The third episode of DONTNOD Entertainment’s development web series has launched, a weekly mini-documentary introducing viewers to the world of Vampyr. DONTNOD’s upcoming RPG follows the exploits of skilled doctor-turned-vampire Jonathan Reid; as such, treading the line between healer and killer was the theme of episode 3.
“Episode 3: Human After All” explores how Jonathan (and by extent, players) will deal with vampirism while filling the role of a doctor. “We didn’t want any generic NPCs like many RPGs, where they only exist to give a quest or say a few words and return to their ‘life,'” Philippe Moreau, the game’s director, said in the episode. “We knew each citizen needed their own identity so that each time the vampire chooses one to sacrifice, it has real meaning, real consequences.” Every NPC in the game is specifically created, so that every interaction or confrontation could feel as though the player is “confronting a human,” as opposed to a faceless plot device.
“In Vampyr, it’s not by killing enemies that you gain XP, it’s by sacrificing citizens and drinking their fresh blood,” narrative director Stephane Beauverger explained. “It’s a way for us to say: you are a vampire, you can kill, but it really means something to do so.” Every time the player takes a life, the world of the game is impacted and changes around that action. “The death of the target will impact the story, or the day-to-day life of everyone living around them,” Beauverger continued.
In addition, when you make a kill, you hear that person’s final thoughts (or several of them, depending on how well you knew that person). If you’ve also killed people your current victim knew, the impact of that death is even more significant. For all of the details, you can watch episode 3 below:
The fourth and final episode of DONTNOD Presents Vampyr will be out later this week. Vampyr is set to release this spring for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.