonance mechanic, which allows your character to enhance different attributes depending on the mortal they feed on. With four different options, you can upgrade your cooldown reduction, melee damage, and health regeneration. \u201cThere is a saying in the tabletop RPG; \u2018you are what you eat’\u201d Hultberg states. \u201cThe idea that the blood vampires drink affects them differently based on the source you draw it from is at the core of the experience.\u201d \u201cPreviously we\u2019d had a leveling system where you\u2019d gain XP by feeding on NPCs and players and unlock perks as you leveled up,\u201d Hubbard recalls. \u201cWe tried different iterations, but the fundamental problem was that it turned feeding into a chore because you had to do a lot of it to reach max level.\u201d \u201cBlood resonance had several benefits,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe big one was that it made feeding more interesting and strategic. Resonance perks are exponential rather than linear, each typically doubling the previous boost, meaning you get a lot more benefit from concentrating on one or two types than by spreading yourself thin. Another big one is that it makes diablerie more beneficial, as it not only fully heals you but also grants you additional resonance slots.\u201d Looking to the future, he told Dexerto that \u201call of this said, we consider the current implementation of blood resonance to be a foundation on which to build. We feel we can explore some interesting possibilities for perks in the future.\u201d With Hultberg promising new clans, including the Ventrue and many more, we really can\u2019t wait to see how the game continues to grow. Right now, though, we\u2019re hungry for more Bloodhunt. Does anyone fancy a bite?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bloodhunt devs discuss challenge of making a battle royale based on Vampire The Masquerade SharkmobVampire The Masquerade\u2019s battle royale, Bloodhunt, is perhaps one of 2021\u2019s most surprising titles. Blending the iconic tabletop and RPG series with the FPS genre, Sharkmob\u2019s dev team has revealed the challenges of merging two very different universes, as well as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79319\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}