Abstract
Problem: What sequels or expansions did Troika Games have planned for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines?
Approach: Tim Cain discusses two design documents he found from late fall 2003, created at Activision's request, outlining potential follow-ups to Bloodlines.
Findings: Two proposals were drafted — Vampire Bloodlines: Exodus and Vampire Bloodlines: Bloodhunt — both set in Barstow, California. One document even outlined a planned trilogy with a third game set in Las Vegas.
Key insight: Troika was already thinking in terms of a trilogy while still a year from shipping the original Bloodlines, but both design documents were intentionally left vague to allow lessons from the first game's reception to inform the sequels.
1. Two Design Documents
Tim Cain discovered two design documents for Bloodlines sequels, both dated around late fall 2003 — roughly when he joined the Bloodlines team, about a year before the game shipped. He believes these were created at Activision's request, as the publisher wanted to know what Troika planned to do after finishing Bloodlines.
Both documents were unfinished, and Tim notes they turned out to be "way more similar than I thought they were."
2. Vampire Bloodlines: Exodus
The first proposal was called Vampire Bloodlines: Exodus. The premise: you're escaping Los Angeles after the events of the original Bloodlines — but you're not the only one. Gehenna (the vampire apocalypse) is coming, and many vampires are trying to flee.
The player ends up in Barstow, California — chosen precisely because it's "where vampires would be least likely to go." The entire game would take place there. Upon arrival, you discover vampires already in Barstow, creating tension around whether they'll help or hinder you.
2.1. The Trilogy Revelation
The Exodus document contained a buried detail Tim had forgotten: it outlined a planned trilogy. The third game would be called Vampire Masquerade: Final Nights, set in Las Vegas, where Gehenna is about to happen and all the events culminate.
3. Vampire Bloodlines: Bloodhunt
The second proposal was Vampire Bloodlines: Bloodhunt. This version also involves traveling toward Las Vegas, but you've sent your ghouls ahead and they didn't make it. You end up at a truck stop outside Barstow, where you're attacked by representatives of various vampire clans — all angry about your actions in Los Angeles during the first game.
Only the first act was designed for Bloodhunt, so the game may have eventually progressed to Las Vegas, but the document doesn't go that far.
4. Why They Were Vague
Tim explains that both documents were intentionally left vague. Written a full year before Bloodlines shipped, the team wanted to:
- See what resonated with players from the original game
- Identify which mechanics could be improved based on reviews
- Follow the standard practice of scouring reviews for common feedback about what worked and what didn't
This is standard sequel development philosophy: let the reception of the first game inform the design of the next.
5. Reflection
Tim closes with a bittersweet reflection. The sequels were never made, but he quotes Dr. Seuss (paraphrased): "Don't be sad it's over, be happy it happened." He describes Bloodlines as a labor of love despite being a difficult process, and expresses gratitude that he kept these design documents to share with people years later.
The fact that two separate sequel proposals both converged on Barstow, and that a trilogy was already being envisioned, speaks to how much creative momentum Troika had around the Bloodlines universe — momentum that was ultimately cut short when the studio closed in 2005.
6. References
- Tim Cain. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuOIJbOrL_U