World of Darkness Gets New Creative Lead
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With Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 and Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood both set to launch later this year, Paradox Interactive is clearly looking to strengthen their World of Darkness brand. To that extent, they have now expanded their WoD team with two new hires.
First is Justin Achilli, an acclaimed game designer with plenty of WoD and general gaming experience, who will serve as the new World of Darkness Brand Creative Lead. And then, there’s Martyna “Outstar” Zych, a well-known Vampire: The Masquerade enthusiast, who will now get direct access to the franchise as the new Brand Community Developer.
The link above shares plenty of additional details:
STOCKHOLM – June 30, 2020 – World of Darkness, the transmedia entertainment brand behind celebrated fantasy horror properties like Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse, has announced the hiring of Justin Achilli as Brand Creative Lead. The author and designer of a wide range of World of Darkness games, rulebooks, and supplemental material over the last 23 years, Justin rejoins the World of Darkness team as the brand continues to expand in 2020 and beyond. Martyna “Outstar” Zych, a popular YouTuber, Twitch Streamer, and Vampire: The Masquerade enthusiast, has also recently joined as Brand Community Developer and now broadcasts a weekly livestream show “WoD News.”
To stay connected on all things World of Darkness with “WoD News”, as well catch the latest season of the pioneering Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop roleplay show “LA By Night” please visit the official World of Darkness Twitch channel at https://www.twitch.tv/worldofdarkness.
“I’ve loved the World of Darkness since my then-girlfriend convinced me to get into it back in the 1990s. It led me into a career in games, and at every studio where I’ve worked I’ve met people who have themselves been long-time players,” said Justin Achilli. “I’m very excited to help deliver the future of WoD, as Paradox has the ability to realize games and other media that we simply didn’t have the means to accomplish in years prior. More than anything else, I’m looking forward to bringing this dark, mysterious world I love to an entirely new generation, and saying hello again to fellow Methuselahs who have been with us since ancient times.”
Achilli is an acclaimed game designer with credits on more than 100 gaming productions, ranging from video and tabletop games to board and card games. From 1997 to 2011, he prolifically conceptualized, designed, and authored countless World of Darkness products and materials across a wide range of supernatural horror franchises, including Vampire: The Masquerade, Dark Ages: Vampire, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and more. In recent years, Achilli has held various roles at Funcom and Red Storm Entertainment, where he worked on Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, and Werewolves Within. With his unparalleled breadth of World of Darkness knowledge and experience, Achilli will lead creative development for World of Darkness, supporting product development both internally and with licensed partners.
“My love for the World of Darkness started with my brother gifting me Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines when I was fourteen. It wasn’t exactly meant for my age, but it was an educational experience that led to me eventually entering the games industry. Through the cryptic note on the protagonist’s inbox I found the game’s concept artist, whose work inspired me to start creating digital art, pursue my Master’s degree, and land my first industry job at CD Projekt RED,” said Martyna Zych. “The World of Darkness fan community is one of the most creative, passionate and inclusive tabletop and video game groups I’ve ever known. I will always be one of the fans, but the opportunity to work behind the scenes on this amazing brand is a dream come true.”
Zych, known as Outstar on YouTube and Twitch, is a game developer who has worked as an animator on The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt and as a concept artist on the Eventide franchise. Zych is also a Vampire: The Masquerade enthusiast who has for years been a leading figure in the franchise’s online community. In anticipation of Bloodlines 2, she won the 2019 Vampire Jam with her own Vampire: The Masquerade game: Santa Monica By Night. In her role as Brand Community Developer, Zych is now responsible for both managing the incredible World of Darkness community of fans and players, as well as growing this community as the brand expands with new products in new mediums. She has launched a weekly livestream show on all things World of Darkness and manages all official World of Darkness social media channels.
“The hiring of Justin and Martyna is shows the direction that World of Darkness is headed,” said Sean Greaney, Brand Manager for World of Darkness. “In his creative role, Justin will ensure that we preserve the tone that this story universe has always been known for, while merging it with modern, contemporary creative design. Martyna has been an active member of the World of Darkness community for years and will play a vital role in helping us connect with our wide range of audiences. With these hires, we’re building a world-class team to manage and extend this brand, and both of these talented individuals are instrumental to moving the World of Darkness forward.”
World of Darkness fans can look forward to a number of exciting new products across video games, tabletop, card games, comics, and audiobooks in 2020 and beyond. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, the successor to the iconic Bloodlines video game from 2004, is currently in development. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, the Werewolf brand’s first video game entry, will launch in 2020. Vampire: The Masquerade: Walk Among Us, a trio of audiobooks, were published by HarperCollins earlier this month. Releases in the next year include four new Vampire: The Masquerade board games, a Vampire: The Masquerade comic series from Vault Comics, and more.
