iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac •
It’s about time I came clean. I know this will come as a shock to many of you, so you might want to prepare yourself. Ready? Here we go:
Back when I was in college, I was a huge nerd.
There, I said it. Take as much time as you need to let that soak in.
Now, when I say “nerd”, I’m not talking about the kind that spent their time in the library on Thursday nights rather than at house parties, I’m talking about the kind that stayed in and played role-playing games with friends on Thursday nights instead of going to house parties. A lot of Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition was played in many dorm common areas, let me tell you. We even, for a short time, dabbled in something called Vampire: The Masquerade which was White Wolf’s more freeform answer to D&D’s mathiness and was all the rage thanks to Anne Rice and the lingering effect of a young Kiefer Sutherland in leather.
Well, Vampire: The Masquerade is back and it’s on your phone.
Vampire: Prelude puts you in the shoes of the newly undead and gives you the option of embracing or darkness or recoiling from it in horror. It’s pure interactive fiction told entirely via text message and it’s written/illustrated by the horror creating duo of Sarah Horrocks and Zak Sabbath.
Told entirely from a mobile messaging perspective, the story is a sharp, mature and often terrifying submersion into your first nights as unwilling predator and prey. Hunted by unknown enemies and driven by an alien hunger, will you sever your ties with the mortal world or try to cling to your former life? Will you join ancient conspiracies, or turn the tables on forces older than the written word? Terrible power lies within your grasp, but there is always a price to pay.
If vampires aren’t your bag, White Wolf has always had you covered by offering other supernatural avatars in their World of Darkness such as mummies, werewolves, demons, and mages. Mage the Ascension: Refuge is another interactive fiction title released last week that lets you explore the Mage universe and True Magick, which is an actual thing and not something invented for the Twilight novels.
The Mage the Ascension app is written by Swedish author Karin Tidbeck and takes place today and touches on many of today’s issues.
Set in modern-day Sweden, Mage: Refuge lets you experience today’s social and political upheavals while awakening to the power of True Magick – the ability to shape reality itself through your force of belief. Many will try to recruit you into a secret war where human consensus itself is the battlefield. Your actions and choices will have profound consequences on the world and people around you… assuming madness and Paradox doesn’t claim you first.
Both Vampire: Prelude and Mage the Ascension: Refuge are available as separate apps for iOS and Android, or you can get them for PC/Mac as a bundle for one price.
- Vampire: Prelude for iOS Universal, $5
- Vampire: Prelude for Android, $5
- Mage the Ascension: Refuge for iOS Universal, $5
- Mage the Ascension: Refuge for Android, $5
- World of Darkness Preludes: Vampire and Mage for PC/Mac via Steam, $10
