Sweden in 2015, and is themed around modern political and social issues. The player takes the role of Julia Andersson, a volunteer in a Syrian refugee camp, who learns that magic exists and that she has the power of True Magick. Development Vampire and Mage were developed in a collaboration between White Wolf Entertainment and Fula Fisken following Paradox Interactive's purchase of White Wolf in 2016, and was the first time a Vampire: The Masquerade video game was released in over a decade; White Wolf also intended for the games to mark their start as a multimedia entertainment company. Vampire was written and illustrated by Sarah Horrocks and Zak Sabbath, and Mage was written by Karin Tidbeck; both games were directed by Martin Ericsson at White Wolf. The games were based on White Wolf's tabletop role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Mage: The Ascension, and were inspired by Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks. Fula Fisken developed them using the Unity game engine due to its multi-platform support, and because of how it allowed for a smooth production with a focus on the content rather than the technology. Tidbeck was approached for Mage by Ericsson as he thought they would fit White Wolf's interactive fiction game concept, having known them since the 1990s, having previously worked with them on writing live action role-playing game projects, and having played tabletop role-playing games with them. Tidbeck got the idea for Mage from their time as a volunteer at a center for refugees in Malmö, and drew on their experience from that. The protagonist of Mage was written as pansexual and polyamorous, as Tidbeck likes to include LGBTQ portrayals in their works. In preparation for writing the game, Tidbeck read up on news articles to get a better understanding of the political background, and interviewed a Syrian family. As the game is based in the Mage: The Ascension setting, they additionally had to read the tabletop game's rule book, and learn and internalize its concepts. Working on an already established intellectual property was a challenge, as it meant having to stay faithful to the original, and being restrained in what they could and could not do, while also having to make something with their own flavor. Writing a Choose Your Own Adventure-style story also brought challenges, as they unlike ordinary novels and short stories are non-linear, and involve keeping track of several variables and