The cult vampire RPG Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines from Troika Games was single-player at release, but during the production stage, a multiplayer mode in the spirit of Counter-Strike was planned for the project.
Image source: Steam (Lord Commander)
Troika Games co-founder and Bloodlines programmer Tim Cain first spoke about the cut network component back in the spring before last, and in a recent video he reported that he had found a design document for the project in his archive.
According to Kane, some of Troika’s multiplayer work has been preserved in the Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines code (modders are even trying to restore the mode based on it), but the studio’s concept was never implemented.
Concerned about the scope of the game’s single-player component, Activision (Bloodlines’ publisher) handed over the multiplayer work to another studio, but it was later cancelled.
The idea of vampire battles and the observance of the Masquerade is reflected in the battle royale Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt (image source: Steam)
Kane himself nicknamed the cut multiplayer mode CounterBite (similar to Counter-Strike). Matches were to include two teams, Masquerade rules, and several scenarios (modes).
What else did Kane say about CounterBite:
- There were nine potential teams to choose from – the Camarilla (all available clans), seven clans from the main game, and the vampire hunters from Leopold’s New Order;
- Vampires had supernatural powers, while hunters had weapons (hammers, flamethrowers) and unique disciplines (sacred powers) at their disposal;
- The battles took place in partially crowded places, so the participants of the match were required to follow the rules of the Masquerade (to hide the existence of vampires);
- Based on the results of the rounds, players received money and experience points that could be spent on upgrading characters and buying equipment – for violating the rules of the Masquerade, fines were imposed on earnings;
- Among the available scenarios were Team Elimination (kill the opposing team), Bloodhunt (hunt a chosen player), Kine (capture and hold the other team’s people), Embrace (hunters protect three people from vampires).
Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines was released in November 2004 and, despite its poor sales, earned the right to a sequel. Bloodlines 2 is expected to be released in October on PC (Steam, EGS, GOG), PS5, Xbox Series X and S.