Blood/Lust
A Gothic Horror Romance Tragedy
In the murk of 19th Century Europe,
two people went about their lives in a small town.
Two people who are each in desperate need of the other,
but they don’t yet know it.
The world will never let them be together.
Their bond would cross class, tradition, even morality.
They are going to fall in love anyway.
Blood/Lust is a 2-player game of gothic horror and romance, about a vampire and a human who fall in love (or lust). An intimate and inevitably tragic game, Blood/Lust is about temptation, indulgence, sex, death, and transgression.
Through a branching path narrative, give in or resist and let the forces of need and want propel you toward one of several bittersweet endings. Passion, longing, regret, and death are all guaranteed.
The game is heavily inspired by a French short story from 1836 called La Morte Amoureuse, about a vampire who seduces a priest. As I discuss on the Details page at the end of the game, this inspiration drove me to explore the space of Vampires as embodiments of indulgence and temptation, rather than the more directly predatory demon-figures of Dracula or Carmilla. The game is also gender-neutral throughout, allowing any combination of romantic connection you want to play.
Cost: $7 (PDF), $10 (Softcover)
The Oblique Engine
The Oblique Engine is my own system framework. Oblique games are made for 2 players, with each taking a complementary role in the pursuit of some shared goal. The Scenes of Oblique Engine games are a series of lines and prompts, one prompt per player per line, with only one player answering their prompt for that line. Occasional dice rolls switch player is “taking the lead” and answering, causing play to take a weaving and diverging path through a plot. Failure to complete the Scene is impossible, with the question being what happens along the way.
With the plots of the games set, Oblique Engine games focus heavily on the interpersonal relationship of their two characters, looking deep inside their heads as they struggle, bond, fight, and experience. These introspective games are highly intimate experiences to share, even on repeat plays.
There are currently two released Oblique Engine games: TITAN/child and Blood/Lust. A third, Magical/Girl, is available through Patreon as a Complete Draft as it undergoes revision toward its final publication.
