The trouble with a lot of middle-of-the-road games is gaining any sort of attention at all, especially from media outlets obsessed with identity politics and the victimhood narrative. Nevertheless, Focus Home Interactive and Dontnod Entertainment are trying to drum up interest for their mid-budget action-drama, Vampyr.
The duo of studios are attempting to do so by releasing regular behind-the-scenes videos of the game themed around the atmosphere, story and characterizations present in Vampyr.
The latest video covers Doctor Jonathan Reed’s growth in the game, and how players will have to evolve and grow stronger by feeding on citizens. They also discuss how citizens aren’t nameless NPC meatbags available for the feeding… each one is their own character and sometimes will even help progress the story forward. So picking and choosing who you kill isn’t as easy as you might first expect.
I admit, I really like the idea that NPCs are given more importance than just being fodder for progression. It’s an interesting take on the concept of needing to kill NPCs to stay alive.
Usually this is done without a second thought by most players, but if the NPCs have more depth than just being nameless, faceless, samey-looking meshes to boost your XP, will it change the way players engage with them? And more importantly, will it change who gets turned into a coagulated blood parfait?
The approach to the design that Dontnod took was to give each NPC their own individual look. So this way you’re not running into the same two or three NPCs throughout the game like in Assassin’s Creed.
The video then decides to cover a very hot button topic in most Western societies… immigration. It even goes so far as to hint at miscegenation, which is a huge sociological issue right now in places like Britain, Sweden, and America.
Thankfully they don’t dwell on the immigration issue for too long. They mention that there are different classes of people who will be represented in Vampyr and glimpse at what some of their lives and plights will be like, from the orphans to the beggars to the wealthy.
They then move on to talk about how as Jonathan Reed you’ll have to continue to feed on fresh blood to maintain your strength. However, they also bring out that killing someone will have consequences and you will see the consequences play out in the game, such as people mourning a loved one’s death by going to their funeral, or taking actions into their own hands. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction in the game.
You can look for Vampyr to launch for the PS4, PC and Xbox One this spring. For more info feel free to visit the official website.
