>>6062632Thank you very much for the kind feedback, and also your very interesting write-ins!
I have to admit, initially when I saw some of your ideas I panicked lol because I had no point of reference or preparation for many of them,, however, I think in the end they did take the story to interesting places!
My original idea with the songs developed from the dnd type spells "I cast MAGIC, TELL ME DM ALL THE INFORMATION REVEAL ALL THE GAME SECRETS NOW IS NPC LYING??" lol those spells, I had an idea that instead of magic telepathic omniscience, you would be able to infer something about the npcs, their disposition or trustworthiness from seeing their playlists. I remembered in Metal Gear Solid IV (the old man moustache Snake one) in the endgame you could unlock some emotion voodoo dolls, from Screaming / psycho mantis, there was a sorrow one a laughing one, I never actually went back and replayed the game after getting them, but it gave me an idea that a cool advanced version of the psychic music playlist would let you inject / hijack npc emotions by uploading your own songs etc. eg if you could demoralise them or turn them hyper aggressive against others etc.
As you mentioned, anons may not actually have such an extensive music collection.
Maybe what I should have done instead: just offer a preset menu selection of songs, let players choose one as an "emotional spell" to manipulate an NPC mood.
Near the end of this game, I was running out of music myself lol, I couldn't find enough appropriate music for some of the key scenes or other characters, it does take a lot of effort recalling films / tv / games. I was specifically trying to use mostly California type music (think anons recommended me some interesting music in the qtg, which I appreciated, but I was specifically trying to get the California beach goth type feel). Hence I was scouring my memory of Euphoria, The Idol, 90210 and The OC type tv series
Watching Shaft (1971) it resonated a lot with Wesley Snipes Blade (1998) which for me is one of the best vampire films ever (Blade is a deeply political film, compared to say Kate Beckinsdale Underworld or Tom Cruise Interview With The Vampire etc) Another intriguing "black goth" character, though somewhat underused, is the villain Judah Earl from the 2nd film, Crow City Of Angels (1996) this film had incredible atmosphere, fashion (Iggy Pop as a goth!) visuals. In my alt-reimagining of vampires, I tried deliberately to avoid the GOTHIC MIST VOODOO look, it nonetheless remains a very inspiring influence. The New York / Gotham skyscraper / ghetto thing is probably better suited for Vampire Masquerade world of darkness, I deliberately tried to move it to palm trees, sunny boulevards and beaches etc. Similarly the Arts Residency was a variant on the familiar Silent Hill / Evil Within creepy asylum, I tried to emphasise the modern corporate wellness / luxury rehab aesthetic instead for an alternative perspective
