In Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, players will get to stalk around modern Seattle as a newly-embraced vampire. As we all know, vampires use blood for sustenance, and so too will Bloodlines 2 players. However, as the game’s writers explain, players must pay attention to the sorts of people they choose to feed from.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Resonance And Blood
In a recent interview with Polygon, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 writers Brian Mitsoda and Cara Ellison touched on the sequel’s resonance mechanic. According to the pair, every NPC in Bloodlines 2 emits a certain resonance based on their current emotional state. That resonance in turn affects how that NPC’s blood affects the player if the player feeds on them. So, for example, feeding on an NCP who’s angry has a different effect than feeding on one who’s sad.
Mitsoda, who also wrote the original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines’ story, explained why resonance affects vampires so strongly:
“In our game vampires are looking for something called ‘resonance.’ That means very strong emotional feelings in human beings. Vampires don’t really feel strong emotions so, in order to experience an emotion such as rage or desire, they have to get it out of people who have these very strong emotions already in their blood.”
As Mitsoda also explained, resonance doesn’t just apply to emotional feelings. An NPC who’s in physical pain (like one who’s been in an accident) can provide resonance as well. As a player gathers more resonance, they can more easily charge their unique vampire powers and special abilities. This focus on resonance also means that it often pays to play the long game. Again, Mitsoda explains:
“You’re always kind of on the hunt, and it’s one of the big parts of the side activities in the game. You’re skulking around on the tops of roofs and looking around for people with strong resonance and figuring out how to best get them in a position where you can feed on them without breaking the Masquerade.”
Honor The Masquerade
The temptation to gather more resonance can be hard to ignore. However, as Ellison also explained, breaking the Masquerade never works in the player’s favor. The Masquerade is basically a code that keeps vampires from revealing their true identities to humans. Here’s Ellison:
“The more that you break the Masquerade, the more consequences are going to come your way. The more that you’re out in the open, that people realize that there’s a fricking monster on the streets, the more afraid people get and the harder it is to feed.”
For more on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, you can read about the game’s various vampire clans. We previously covered clans like the Tremere and Toreador.