16 September 2020 – Three studios, three indie games, one World of Darkness. During the PAX EGX online event, the creators of three new monster-themed video games discussed their approaches to adapting legendary pen-and-paper RPGs: Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Wraith: The Oblivion.
The three games currently in the making are Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest, and Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife. They originate from the World of Darkness universe of tabletop role-playing games.
During the panel, the designers talked about their different takes on the source material, their personal connection with the World of Darkness, and even about their views on gaming in general. The panelists answered such questions as:
How does one get the chance to create a World of Darkness video game?
How do the games translate tabletop RPGs for the digital medium?
In what ways do they expand the already vast World of Darkness?
What do they do to ease the players into a universe with rich lore?
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest, the first-ever video game adaptation of the system, is an enhanced visual novel inspired by the role-playing tabletop experience. The player becomes Maia, a young woman who uncovers the secrets of her ancestry in the Bialowieza Forest, a real ancient wilderness in Poland. The developers place focus on the mechanics of Rage. Controlling this resource lets the player change the perspective on the world and see aspects invisible in other playthroughs.
SEE ON STEAM: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1342620/Werewolf_The_Apocalypse__Heart_of_the_Forest/
Vampire: The Masquerade – Shadows of New York is a visual novel and a stand-alone expansion to the previous Vampire title, Coteries of New York. While Coteries was a general introduction to the world depicted in the 5th Edition of the hit tabletop role-playing game, Shadows presents a more personal and unique tale.
SEE ON STEAM: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1279630/Vampire_The_Masquerade__Shadows_of_New_York/
Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife, also the first-ever digital adaptation of the original, is a first-person VR horror exploration game where the player, as one of the restless dead, has supernatural powers at their disposal. Afterlife plays against a backdrop of modern Hollywood decadence and occult research. The gameplay requires stealth and the use of objects to hunt for clues in the world around you.
SEE ON STEAM: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1386870/Wraith_The_Oblivion__Afterlife/
About Walkabout Games
The publisher behind Liberated and Wanderlust: Travel Stories, Walkabout Games is a Polish publisher and developer of aspiring independent game studios.
It supports ambitious projects full of new, exciting, and risky ideas that evoke the kind of amazement that we all love video games for.
About World of Darkness
World of Darkness is a transmedia entertainment brand encompassing a number of modern fantasy horror franchises, including Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and more. Through tabletop roleplaying games, video games, board games, literature, comic books, and more, these franchises tell mature stories in a dark supernatural fantasy layered over our modern world. Since 1991, World of Darkness has defined monster-perspective entertainment for a generation of fans. For more information visit www.worldofdarkness.com
