by in
A little under a month ago, we were wondering what new pastures Jess Lanzillo, former VP of Dungeons and Dragons, was off to after she announced that she was leaving Wizards of the Coast. Well, now we know, as White Wolf has announced that Lanzillo will be joining The World of Darkness to take care of IP development as the new Creative Director.
According to a post on LinkedIn, this has been a long time dream for Lanzillo, who speaks in glowing terms of the impact that The World of Darkness games have had on her life. “White Wolf is directly responsible for convincing teenage me that games could be serious art. When I first discovered Vampire: The Masquerade, I realized I wasn’t alone in believing that playing pretend in made up worlds could be profound. My art brain and my game brain finally had a singular home… and apparently that home was full of elaborate vampire politics,” says Lanzillo.
There is a considerable amount of chopping and changing going on in the world of TTRPGs right now, as it feels like everyone is trying to either figure out how to grow, or how to stop the bleeding. Former Dungeons & Dragons mainstays Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford have just joined Darrington Press, while WotC has just made Dan Ayoub their VP of Franchise.
“Bringing Jess on board to shape the creative future of World of Darkness is a big win for White Wolf,” said Marco Behrmann, White Wolf Executive Vice President. “She’s a world-class Creative Director with deep roots in developing transmedia properties and a sharp instinct for audience-first storytelling. Jess’s experience makes her the perfect fit to lead White Wolf in bold, ambitious ways. Jess is a key pillar of our expanding studio, helping drive a strong and clear creative vision from the heart of our team. Her arrival underscores Paradox’s long-term commitment to White Wolf and our goal to make World of Darkness the number one horror entertainment brand in the world.”
Honestly, it’s good news for fans of White Wolf games, as it does seem like Paradox is putting serious effort into helping the combined World of Darkness games get back to where they once were. The IP has been through multiple owners such as CCP and Paradox, who usually seemed to have more of a focus on trying to develop a video game than really acting as custodians of the world (just one man’s opinion, don’t bite me).
As a long-time fan of the games, I hope that Lanzillo receives the necessary support to get these games back on track.
