The survivors Francis, Bill, Zoey, and Louis (left to right) on the poster for the "No Mercy" campaignĪn outbreak of a highly contagious pathogen nicknamed the "Green Flu" (which causes extreme aggression, mutation to the body cells, loss of higher brain functions, and essential zombification of those who catch it) begins in Pennsylvania.
In 2012, all Left 4 Dead campaigns were ported over to Left 4 Dead 2, with cross-platform multiplayer support between Windows and Mac versions of the game. The popularity of the game led to the development of the sequel Left 4 Dead 2, which was released in 2009.
As was done with Team Fortress 2, Valve supplemented the game with free downloadable content. The game won several publication awards, as well as distinctions from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Left 4 Dead was well-received by the industry media upon its release, with praise for its replay value, focus on cooperative play, and cinematic feel, although some criticized its limited level selection and lack of narrative. In all modes, an artificial intelligence dubbed the " Director" controls level pacing and item placements in an attempt to create a dynamic experience and increase replay value. Left 4 Dead uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, with four game modes: a single-player mode in which allied characters are controlled by AI, a four-player co-op campaign mode, an eight-player online versus mode, and a four-player survival mode. Set during the aftermath of a zombie outbreak on the East Coast of the United States, the game pits its four protagonists, dubbed the "Survivors", against hordes of the infected.
It was originally released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2008 and for Mac OS X in October 2010, and is the first title in the Left 4 Dead series. I may have taken a jump-start and my analysis may be unsubstantiated, but there is no denying the implications are there.Left 4 Dead is a 2008 first-person shooter game developed by Valve South and published by Valve. My argument is the following: Based on the original set of posters, even if personality-oriented conclusions could be made, not nearly to the same degree and distinction as based on mere two posters out of five. Nick is wary of his company just as much as he is of the overall situation. Rochelle, active and courageous, is at the front, but also seems to find solace and relief in having Coach - not the other two - covering her back.Įllis and Nick, then, are more rogue, with Ellis always the most expectant and the keenest on making progress. Here’s my twopence worth psychological analysis of each character, based on nothing but the posters and the posters alone (for substantiated information on the characters, you could visit Zombicidal): Firstly, there is specific physical interplay, not seen with the other characters, between Coach and Rochelle Coach, always at the back, seems reserved, mindful and slightly unsettled.
My question is, then, does the manner and style of character positioning illustrated below foreshadow the storyline of the game? What the posters do, most certainly, is reveal to us principal features of the characters’ personalities: But as has been promised in several 2 interviews 3, this is about to change. To name an example, though, Valve’s Jason Mitchell revealed that potential “romantic tension between Zoey and Francis … did not playtest well” 1. This seems to be about to change in Left 4 Dead 2: In the two campaign posters revealed so far - Swamp Fever and The Parish - there are marked differences compared to the previous game.Īs we know, there is little to no interpersonal narrative progression in the first game, for reasons elaborated in the forthcoming article.
In the five LD41 posters ( the new Crash Course included), Zoey and Francis both cover all four placement slots, with Bill and Louis found in three out of four. An interesting feature of the original campaign posters is their equal-weight character distribution: The placement of the characters rotates evenly, with very little utilization of character-specific poses and personality-emphasising traits. This post is a quick sneak peek into our forthcoming article that focuses on the evolution of the casts of Valve’s Left 4 Dead series.
Notice: Don’t forget to check out our latest update to this post, “Dissecting the Casts of Valve’s Left 4 Dead Series“