Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 (opens in new tab) It may be a distant and fading dream, but that doesn’t mean we have to live deprived of the fun of the undead. 2022 Vampire: The Masquerade Game Jam (opens in new tab)28 competitive games ranging from RPGs to dating sims, all free to play.
The first Vampire Jam was held itchi aio (opens in new tab) To celebrate the announcement of Bloodlines 2 that caused a lot of fanfare and excitement. Sadly it didn’t go as well as we would have liked, but Vampire Jam has taken hold and is now an officially sanctioned World of Darkness event.
The latest Vampire Jam will be held from October 30th to December 2nd, 2002. 3 themes (opens in new tab) On the table: Love Among Monsters, Horrors Unbound, The Hunt and the Hunted.
Winners of the 2022 Vampire Jam will each receive $500 and, more importantly, the ability to release and monetize their games royalty-free through September 2023 through the World of Darkness Unbound program. Developers will also have access to “release marketing and creative consultation” with the World of Darkness team, and promotion through World of Darkness’ social media channels.
The results are as follows.
- Sunset chronicles: Sin city blues – An isometric RPG set in Las Vegas, players begin as a completely fresh vampire and slowly work their way through the dark world around them.
- rat rhapsody – A twist on the dating sim theme, where you play as Nosferatu navigating the Camarilla court in an attempt to form an alliance to find out the truth behind her lover’s betrayal.
- Bitter Nights: Case of the Bleeding Hearts – Classic noir meets Vampire: The Masquerade in this crime story where you navigate local politics and alliances as a Malcavian investigator to find out the truth about a local serial killer.
Sunset Chronicles: Sin City Blues is clearly compelling as an RPG, and Nosferatu playing politics has some very interesting storytelling potential. But my favorite is Bitter Nights: Case of the Bleeding Hearts: A neo-noir Malkavian PI tale.
(For those unfamiliar with Vampire: The Masquerade lore, members of the Markavian clan are uniquely perceptive and insightful, yet completely insane. Playing as the Markavian in Bloodlines Doing so can be a very interesting and surprisingly unique experience. (opens in new tab), and bringing that kind of gameplay into a series of grim, gritty murder mysteries can be spectacularly confusing. )
But these three games aren’t the only ones coming out of the 2022 Vampire Jam. There are 28 entries in all, The Outsider, Vampire Frenzy: Riding the Wave, Friday Night Speed Dating, Barbedlands—Genepil. There is so much to do. So you can see it all at Itch.io’s. Vampire: The Masquerade Jam 2022 Page (opens in new tab).
