Posted in: Games, Paradox Interactive, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, Video Games | Tagged: music, seattle, the chinese room

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Discusses Music Choices

Check out the latest developer diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, as they discuss making music for a vampire-filled Seattle

Paradox Interactive and The Chinese Room dropped a new dev diary for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, this time exploring the music of the game. The team has gathered specific musicians for the daunting task of creating a theme for this alternate version of Seattle, where vampires roam freely. A daunting task to be sure, considering the city's musical roots. We have a snippet of the diary for you below, featuring composers Craig Stuart Garfinkle and Eimear Noone as they discuss their choices and the process for making this version of Seattle extra haunting. You can read the full dev diary on their website.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 – The Music of Seattle

A key aspect of the music direction has therefore always been to develop strong, memorable themes for the main characters in Bloodlines 2. These themes are interwoven throughout the game, sometimes directly in a scene involving their character and other times indirectly, perhaps when we want to subtly hint about deeper, unrevealed narrative entanglements. Another important aspect of the musical direction has been to develop a style that fits our game. There are numerous considerations that informed this: the diverse cast of characters you meet, the noir-inspired art style, the motivations of the player character, Phyre, the pace and violence of the combat encounters and of course, the rich musical heritage from the original Bloodlines game, released in 2004.

We looked for the score to invoke a sense of timelessness, a sensation of age and melancholy. We also wanted the music to express a strong sense of contrast, of opposing extremes, and to be a vital part of the game's narrative, adding depth to the moody, nocturnal atmosphere. The original Bloodlines had a captivating and immersive feel, as well as a strong musical identity, which of course, served us well as a point of reference and inspiration. So did the music written for Hardsuit Labs's version of Bloodlines 2 – more on that later. References also came from many other places, such as OST's from films like Only Lovers Left Alive, Under the Skin, or the Coen brothers' oeuvre, as well as jazz and choral music such as Gregorian chanting.

Through their extreme versatility and sheer tour-the-force of musical capability, our lead composers Craig Stuart Garfinkle and Eímear Noone have molded all these influences into a stunning and expressive soundtrack that perfectly encapsulates the mood and themes of the story being told in Bloodlines 2. The styles range from distorted guitar feedback, haunting, ambient soundscapes, driving, heaving combat music to strikingly beautiful melodic, wistful and gloomy themes. They have made extensive use of creative processing and unconventional techniques, and the results are outstanding. I can't wait for you to hear it all in-game, but for now, over to them to tell you more about their process.

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