Corpsepyre
Banned
http://www.polygon.com/2016/4/25/11473076/vampyr-dontnod-life-is-strange
This was a pretty good write-up by Polygon. Do read in full. I'm really waiting for this one now. Dontnod seems like they have the game's world on point. There's a great deal of info on the studio itself in there.
'The French developer's first project, Remember Me, was a troubled one. It involved a publisher drop and swap, and a launch greeted by mixed reviews and mediocre sales. Its sophomore effort, despite criticism for its writing and some technical issues, signaled a more confident, competent studio at work. Life is Strange went on to win multiple awards, nominations and praise for its handling of relatable characters in real-world situations.
As Dontnod prepares to release its third title, an action role-playing game called Vampyr, it has something to prove both to itself and to its audience. The company is done chasing dreams of AAA, co-founder and CEO Oskar Guilbert says, and has a more specific vision in mind.
"We see ourselves as more like the Sundance Festival of movie independence, American movies," says Guilbert. "Maybe like it will be pretentious, but like HBO in TV. They [brought] something new to the TV series in the '80s, the '90s. This is something we want to do in games to bring the content, the emotion and I think we've shown that it's possible with Life is Strange. We want to continue like that."
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'Vampyr surfaced in early 2015, a mere week and a half before Life is Strange's inaugural episode launched; at the time, Dontnod was still best known for Remember Me.
Dontnod had little to say about Vampyr then. The vampire RPG was set to star a doctor, a man turned against his will, after returning home from the First World War in 1918. As 2015 wore on, the developer dropped some details about the project: a city in the grip of the Spanish flu; choices on who to kill and who to spare that will affect the game's story. Duality the struggle between protagonist Jonathan Reid's desire to be a humanist, a man of science who wants to heal, and a creature of darkness compelled to survive by taking the lives of others is burrowed deep into its themes.
Stéphane Beauverger, the game's narrative director, often describes Vampyr's story as a gothic one: dark, despair-filled and full of melancholy. It's a romanticized tale of immortals, without the romance.
"Very far from Twilight," Beauverger says.'
'Vampyr's time period is deeply rooted in its story and vibe, but the game almost took a very different path. Stéphane Beauverger says the team considered setting the game in the 1950s for a short time, during the "golden era in America."
"Everybody was happy," he says of the time frame. "It was interesting to add some misery, some despair in this bright world."
The team got as far as to ponder potential weapons for Jonathan to use, but eventually canned the idea. Dontnod settled on 1918 and the circumstances of the time social unrest, the repercussions of a war, a pandemic.
"This war at the beginning at the 20th century is the root of so many things," Beauverger says. "It's the beginning of communism. It's the beginning of feminism. It's the end of the old empires ... Darwin has killed God. God is dead, now we know where we come from it's all genetic. It's a brand-new era.
"Really, mankind is in the same situation as the vampire. You have so much power. What will you do with it? That's why the hero is on the verge of falling down, and so is mankind."
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6370633/Studio_Session-017-11.0.jpg)
'Jonathan Reid's evolution, and by extension the game's, is intimately tied to the number of people you feed on. The more you kill, the stronger you'll become. You can advance your character's strength and skills through fighting hunters, other vampires and so on but feeding on humans is the fastest, most effective way to advance Jonathan's abilities.
Dontnod plans to include a stack of RPG features in Vampyr, including skill trees to better tailor the vampire experience to the player. During an early demo, the developer showed off a few of Jonathan's supernatural skills. While some give him strength and speed, like a spring attack that allows him to quickly close gaps, others are more insidious. The doctor has the ability to mesmerize citizens and manipulate those with weak minds.'
'In one ominous image, the city of White Chapel appeared to be burning a consequence of attacking too many people. Death is part of Vampyr, and so is murder, but it's not glamorous, says Beauverger. It's aggressive, with players killing quickly and with power suited to a damned being.'
Much more at the link.
This was a pretty good write-up by Polygon. Do read in full. I'm really waiting for this one now. Dontnod seems like they have the game's world on point. There's a great deal of info on the studio itself in there.
'The French developer's first project, Remember Me, was a troubled one. It involved a publisher drop and swap, and a launch greeted by mixed reviews and mediocre sales. Its sophomore effort, despite criticism for its writing and some technical issues, signaled a more confident, competent studio at work. Life is Strange went on to win multiple awards, nominations and praise for its handling of relatable characters in real-world situations.
As Dontnod prepares to release its third title, an action role-playing game called Vampyr, it has something to prove both to itself and to its audience. The company is done chasing dreams of AAA, co-founder and CEO Oskar Guilbert says, and has a more specific vision in mind.
"We see ourselves as more like the Sundance Festival of movie independence, American movies," says Guilbert. "Maybe like it will be pretentious, but like HBO in TV. They [brought] something new to the TV series in the '80s, the '90s. This is something we want to do in games to bring the content, the emotion and I think we've shown that it's possible with Life is Strange. We want to continue like that."
'Vampyr surfaced in early 2015, a mere week and a half before Life is Strange's inaugural episode launched; at the time, Dontnod was still best known for Remember Me.
Dontnod had little to say about Vampyr then. The vampire RPG was set to star a doctor, a man turned against his will, after returning home from the First World War in 1918. As 2015 wore on, the developer dropped some details about the project: a city in the grip of the Spanish flu; choices on who to kill and who to spare that will affect the game's story. Duality the struggle between protagonist Jonathan Reid's desire to be a humanist, a man of science who wants to heal, and a creature of darkness compelled to survive by taking the lives of others is burrowed deep into its themes.
Stéphane Beauverger, the game's narrative director, often describes Vampyr's story as a gothic one: dark, despair-filled and full of melancholy. It's a romanticized tale of immortals, without the romance.
"Very far from Twilight," Beauverger says.'
'Vampyr's time period is deeply rooted in its story and vibe, but the game almost took a very different path. Stéphane Beauverger says the team considered setting the game in the 1950s for a short time, during the "golden era in America."
"Everybody was happy," he says of the time frame. "It was interesting to add some misery, some despair in this bright world."
The team got as far as to ponder potential weapons for Jonathan to use, but eventually canned the idea. Dontnod settled on 1918 and the circumstances of the time social unrest, the repercussions of a war, a pandemic.
"This war at the beginning at the 20th century is the root of so many things," Beauverger says. "It's the beginning of communism. It's the beginning of feminism. It's the end of the old empires ... Darwin has killed God. God is dead, now we know where we come from it's all genetic. It's a brand-new era.
"Really, mankind is in the same situation as the vampire. You have so much power. What will you do with it? That's why the hero is on the verge of falling down, and so is mankind."
'Jonathan Reid's evolution, and by extension the game's, is intimately tied to the number of people you feed on. The more you kill, the stronger you'll become. You can advance your character's strength and skills through fighting hunters, other vampires and so on but feeding on humans is the fastest, most effective way to advance Jonathan's abilities.
Dontnod plans to include a stack of RPG features in Vampyr, including skill trees to better tailor the vampire experience to the player. During an early demo, the developer showed off a few of Jonathan's supernatural skills. While some give him strength and speed, like a spring attack that allows him to quickly close gaps, others are more insidious. The doctor has the ability to mesmerize citizens and manipulate those with weak minds.'
'In one ominous image, the city of White Chapel appeared to be burning a consequence of attacking too many people. Death is part of Vampyr, and so is murder, but it's not glamorous, says Beauverger. It's aggressive, with players killing quickly and with power suited to a damned being.'
Much more at the link.
