Justin Achilli is now the Brand Creative Lead for the World of Darkness

[CTPhipps]

https://twitter.com/jachilli/status/1278139490306002944

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.

[Nicolas Milioni]

Cool! I thought Martin Ericsson did a wonderful job as Lead Storyreller(the equivalent of a creative lead) ,but Justin Achilli is just perfect to keep the all rolling.

[atamajakki]

Cool! I thought Martin Ericsson did a wonderful job as Lead Storyreller(the equivalent of a creative lead) ,but Justin Achilli is just perfect to keep the all rolling.

...the same Martin that was in charge when the company got dissolved and the IP given to someone else due to creative decisions, who had previously caught flak for hiring an infamous shithead later outed as an abusive sexual predator?

MOD EDIT:

A lot of people have been outed in the industry and entertainment as a whole as real shitheads. I'm pleased to see when companies take steps to deal with it like getting rid of WE EAT BLOOD due to its authors actions.

None of which has anything to do with celebrating Justin A's promotion here, so let's stay on topic please.

[Nicolas Milioni]

Well,that's not entirely true. Martin didn't know the abuser was an abuser,and when he had proof he never hired him again. It was ignorance,not malice.
I should also point out that White Wolf still exists,they are simply not independent anymore. And they still dictate how the IP should be written.
Besides,since he's not part of the team anymore,it is a moot point.

[Pleiades]

Justin Achilli is now the Brand Creative Lead for the World of Darkness

now that's something I'd never see comming, that's great news,
though I'm not sure what a Brand Creative Lead does

[CTPhipps]

now that's something I'd never see comming, that's great news,
though I'm not sure what a Brand Creative Lead does

Basically, he'll decide what happens from now on subject to approval of Paradox's Antediluvians.

[Heavy Arms]

"Brand Creative Lead" isn't really... a standard job title. But at the end of the announcement they use the phrase, "lead creative development."

That usually translates into the job of deciding what the brand actually is, and how to communicate that: marketing, product cohesiveness, etc. Anything that pops into your head if you're asked, "what makes something a World of Darkness product?" is now Justin's responsibility to help get into your head.

So lets say Onyx Path submits a novel that gets made along side their next V5 product. The novel's general idea would already have been approved by Paradox's pitch team (which Justin should be on, but those sorts of details aren't normally public). Onyx Path hires the author, the author rights the story, an artist is hired to do the cover, a font is chosen for the title, etc. Justin gets all that, and gets to say, "this is what a VtM story should be like, what it should look like on a shelf," etc. or not, or probably have some back and forth about it if it wasn't spot on the first time.

Another example could be something like picking the music for the trailer for a new video game. If nobody has any ideas, Justin's got to come up with a song that fits the game, and the WoD brand, and make decisions like "do we go with the original version from the 90s because it's iconic, or this cover another artist did a year ago that has some neat atmospheric changes and helps reinforce the WoD for the 21st century branding," Obviously not going to happen because the FFVII Remake just used it, but if someone said, "should we go with the original Smasing Pumpkins version of Bullet With Butterfly Wings, or the Karen O cover?" it's a creative developer's job to figure that sort of thing out.

[Penelope]

That is super awesome!! Thanks. I’ve heard a lot of good things about him. I really like World of Darkness and I hope they keep producing cool games for many years to come.

[Penelope]

Heavy Arms thanks. That’s really helpful to know.

[Penelope]

What’s a Sticky Topic?

[Damian May]

Well,that's not entirely true. Martin didn't know the abuser was an abuser,and when he had proof he never hired him again. It was ignorance,not malice.
I should also point out that White Wolf still exists,they are simply not independent anymore. And they still dictate how the IP should be written.
Besides,since he's not part of the team anymore,it is a moot point.

Anybody with the ability to use google and two functioning brain cells knew it. Stop excusing bad practice.

Its good to see they've cleared most of the dead wood out of the IP handlers, and I'm guessing Justin is not quite as abrasive as he used to be as a younger man. An encouraging sign that things may be looking up in White Wolf land.

[Damian May]

What’s a Sticky Topic?

One that stays at the top of the page.

[Trollroot]

Well. Look for more Ventrue stuff then On the other hand, I remember him saying White Wolf should not have forums.

[CTPhipps]

Well. Look for more Ventrue stuff then On the other hand, I remember him saying White Wolf should not have forums.

Thankfully, this is Onyx Path.

[Gurkhal]

Hurray!

Very happy for this development.