Welcome, Kindred, to our latest Bloodlines 2 Dev Diary from the team at The Chinese Room. 

Tonight’s diary is about the different outfits you can collect and wear. A vampire’s clothing is an important tool in their hunting arsenal: do you wish to blend in unnoticed, lure your victims with your beauty, or intimidate others into submission? What you wear sets a first impression so choose your dinner attire wisely.

- Project Creative Director Alex Skidmore

The visual identity of each clan has been displayed in countless vivid images, and it was crucial for us to capture this in the clan outfits. At a glance, each outfit should convey the essence of its clan - whether it's the refined opulence of the Ventrue or the sinister threat of the Banu Haqim. We worked meticulously to compartmentalise and distill these visual styles to their purest form, ensuring players truly feel they are embodying their chosen role.

- Associate Art Director Ben Matthews

Character renders of the 4 base clans.

Concept Art’s Inspirations

While coming up with ideas for each clan’s costumes, we had so much flavour to draw from. Making sure to incorporate their history, subcultures and preferred activities gave us opportunities to explore different shapes and details that fit the clan style.

Brujah are rough and ready. They need hard-wearing materials that reflect their rebellious nature. Denim, leather and band T-shirts blend into Punk and rock bars. We added details like rips, anarchic logos and badges to show the Brujah’s anti-establishment streak.

Tremere’s history as mortal mages, and their use of arcane powers, inspired us a lot when designing this clan. The outfits reflect a more antiquated time, while also incorporating modern elements. We considered how practical they were to wear while using powerful ranged attacks, so the arms are less restricted for those large, magical gestures. Red was, of course, the first choice for accent colours in clothing and jewels, as the Tremere can control blood.

We wanted Banu Haqim to be a modern take on stealth-style clothes. Sticking to the shadows, finding ways to conceal your identity. Being able to move freely and silently through the environment unencumbered by jingling jewelry or heavy armour. They can also use Celerity, so we used accessories such as scarves, hoods, and pieces that add a sense of movement to their actions while hiding their face.

Ventrue are defined by their wealth and status so each version reflects a different kind of upper social class and culture. They wear fashion that is more about showing who they are to people rather than pieces ready for combat. To this end we used colours and styles that are opulent, almost regal. Every detail is there to show they’re ready for business or to show off their expensive jewelry.

 - Senior Concept Artist, Jordan Grimmer and Lead Concept Artist, Michele Nucera

Sculpting the Fashion

Creating the outfits for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 is more than just a matter of fashion - you have to think about the character's usability, animation and so on. We started with setting a benchmark costume; in our case, this was "Tremere 03," which served as the initial guide for clothing fit and design direction before even having the masculine Phyre model ready. This outfit became the foundation for future costumes, helping our team understand how different clothing types would fit and move.

From long coats to tight, sleek outfits, our goal is to offer players a variety of styles to suit their tastes. Concept art is just the beginning; we evolve these designs into something that not only looks good in cutscenes and fighting but also considers animation and practicality. Textures are given an "uplift" as they transition from 2D concept to 3D model, adding depth and realism.

Each clan has its own unique flair - for instance, "Ventrue 04" stands out as a favourite, while "Banu Haqim 02" features this great hood. Many of the costumes feature dramatic elements, like big collars or materials that add visual complexity - leather, fur, denim, silk, and cashmere. We think all these through with great importance. For instance, these outfits need to be functional for vampires running up buildings! And even though vampires rarely feel cold, we don’t want them breaking the Masquerade.

- Principal Character Artist Tim Turner

Soundset differences for different outfits

For the different outfits for our Protagonist, we took into account the different reactions from players and the effect the player might have on the passers-by.

Each outfit is curated not only to the clothing they are wearing but the foley (clothes and shoes) are mixed for the clan that said outfit is attributed to. Creating a more stealth-like feeling or the aggressive presence that one might expect between Banu Haqim vs Brujah. 

- Lead Audio Designer Tessa Verplancke

Unlocking and Equipping Outfits

As you play through the game, you’ll gain access to a wide variety of outfits. These outfits not only allow you to set the fantasy you might want to play as but also have an effect on the inhabitants of Seattle.

One of the goals we had for outfits was to really lean into and reflect each clan’s style and personality while also offering lots of dress-up options; after all fashion is king!

With that in mind, we decided to unlock the outfits based on what abilities you have gained access to. Because it's possible to play as Brujah but still gain access to Ventrue abilities, you can unlock and wear all the outfits in the game simply by playing, but you will naturally unlock the outfits for your chosen clan earlier.

Honestly, some of the outfits are so cool that I sometimes choose the order in which I unlock abilities based on the outfits I’ll gain from the unlock. I’m partial to some of the streetwear of the Banu Haqim (who doesn’t love a good hoodie). But with a wide range of options to unlock, I’m confident there’s plenty of fashion to suit everyone's tastes.  

- Lead Game Designer Gavin Hood

In-game outfit menu with the four base clan outfits unlocked.

Fashion Matters in chatter, too!

Prey can be scared off by sudden movements, loud noises, or things that don’t seem quite right… So, for Phyre, if they want to feed on the right Blood Resonance, they need to keep that in mind. Just knowing that the angry sex worker nearby is full of choleric blood and ready for a fight is just step one. Step two is making sure that you’re wearing something that will push them over the edge and really make that blood boil. Dressing and acting like a wealthy John could get them talking, but if you approach looking like someone who likes it rough? That might scare them right out of their angry mood, and then all that delicious choleric potential goes away.

In-game examples of NPCs reaction (with a non in-game overlay to show which outfit is equipped).

Many people in Seattle judge a book by its cover, but a Kindred knows that it's what you have inside that counts. You know. The blood.

- Senior Narrative Designer Arone LeBray