When it comes to vampires, there's lots of inspiration to choose from. When creating Vampire Therapist, developer Cyrus Nemati searched far and wide for inspiration to make each member of his large cast of vampires feel unique. Nemati drew from real world historical figures, existing vampire media, and even his own previous roles in games such as Hades. The result is that every vampire in Vampire Therapist feels like a fully realized creation unique from their fellows. They all might need blood and not be particularly fond of sunlight, but this varied group of vampires is otherwise quite different from one another, as Nemanti revealed in an interview with Game ZXC.

Related

How Cozy Meets Comedy In Lil’ Guardsman

In a recent interview, Game ZXC speaks with Hilltop Studios' co-founders about how cozy meets comedy in the upcoming fantasy game, Lil' Guardsman.

Vampires Throughout History

In Game ZXC's conversation with Cyrus Nemati, one thing was immediately obvious: the developer had done a massive amount of research when creating each vampire in the cast. With a contagious grin on his face, he rattled off time periods he had chosen as the origins of his undead characters:

We go back as far as 3000 years for the guy who's teaching you the therapy basics. We have a vampire from the Bronze Age...then the 16th, 17th, 18th centuries, and, of course, 19th for the protagonist.

Nemati drew from real-life historical figures when crafting many of his vampires. One is a real-life figure - a woman from the Italian Renaissance whose name the developer did not reveal. He did, however, describe the extensive research process he used to establish the character's voice. "She's had 20,000 of her letters published and translated. I read all of them." Another character, Drayne, is Nemati's own creation but studied under William Harvey, the man who first mapped the human circulatory system. "He was able to show students how a dead pigeon's heart could be stimulated to beat again by touching it with a bit of saliva!" Nemati exclaimed with a grin. Of course, an eternal vampire would be interested in such an experiment.

Drawing From Vampire Fiction

Of course, Cyrus Nemati also took inspiration from the large amount of vampire fiction created throughout the years. He cited What We Do in the Shadows as a source he looked to when it came to writing vampires in romantic relationships - and, on the other hand, admitted that he deliberately avoided vampire-mortal relationships such as those portrayed in Twilight. "What does [Edward] have in common with somebody who has only roamed this earth for 18 years?" he asked, then admitted he had no idea what the answer was.

One character, a narcissistic actor from Shakespeare's time, drew inspiration from multiple sources. One was Theseus, the grandiose warrior Nemati himself voiced in Hades. Another was Astarion, the suave rogue from 2023 hit Baldur's Gate 3. Comparing the two, Nemati said:

Astarion is perfect. He's somebody really over the top. Who can just dance the dance. I have a character in this game that's from the mid-Shakespearean period - 1798. He's the guy who transformed Shakespearean acting into something that was less pantomime and more serious acting. That character is in this really over-the-top place, and Astarion's in the same place.

Nemati's thorough research and myriad of inspirations don't just end with vampire fiction. Drayne, the aforementioned doctoral student, has some Jekyll and Hyde-like elements to him, the developer admitted. Sam, the game's protagonist, is a classic cowboy from Westerns past, but he's also a deep-thinking student of the American Transcendentalist movement. And Andromachos, Sam's mentor, is a Greek tragedy come to life - turned to therapy after he realized that nothing he could do with his immortal life could ever truly make him happy. These varied characters and their unique inspirations combine to make Vampire Therapist a complex, multi-layered story with a cast of vampires players will definitely be thinking about long after completing the game.

Vampire Therapist is currently planned to release in June 2024 for PC.