Exploring The ‘Controversy’ of Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines 2
A moan and groan about VtMB’s ‘controversy’ and why it’s not really a controversy.
About three months ago (at the time of typing) some news about the sequel of ‘Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines’ (VtMB from here onwards) was delivered by some of the developers of the game. It suggested to some that this game was for SJW folk and was politically progressive, which are not necessarily bad things if addressed sensitively and respectively.
I am of a mindset that the controversy concerning the game has been taken out of context and thus been misinterpreted. This is something that I wish to address in this blog, by wiping the slate clean and attempt to say why I think there is no controversy, by going through quotes and points that I believe people are worried about and why they/you shouldn’t be.
This blog will contain some MINOR SPOILERS for Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines. Consider this your warning folks!
Quote №1
“It’s fifteen years later and things have changed,” Mitsoda said. “We have to be very sensitive about how we handle things like mental illness and that was a concern for us and for Paradox, in how we can make a mature story but if we do anything, we do our homework and make sure that we are punching up and not punching down.” — Brian Mitsoda, 21st March 2019 (Source: Kotaku)
I believe this caused some concern to those who are fans of the Malkavian clan, who are vampires (or Kindred, the VtM word for it) that have the curse of madness, something that each Malkavian gains a degree of after their Embrace. This clan was one of seven playable in VtMB.
The concern for some is that the Malkavian playthrough in VtMB 2 will not be as brilliantly bizarre as it famously was in VtMB and were a walking parody of mental illness, or would even be in the game at all (at the time of this news was published).
Now whilst I can understand this concern, This quote itself does not state anything about Malkavians themselves. The way I interpreted this was that more research was done before Paradox Interactive and Hardsuit Labs (developers and publishers respectively). If anyone is upset because more care was taken to presenting how Malkavian’s and mental illness is portrayed, then it’s incredibly difficult to empathise with anyone with that mindset.
I am relieved that more research has been done, not just because the portrayal of mental illness will be better (in theory at least), but it should mean that I will be able to enjoy Malkavians again, as the bat-shit crazy stereotype I see people portray as Malkavians got old for me years ago (you may have heard of the term ‘Fishmalk’ tossed about if you are a fan of the table-top game).
There is more to Malkavians than their inner voices and eccentricities, like there is more to you than your depression, anxiety or whatever it is that is wrong with your mind.
Since this panic, it has been announced that Malkavian will be a playable clan in VtMB 2, the trailer for which I will leave below.
Quote №2
“It is a political game but I think it’s one of those few opportunities that gives us the chance to let people make their own political statement in a way that’s not cheap. I don’t believe you can look at both sides of a political argument without understanding both sides. It’s easy to say this is good and this is bad. But it’s definitely taking some political stances on what we think are right and wrong. In terms of the main conflict what is interesting is it’s one of those truly balanced issues.”—Martin Ka’ai Cluney, 21st March 2019 (Source: VG247)
This could be described as the most ‘spicy’ of the controversial quotes. People believe that this is the developers forcing their political agenda onto players, which I don’t believe is the case. Many people see the world ‘politics’ in conjunction with games and think that there are going to be more Trump references.
What is being stated here is that the developers will present to you the various factions and politics within the game and allow the player to make their own decision, allowing them to leave their own footprint in an RPG. The game may lean into one faction more than the other, (one faction being ‘the good guys’, for example).
This is not uncommon, as many, if not all games with joinable and/or opposing factions doe this. ‘Skyrim’, ‘Far Cry 4’, ‘Assassin’s Creed’, ‘Fallout: New Vegas’ are just four of those examples. It will ultimately be your decision to make who you want to side with.
VtMB is no different in this regard. You choose to side whichever faction you wish to align yourself with at the end of the game; The Camarilla, Anarch, Kuei-jin, or no one. Compared to VtM and World of Darkness (the universe in which VtM exists) tabletop games, they have always been games of politics, choosing what you believe is right or wrong (or more accurately, what is less shit as Kindred), unlike a game like Dungeons & Dragons, where the emphasis and character progression is usually more about getting from A-B and killing a dragon, monster etc.
The Word of Darkness (WoD) games have the player gain experience from passing social checks, finding clues as well as beating two shits out of their opponents. You build relationships, political differences between the other players and vampiric clans and how to outsmart your opponents if you’re not a great fighter.
Most of the WoD games are set in modern times, and so the politics/events of the real world can have an effect on how these creatures/mages behave. The Anarchs respect the idea of upholding The Masquerade but hate the politics that The Camarilla has within their order. For those in the unknown, The Masquerade involves Kindred blending into society and not revealing their true natures in front of Kine (humans). The Masquerade for vampires is easier to breach due to the internet and smartphones, and as such, oldest members of the Camarilla don’t encourage the use of modern technologies. The Sabbat are the polar opposite of the Camarilla. They just want to enslave everyone, vampire and human, and revel in their inner Beast, the master race. You could interpret this as some form of fascism…
There are NPCs in VtMB who could be described as ‘leftist’ and ‘fascist’ who support one faction or another. You can either agree with something they say/do or not, just like you would do with a real person in real life. Outside of Kindred politics, in VtMB, there is a radio station that plays fake voting adverts, for a made-up Republican Senator, which I will leave below for you to read.
Last year Democratic candidate Michael Redmonds bought a sport utility vehicle. Three months later, there were two seperate incidences of hit-and-runs by an unidentified SUV in his area. Is Democratic candidate Michael Redmonds to blame? Can you afford to take that chance? Can your children? Vote Republican Senator Robert Thorn, a candidate that has never committed vehicular homicide.
Democratic candidate Michael Redmonds has never publicly stated his opinion on child pornography. Is it because he is hiding something? Would you want a child pornographer voting on this nation’s laws? Would you trust your children’s future to someone like that? Vote Republican Senator Robert Thorn, the candidate that is committed to locking up child pornographers.
Democratic candidate Michael Redmonds recently sued Senator Robert Thorn for accusing Redmonds of being a murderous child pornographer. But Redmonds had previously said he was against clogging up courts with frivolous lawsuits. Wouldn’t this make him a hypocrite? Would you want a hypocrite as your next congressman? Would you want your children to become hypocrites? Vote Republican Senator Robert Thorn, a candidate not accused of being a murderous child pornographer.
As you can clearly see, ‘Vampire: The Masquerade’ is not a political game…
Quote №3
“The character creator, which players get to use twice — once at the start to define your human aspects and then a second time later in the game to flesh out your vampire — goes way beyond basic male and female models. Body type, gender pronouns, employment history and fashion can all be toyed with for a very modular build.” — (Source: An archived article that I can no longer find. The quote I found came from here) *Note: if the actual article is bought to my attention, I will edit it in.
The use of pronouns is something else that has worried players, as you are able to choose whether your character male, female or transgender, which is odd as I would have thought this would have pleased people. But I suppose this would also upset those people believe there are only two genders and not the sixty-odd that some people would tell you.
Similar to the faction point discussed earlier, you are free to use whatever pronoun you want. The same can be said for romance options in some games. Gay, straight, bisexual, it does not matter who you get physical with. Choices like this make games like this more inclusive to the public, surely?
Quote №4
She [Elison] said also that they’re trying to broaden Bloodlines 2 from the more masculine power fantasy of the original, so that it appeals to way more people this time. — Alice Bell, 22nd March 2019 (Source: RockPaperShotgun)
Again, I believe there is another misunderstanding with the use of ‘masculine power fantasy’, but a misunderstanding that is easy to see when looking at VtMB.
VtMB used an alpha version of the Source engine, which was what ‘Half-Life 2’ began production on, before being released on a finished version. It’s physics were seen as realistic at the time, but one thing it did encourage was ‘boob physics’, which is something that doesn’t need explaining (I hope). This is noticeable in VtMB. In addition, the characters Jeanette and Velvet are scantily dressed (as are the various strippers and prostitutes) and look very similar, the former you can have sex with. I should mention there are ways to bed Velvet, but I will explain how to in a moment.
Outside of this, many people look at the word ‘masculinity’ in a seemingly negative context and imagine similar visions to the ones I’ve described.
VtMB wasn’t as inclusive in its romance options, besides what I’ve mentioned already. You can be a male character and romance the ladies, or be a lesbian. There are no romanceable males in the game. You could use that and say that having lesbian ‘only’ relationships fuels some male power fantasy, but I like to pretend and say it was quite progressive.
Jeanette dresses and acts the way she does for information (rightly or wrongly) and Velvet is a dancer at a strip club who is very emotional and brilliantly written (like the rest of the cast). You cannot have intercourse with Velvet without unofficial patches/mods. There are female prostitutes and stripers in the game too, who you only exploit for blood, not sex. There aren’t any gigolos in VtMB might I add.
I will admit that this is also where I am probably most biased with my opinions on the VtMB 2 controversy, but my points on who is and isn’t romanceable are rather valid regardless.
Coda
Looking at these points in a vacuum, with no prior context to the World of Darkness (the universe in which VtM exists) or VtM, you are inclined to think this is something to worry about, as this is a free-world where free-speech is encouraged and endorsed.
That being said, that does not mean this way of thinking is correct, as VtMB 2 will not be a game SJWs exclusively, from my understanding at least.
I think what each of these statements are basically saying “Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines had its issues, now we are trying to fix them.” Would it really hurt the narrative of VtMB 2 if the things people loved and celebrated about VtMB were improved and extended upon? I don’t think so.
The element of choice and to do whatever you want is the very definition of role-playing games. Decisions made by larger factions, such as a monarchy or government can dictate how you behave in a game’s world. These sort of narrative world-building would only make a game more immersive, providing that it is implemented well.
For people to get wound up about all of this is just a bit silly to me.
What do you think of this? Are you triggered by these concerns, or do you think it is all bullocks? Or don’t you care and will happily play/ignore this gamer regardless? Have you read the blog I wrote about ‘Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines?’ If not, I’ll leave a link to it, for you to read at your own leisure.
Let’s start a conversation, people!
