{"id":1815,"date":"2020-12-16T20:33:02","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T20:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1332246"},"modified":"2020-12-16T20:33:02","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T20:33:02","slug":"watching-people-pretend-to-be-vampires-is-what-got-me-through-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=1815","title":{"rendered":"Watching people pretend to be vampires is what got me through 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&amp;fit=1280%2C640&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2020%2F12%2FVTM-Companion-Clans-540x270.jpg&amp;signature=e3a1ab91b03c5e041942823178c6f3fc\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>If I had a dollar for every article I\u2019ve read that started with \u201c2020 was a tough year for everyone,\u201d I\u2019d be rich enough to not be here writing this one.<\/p>\n<p>But it was! And with a couple weeks left I\u2019m still not convinced we won\u2019t face the zombie apocalypse by Christmas. That being said, I\u2019m more prepared than ever for whatever horrors await these waning days and those sure to come in 2021. Because I\u2019m a vampire.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldofdarkness.com\/products\/tabletop-games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Vampire: The Masquerade<\/a> has been around for decades. Today, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldofdarkness.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">World of Darkness<\/a> (that\u2019s the universe in which V:TM exists) released a companion book for the Vampire: The Masquerade V5 Core Rulebook. It\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldofdarkness.com\/news\/v5-companion-is-available-to-download-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">65-page free PDF<\/a> you can download that, to use a video game term, is basically a full-featured expansion pack to the main game.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T-C1bj0rZPM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been playing V:TM since the early 1990s when it was released by a company called White Wolf. The IP\u2019s since gone through some changes and now it\u2019s controlled by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paradoxplaza.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Paradox Interactive<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You might recognize V:TM or World of Darkness from the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.paradoxplaza.com\/vampire-the-masquerade---bloodlines-2\/VMVM01GSK0000001-MASTER.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2<\/a>\u201d video game set to release next year. It\u2019s gained a bit of hype in the gaming world, even beyond just the hardcore fans. And for good reason. If this trailer doesn\u2019t get you curious about the World of Darkness, I don\u2019t think anything will:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/j6dTGZ11v7U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t help but think of Stanley Kubrick\u2019s imagining of Anthony Burgess\u2019 \u201cA Clockwork Orange\u201d whenever I watch that trailer.<\/p>\n<p>The World of Darkness, as advertised, is a gritty and dark place that holds a mirror up to modern society. The universe covers more products than you can shake a stake at. There\u2019s the tabletop roleplaying games the whole thing is based on, the original V:TM and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldofdarkness.com\/products\/tabletop-games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Werewolf: The Apocalypse<\/a> (plus other titles from older versions are on the way).<\/p>\n<p>And then there\u2019s a whole glut of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldofdarkness.com\/products\/boardgames\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">board games<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldofdarkness.com\/products\/video-games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">video games<\/a>, novels, live streams, and a couple card games. There\u2019s even a game you play on Amazon Alexa. Hell, they\u2019re making <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldofdarkness.com\/news\/battle-royale-in-vampire-the-masquerade-world\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">a battle royale video game<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bloody-disgusting.com\/video-games\/3619555\/world-darkness-universe-enters-vr-wraith-oblivion-afterlife\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">a VR experience<\/a> too.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"13.610429447853\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Orpheus Device, voice-controlled free horror game by Dave Grossman and Richard Dansky, set in World of Darkness universe, is out now!<\/p>\n<p>Available for iOS, Android and Alexa (check thread below for the instructions)!<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CED1vPfcFw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/CED1vPfcFw<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gelQH3S6kE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/gelQH3S6kE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 World of Darkness (@worldofdarkness) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/worldofdarkness\/status\/1321854604343214080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">October 29, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And there\u2019s also my personal favorite way to enjoy the World of Darkness, a live-streaming \u201c<i>TV show<\/i>\u201d (those are air quotes) called \u201cLA By Night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jFyQtOghqwA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>At the heart of the World of Darkness lies the simple premise that, for the most part, the characters you play are <em>monsters<\/em>. You\u2019re a vampire, or a werewolf, or a wraith, or even a demon. There are some exceptions (there\u2019s a game focused on monster hunters called, aptly, Hunter), but typically the true antagonist in the World of Darkness is your character\u2019s ever-ebbing humanity. In-game this is called \u201cThe Beast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The stories told in the World of Darkness are not about heroes vanquishing villains. They\u2019re about monsters clinging to their humanity. You play against yourself, essentially. The challenge isn\u2019t to win, but to experience a good story.<\/p>\n<p>I spoke with Justin Achilli, World of Darkness Brand Creative Lead, and Jason Carl Brand Marketing Manager for the World of Darkness earlier this week and, aside from fanboying out (Carl is the \u2018Storyteller\u2019 in the LA By Night show), I managed to ask a bunch of questions about the company, its products, and its fans.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, when I\u2019m talking to a game designer for a product line-up as complex as WoD\u2019s I\u2019ll ask where new players and fans <i>should<\/i><span> enter. For example, there\u2019s a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.modiphius.net\/products\/vampire-the-masquerade-new-blood-starter-pack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">New Blood<\/a>\u201d starter pack for people who\u2019ve never played the V:TM tabletop RPG before. But that\u2019s not necessarily the <\/span><i>most interesting<\/i><span> or <\/span><i>best <\/i><span>way to enter the entire world. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Achilli\u2019s first work as creative lead on the core materials is the V:TM Companion, something he was obviously passionate about when we spoke, but both he and Carl agreed that the overall vision of the company was for, as Carl says \u201cpeople who\u2019ve never rolled dice\u201d to get as much out of the universe and its lore as the hardcore tabletop gamers who\u2019ve been down since day one. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As mentioned, LA By Night is my favorite part of the universe. It\u2019s a streaming show that Carl described as being similar to both an old radio play and early TV shows where most of the action happened live. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It\u2019s basically a group of professional actors sitting around a table, in costume, playing Vampire: The Masquerade with Carl as their \u201cStoryteller\u201d (a dungeon master or game master in most RPGs). The show plays out in 2 to 3-hour long \u201cchapters\u201d that exist within a longer chronicle. I\u2019ve described it as my favorite vampire TV show ever, you should give it a full episode or two if you want to decide for yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"6.3311688311688\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Thought I\u2019d share this beautiful photo with the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/vamily?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#vamily<\/a>! It explains a lot between Nelli and Annabelle. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/erikaishii?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">@erikaishii<\/a>\u2019s expression breaks my heart every time I see this. \ud83e\udd7a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/happywednesday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#happywednesday<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/labynight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#labynight<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Vampirethemasquerade?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#Vampirethemasquerade<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ttrpg?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#ttrpg<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/i7Ac30NDqD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/i7Ac30NDqD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Cynthia Marie (@Cyndancer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cyndancer\/status\/1331605303813496832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">November 25, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Aside from being really cool, it also serves as a strong portal for newcomers to enter both the World of Darkness and tabletop gaming in general. There\u2019s as many ways to roleplay as there are people roleplaying, but not only are the people playing the LA By Night chronicle all professional actors and roleplayers, what they\u2019re doing is actually considered canon in the universe. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Plus, they manage to seamlessly explain the rules and the gameplay as they go, so it\u2019s helpful for those trying to figure what a good game of Vampire should look like.&nbsp;<\/span>Watching an actual world of characters and intrigue get improvised into existence in front of you is a fantastic motivation for newcomers to start telling their own stories in the World of Darkness.<\/p>\n<p><span>What\u2019s more important is that it\u2019s not a brand-placement advertisement gussied up to look like a game. It\u2019s evident LA By Night is a work of passion. Carl told me it was his \u201clove letter to the World of Darkness,\u201d and I think that\u2019s evident on the screen. By the way, I\u2019m not all the way through the first season yet, but so far Jasper\u2019s my favorite and my fianc\u00e9e&nbsp;really enjoyed X. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It\u2019s the sincerity of LA By Night, that is to say the genuine glee with which its cast members play the game, that makes it special. The main cast is exquisite and the guests have done an amazing job of fleshing out the other denizens of the chronicle. Watching them makes me feel like I\u2019m playing too. It makes me feel included. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And that\u2019s what V:TM and the World of Darkness are all about. It\u2019s a place where, rather than hide from reality\u2019s problems in a dungeon or fantasize about life in space \u2013 both perfectly valid outlets \u2013 it gives players the opportunity to go head-to-head with whatever bothers them in an environment where they can tell the story they want to hear. Even if it\u2019s just blowing off steam, it\u2019s a safe place to put those big feelings and emotions. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The World of Darkness fictitiously exists within the same world we live in today. So, for some, becoming a vampire is a way to explore ideas about themselves that aren\u2019t necessarily safe for them to explore in the real world. A teen struggling with sexuality, bullying, or social anxiety might create a character who lets them explore sides of themselves they otherwise couldn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Check out Owen Duffy\u2019s \u201cI was a bisexual teen bloodsucker: how Vampire: The Masquerade saved me from early-2000s homophobia\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dicebreaker.com\/categories\/roleplaying-game\/opinion\/vampire-the-masquerade-lgbt-homophobia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">on Dicebreaker<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span>And while you can do this in any tabletop game, few so eloquently point us toward the real world and its very real problems as Vampire: The Masquerade. The game practically begs you to ruminate on the true nature of what it means to be a person. Will you save your humanity by hunting the scum of the Earth? Will you risk it to punish those you held as enemies when you were still human? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It also allows us to view our very real problems through the lens of someone else. I may not enjoy having to wear a mask everywhere I go, but some vampires look like monsters (called Nosferatu) and I often imagine how wonderful it must be for them to suddenly live in a world where walking around in the middle of the night with your face covered up while trying to avoid any social contact is now the norm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I also live with mental illness and there\u2019s a specific kind of vampire character in the game that, through coming up with backstory and experiencing what it\u2019s like to walk a mile in their fangs, helps me find ways to express what it\u2019s truly like to be depressed, anxious, and live with PTSD. Called \u201cMalkavian\u201d they\u2019re typically viewed as insane by other \u201ckindred.\u201d I feel like everyone thinks I\u2019m crazy too, sometimes, even though everyone has mental health.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Chances are, whatever\u2019s going on in your life, there\u2019s a character in the World of Darkness who reflects your pain or fear. Engaging in the world through their eyes, safely in a game, forces you to find that character\u2019s strengths and, perhaps, could help you find yours. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"6.1693121693122\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today, I am now a Vampire the Masquerade writer.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/vampire?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#vampire<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/v5?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#v5<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/vamily?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#vamily<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/vampirethemasquerade?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#vampirethemasquerade<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/vtm?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">#vtm<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uPwxYxWh4S\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/uPwxYxWh4S<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alison Cybe, writing tabletop RPGs (@cyberawolf) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cyberawolf\/status\/1339243861273694212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">December 16, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>I can honestly say skipping out on reality to live in the World of Darkness for a few hours a time was a pretty big factor in getting me through 2020. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Whether playing the first Bloodlines game, enjoying the fantastically written <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/agecheck\/app\/1279630\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Shadows of New York and Coteries of New York<\/a> interactive fiction games (wow are they good, more on that in another article), or just curled up with my fianc\u00e9e&nbsp;watching LA By Night, I found myself comforted time and time again by the richness and depth of the infinitely adaptable World of Darkness.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/distract\/2020\/12\/16\/watching-people-pretend-to-be-vampires-is-what-got-me-through-2020\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If I had a dollar for every article I\u2019ve read that started with \u201c2020 was a tough year for everyone,\u201d I\u2019d be rich enough to not be here writing this one. But&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}