Left 4 Dead (abbreviated L4D) is a singleplayer and multiplayer cooperative survival horror FPS game developed by Valve Corporation. The game was built using Source engine and is available on PC and Xbox 360. During early development, its working title was "Terror Strike."
The game puts four human playable or AI-controlled Survivors of an apocalyptic pandemic against hordes of the Infected. Regular Infected are controlled by the game AI, while human players can control up to four mutated Special Infected with special abilities in Versus mode. The goal of Left 4 Dead for the Survivors is to help each other make it through a level to safety. Infected players must cooperate to stop them.
The basic gameplay never changes from map to map, so players will learn their way around fairly quickly. The Director keeps things from getting monotonous, however, by throwing in different challenges in every level. No two playthroughs are exactly alike.
Left 4 Dead begins in Pennsylvania, following an outbreak of the so-called Green Flu, a highly transmittable STD-like virus which manifests itself as massively increased aggression and the loss of many higher brain functions within its victim.
Two weeks after the infection of Green Flu, four immune Survivors of the outbreak make their way through the city of Fairfield, only to discover that the virus is creating new, even more dangerous mutations. After narrowly avoiding these new Infected, along with hordes of others, the Survivors are alerted to the presence of an evacuation point at the nearby Mercy Hospital by a passing news helicopter. Fighting their way through the city's streets, subway and sewers, the Survivors are rescued from the hospital's roof by the pilot, only to discover that he is succumbing to the Infection.
With the youngest of the group forced to kill the pilot, the helicopter crash lands in an industrial district outside the city. Finding a delivery truck that has been armored by other Survivors, the group decides to use it to make their way to the town of Riverside.
Before arriving in the town, however, they find the road blocked, and are forced to travel the rest of the way on foot. Following an encounter with an infected madman in the local church, they discover that the town is overrun, and decide to head to a nearby boathouse for possible rescue. Contacting a small fishing vessel owned by a married couple, they are thrown off board in the city of Newburg on the other side of the river, only to find much of it in flames.
Seeking cover in a large greenhouse, their rest is interrupted when a militaryplane passes overhead, leading the Survivors to travel through the city's business district towards Metro International Airport. Upon arrival, the group is shocked to see that in an attempt to contain the Infection, the military had bombed the airport; the runway, however, is largely intact, allowing the Survivors to fuel up and escape in the waiting C-130.
Despite this apparent rescue, the Survivors once again find themselves alone on the outskirts of Allegheny National Forest. Following a series of train tracks through the area, the group find themselves at a functioning but abandoned military outpost. After answering a radio transmission, the Survivors make their final stand against hordes of Infected, before a military APC arrives to transport them to Northeast Safe Zone, supposedly the only location in the area yet to be overrun.
Afterwards, instead of being taken to the Echo Safe Zone, the Survivors are taken to a military base at Millhaven with orders to capture and test "Tango Mikes" as the military refers to them. They are informed that they are Carriers of the virus, and while showing no physical symptoms, they can still infect others. An alarm is sounded by a rebellious lieutenant and the Survivors are guided to a train by helpful militarystaff. Their newfound friends are unfortunately left for dead as the eldest Survivor refuses to compromise his fellow Survivors by letting them board.
The train then stops in Rayford, Georgia, a city located not too far away from Atlanta. Their disputes put aside for now, the group begins looking for a sailboat to take them to the Florida Keys where they believe there are to be no Infected. Their journey brings them to a sailboat blocked off by a lift bridge. The Survivors work to get the bridge lifted so they can wait for the horde to go away then get down and hijack the boat; however, the generators lifting the bridge stop halfway to the top. The oldest of the Survivors then decides to risk his life to save the other Survivors and get them out safely. He jumps off the bridge and makes his way back to the generator and restarts it, but before he can make his way back, he is attacked by three Tanks and mortally wounded.
To make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain, the three remaining Survivors set sail for the Florida Keys, but only after helping four other Survivors which they help out by lowering the bridge to let them on their way to New Orleans.
There are four playable human characters in the game. Every Survivor has his or her own unique appearance, personality, and background, though all Survivors are equal in speed, strength, rate of fire and health, etc. There is no "strongest" Survivor, so character choice is purely player preference.
In addition to the Common Infected, there are five different types of Special Infected in the game. Only four are usable by players in Versus Mode. Each Infected has its own unique attacks and method of use, but all attempt to work in tandem to defeat the Survivors before they complete the level.
Each of the 5 (6 if you include The Sacrifice) campaigns has the player(s) follow a generic path of going from point A to point B with a few different routes and awards stating who took the least damage, etc.
Split screen
Split screen play is supported on the XBOX 360 version of the game; allowing players to play both online and offline with a friend. Split screen play on PC is unsupported but still possible. Using an XBOX 360 controller for PC, and some console commands, one can play only offline with a friend, as the console commands for online split screen play was removed on pc. This requires a higher-end processor.
Production
Development
Development of the game started in mid-2005 and was revealed revealed in the Christmas 2006 publication of PC Gamer UK with a six-page article describing a playthrough at Valve's headquarters. A teaser was released with The Orange Box.
The game was first playable at the Showdown 2007 LAN in San Jose and at QuakeCon 2007. A demo, initially to be released on November 6, 2008 to people who pre-ordered the game, was publicly released on November 11, 2008.
The Cover
A picture of the modified German released copy of Left 4 Dead.
Valve says the cover represents the title of the game, due to the hand being the "left" hand while only having "4" fingers while also being "dead," making up the title (Left 4 Dead).
Also, others have speculated that the hand has some sort of significance to what transpired during the first two weeks, as another image of this hand being x-rayed can be seen in The Hospital level in No Mercy and is in the very first scene of the intro cutscene.
A thumb was added in the German and Japanese version for censorship reasons.
The hand on the cover is also the hand seen in the beginning of the trailer.
Release
Left 4 Dead was released on November 18, 2008 in the United States, and November 21st in Europe and Japan to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Half-Life's release.
Post-Release and Reception
As of January 24, 2010, Left 4 Dead has an 89 out of 100 from Metacritic. Regarding information about the updates for Left 4 Dead, see Updates.
The 200th issue of Game Informer Magazine ranked Left 4 Dead as #82 in the top 200 games of all time, this is what they had to say: "Zombies have appeared in video games in many forms, but nobody ever nailed the full-on zombie apocalypse until Valve's Left 4 Dead. The intense four-player online co-op experience utilized a dynamic 'AI Director' to adjust the undead onslaught according to player performance. Toss in memorable characters, an intriguingly sparse plot, and an online versus mode, and you had the penultimate test of mettle for any zombie-crusader worth their salt." The Survivors are people in the world who either have not yet contracted the Infection (by virtue of natural immunity) or are carriers of the disease but who display none of its symptoms―and who may thus falsely believe themselves to be immune. The term, however, is commonly used to refer to the eight playable characters from the Left 4 Dead game series. Although the playable characters are immune, a comment by Bill suggests that they could become an Infected at any point. In addition, The Sacrifice comic presents the hypothesis that the Survivors are carriers of the Infection―and as such are a positive danger to any uninfected humans they encounter.
In Left 4 Dead, it is never explained how they met up with each other, or how long they have been together (although judging by the timing given by the intro cutscene and The Sacrifice comic, it is less than 12 days by the start of the first campaign). At the start of the first campaign in Left 4 Dead 2, the playable characters have just met each other and do not even know each other's names. There are also non-playable Survivors that players will meet throughout the campaigns. In the comic, the Survivors are referred to as "Tango-Mike" (T-M in the NATO Alphabet) by the APC Driver, probably in reference to Typhoid Mary, the most notorious real-life carrier known in America.
Each playable Survivor has his or her own unique appearance, personality, dialogue, and backstory, making them easier to identify at a distance. Players can choose which Survivor they control in the lobby, or be automatically assigned to a Survivor that is not being controlled by a player when they join a game that is already in progress. Every Survivor plays the same; their physical differences are purely cosmetic and do not alter gameplay. When controlled as AI Bots, Survivors will have preference over specific weaponry, and will attempt to choose that type if possible.
To portray their personalities, Valve uses (perhaps deliberately and with tongue firmly in cheek) a standard screenwriter ploy to populate B-grade action, Western, sci-fi, sitcom and costume drama scripts with characters that are instantly recognizable to "popcorn" audiences. This involves casting four main characters, each of whom have nothing much in common with one another but who are thrown together to face a challenge. Each character is then assigned a stereotyped personality selected from four distinctive types:
Cynic: self-centered, hostile, fires off put-downs and sarcasm, questionable morality, shady past, street or book smart. Francis and Nick.
Optimist: moral, friendly, feelings trump facts, naive, does the right thing, loyal. Louis and Ellis.
Realist: objective, lives by a personal code, disciplined, builds bridges, leadership role, adaptable. Often cast as The Hero. Bill and Coach.
Apathetic: aloof, neutral, from a different social background, enigmatic, along for the ride, swept up in events, victim, suffers bravely, supporter, observer. Zoey and Rochelle.
Once introduced, the screenwriter finds it very easy to develop subplots and dialogue appropriate to these characters' personalities and their interactions with the environment and each other; Zoey's fourth wall breaching "zombie bullshit" elevator soliloquy and Ellis' asinine "Keith stories" are illustrative examples in this regard. Once set, the screenwriter is then also free to allow individual characters to mature (or regress―if a villain or coward is needed) as the plot unfolds. Valve induces precisely this type of personality metamorphosis in both volumes of Left 4 Dead. Most notably, in the wake of Bill's death, Zoey is made to "grow up" and thus take on marked aspects of his personality whilst Nick subtly loses much of his hard-shell cynicism. To maintain audience credibility, the screenwriter will not make wholesale personality changes to all leading characters, which is probably why Valve left the other Left 4 Dead persona untouched.
NOTE:Left 4 Dead Survivors appear in The Passing for Left 4 Dead 2, but are unplayable characters. As the DLC The Sacrifice takes part in Left 4 Dead's story arc, it is possible to play as the Left 4 Dead Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2 due to the DLC being ported to Left 4 Dead 2 as well. They are also playable in the Left 4 Dead 2 ports of No Mercy and the other original campaigns since it is simply a retelling of the same events for Left 4 Dead. It is revealed in The Sacrifice comic that the Survivors are Carriers, and that they have been inadvertently transmitting the disease throughout Philadelphia.
Aged in his late fifties or early sixties, Bill is the oldest of all the Survivors. He is a Vietnam veteran who fought in the U.S. Army 1st Special Forces Group and his combat skills have helped to keep him alive. He wears an olive green military beret, a matching jacket with a stained white shirt underneath, dark gray-brown pants, and jungle boots. In official media, he is usually seen wielding the Assault Rifle―a weapon he prefers in-game and which complements his backstory. He and Francis appear to have a prickly relationship, often spewing insults or jokes at one another, but this may in fact be friendlier than what they let on. He always has a lit cigarette in his mouth.
It is revealed in The Passing that Bill was killed prior to the bridge being raised during The Sacrifice, enabling the safety of the other Left 4 Dead Survivors. His body can be seen next to the generator in the final level of The Passing at The Port, alongside his signature Assault Rifle, which can be taken and used by the player. The events of his death are told in The Sacrifice comic. During the time of his life, Bill was the unofficial team leader, although his relationship with Francis was never easy whilst, towards the end and as revealed in The Sacrifice comic, that shared with Zoey was placed under considerable strain.
Bill is voiced by Jim French,who also voiced Father Grigori in Valve's Half-Life 2 and The Fisherman in Half-Life 2 Lost Coast.
Francis is a tough biker with tattoos covering his arms and neck. His tattoos identify him as a member of "Hell's Legion," a name possibly inspired by the real-world Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. Since his character model was changed during development, it has been speculated that Francis' new face was modeled after the head developer of the game, Mike Booth. The Valve connection is strengthened by the fact that Francis has the Lambda symbol from the Half-Life series cut into his hair. He wears a black leather vest over a white tank top, fingerless gloves, black jeans and boots. Valve commentary reveals that he is an impressive 6 feet 5 inches tall. Francis has a self-centered personality that seems to resent aspects of Bill's leadership whilst treating Louis with an openly dismissive attitude at times. During development, his character was to have a love interest in Zoey, but this was dropped after play-testing and his relationship with her is now warm―if not neutrally platonic. In official media, he is usually seen wielding either the Pump Shotgun or the Auto Shotgun, and in-game, prefers those types of weapons.
Francis is voiced by Vince Valenzuela.
Louis' original concept was an assistant manager at a local retail electronics chain store. His design was later changed, and he was made a Junior Systems Analyst in his company's IT department. His clothing resembles that of a typical business man, but seems to emulate Shaun from Shaun of the Dead, who wore a red tie and white shirt, and was an assistant manager at a local retail electronics chain store. He keeps the sleeves rolled up and the tie loose, and also wears a black watch on his left wrist. In official media, he is usually seen wielding a Submachine Gun or dual Pistols. In-game, Louis prefers the Submachine Gun and Assault Rifle. At some point prior to The Passing in The Sacrifice comic, Louis was injured. According to The Sacrifice comic, his leg was damaged by Witches when he incautiously entered a sailboat occupied by them. This recent injury renders him almost immobile and because of this he uses a Heavy Machine Gun at the Port. Louis' character is upbeat and positive at all times towards his fellow Survivors―almost to an exaggerated degree. Bill seems to regard him with wry tolerance, Francis with open mocking indifference whilst Zoey is the only one to treat him with genuine warmth―as she does with all her comrades.
Louis is voiced by Earl Alexander.
Zoey was in her first year of college prior to the outbreak which makes her at least 18 years old―or slightly older depending on her college entry age. Her backstory reveals that she was ostensibly studying movie making on a scholarship, her parents were divorced and that she had a somewhat closer relationship to and more shared interests with her father―a city police officer. She wears a reddish-pink track jacket, blue jeans, Converse shoes and keeps her hair tied up in a ponytail. Her original design was based on Alesia Glidewell who previously worked with Valve on Portal as a model for the character Chell. However, when the character designs were updated later in development, Zoey was made to resemble actress/model Sonja Kinski instead. In official media, she is usually seen wielding dual Pistols. In-game, Zoey shows preference for the Hunting Rifle. Zoey's character is that of a warm-hearted young woman with a marked dash of tom-boy toughness. But as someone dies, she is very emotional. She is closest to Bill, who reciprocates with a protective father-daughter stance, but also reaches out to include (and thereby help bond) the other two Survivors into a comradely team. Initially, she is more of a follower, but during the events depicted in The Sacrifice comic and The Passing campaign, in the wake and shock of Bill's death, it is apparent that she has grown up fast and is taking on a leadership role in the group.
Zoey is voiced by Jen Taylor.
Coach is a Physical Education teacher at the local high school in the town of Savannah―his home town. A prospective professional defensive linesman, a career-ending knee injury suffered at college led Coach to take up teaching as an alternative pathway into a possible pro-coaching football career. He wears a polo shirt in the yellow and purple colors of his high school employer, training gloves, beige slacks and gray sneakers. He is the oldest of the Left 4 Dead 2 group and serves in an unofficial capacity as its leader. He is a religious man, stopping the survivors for a group prayer before entering Liberty Mall, and shows his weak point to be his stomach - always ready to stop when a food joint is nearby. In-game, he shows preference for Tier 1 and Tier 2 shotguns, while in official media the Chainsaw appears to be his signature weapon.
Coach is voiced by Chad L. Coleman.
Ellis is a mechanic hailing from Savannah, similar to Coach. He wears a yellow T-shirt with a logo, a white and blue cap, with a truck towing logo (that is also seen in the car alarm section in The Parish), a half-removed one-piece work suit, and black work boots. Ellis appears to have a lack of comprehension of the seriousness of his current situation and retains a somewhat goofy personality in comparison to the other Survivors. Ellis also has a love interest in Zoey when he first meets her in The Passing. In-game, Ellis has preference for the Sniper and Hunting Rifle, while in official media, the Grenade Launcher appears to be his signature weapon.
Ellis is voiced by Eric Ladin.
In initial development, Nick was an ex-prisoner who escaped in the wake of the Infection and celebrated his newfound freedom by stealing a white suit from a high end retailer. He later developed into a shady con man and gambler drifting from city to city who bemoans his bad luck in happening to be passing through Savannah (and not Las Vegas) when the current crisis hit. He wears an expensive white suit with a blue button-down shirt, several gold rings and brown leather shoes. Nick holds negative and pessimistic views towards both the situation he has fallen into and the three strangers he is forced to join up with. Over time, despite his hard-boiled attitude towards his fellow Survivors, he softens and mellows as he increasingly learns to trust them. In-game, Nick shows preference over Submachine Gun and Assault Rifle variant weaponry.
Nick is voiced by Hugh Dillon.
Rochelle is a minor associate producer for a news station with a high reputation, though her job had more to do with moving cables and coffee duties. She was in Savannah producing a segment about the evacuation center when the area became overrun with the Infected. She wears a pink T-shirt with a Depeche Mode logo, silver hoop earrings, blue jeans, a thin studded belt around her waist, two silver bracelets on her left arm and knee-high brown boots. Rochelle has the most realistic grasp of the situation and is very caring towards her fellow Survivors. Rochelle and Francis show romantic interest in each other when they meet in the campaign The Passing. In-game, Rochelle has preferences similar to Nick; she prefers Submachine Gun and Assault Rifle variants.
Rochelle is voiced by Rochelle Aytes.
The major gameplay difference between the Survivors are the weapon preference as bots, and the "Hit Box".
The primary weapon preference as Survivor Bots are always the same for every Survivors. Zoey and Ellis prefer sniper rifles, Francis and Coach prefer automatic shotguns, while Bill, Louis, Nick and Rochelle prefer assault rifles.
In the Left 4 Dead 2 ports of the original campaigns, theoriginalSurvivors have different preferences. While Bill keeps his Assault Rifle variants, Zoey is now with Assault Rifles as well, Louis takes over Francis' role as the Auto Shotgun variants user, and Francis is now the team sniper with his preference for Hunting Rifle variants.
This is likely an oversight, as the Left 4 Dead Survivors gain the weapon preference of the Left 4 Dead 2 character's slot they fill on the character selection screen. Francis and Louis however, are not over their right successors as Louis goes over Ellis and Francis over Coach.
In the ported campaigns, Bill and Zoey, being placeholders for Nick and Rochelle respectively, will use Magnums while Francis and Louis, being placeholders for Ellis and Coach respectively, will remain using dual-wielding pistols as in the original.
The "Hit Box" is affected by the body size of Survivors. Taller, heavier Survivors (such as Coach) have a slightly larger "Hit Box" than shorter, slimmer Survivors (such as Rochelle). A larger Hit Box means a higher chance of receiving friendly fire, and easier aiming for Special Infected.
During development, the original Survivors' physical appearance changed in response to an evolving design brief that lead towards making them appear "realistic" in the sense they credibly resemble people who could be encountered in everyday life. Visuals for Left 4 Dead 2 began with the same term of reference, but, as evidenced by the first screenshots and videos with the exception of Nick, each character's appearance underwent rolling changes and refinement.
An early developmental visual of Francis shows him with long, unkempt hair. It can thus be inferred that Zoey's comment to Francis that she knows how to cut hair is a legacy attribute.
In Left 4 Dead, it seems possible that each scenario is geared towards being the "home" of one of the Survivors (excluding Rochelle and Nick, who don't seem to say anything about where you can find various landmarks).
Bill makes a comment about the trailer in Blood Harvest, asking Francis if it reminded him of home, although this is most likely intended as an insult to Francis. This could also mean that Francis lives in a trailer somewhere.
Louis seems to know somewhat trivial pieces of information involving the sewer system of Riverside. He also seems to know his way around Fairfield, even in the sewer; he knows when the Survivors have arrived at the hospital. Like Bill, he may insult Francis by making a comment of an alleyway in Crash Course, asking him if it was where he was born, prompting Francis to ask if it's the one he'll die in.[1]
Zoey said that she always liked the main street in Riverside, and also, in some early Left 4 Dead articles, she is referenced as being from a farm, indicating a possible relation to Blood Harvest. She also states that she has been to Newburg before.
Francis is surprisingly knowledgeable about the area of Newburg near the airport, and seems to know his way around the airport itself.
Both Bill and Louis appear to know their way around Fairfield, knowing that the subway's Red Line heads straight to Mercy Hospital, and that it is possible to reach the hospital by going through the waterworks (which leads into the sewer).
Coach mentions living in Savannah and seems to know his way around well, and also becomes rather offended when Nick responds to talk of a gun store with "Living here is finally paying off."
Ellis is a native of Savannah, and will sometimes volunteer to "show you the sights on the way to the mall". He also knows where the gun shop is and how to get to the mall.
In the beta of Left 4 Dead, Zoey and Francis show some sort of affection towards each other. This proved to be too distracting, so it was removed. This concept was later revived in form of Ellis' feelings for her in The Passing.
Some lines of original Survivors text lines were re-used (or a little less changed) on new Survivors (only voiced by their voice actors). For example, Bill and Coach say the same phrase when healing other Survivors: "Stop squirmin'; I'm gonna heal you," or Francis and Rochelle say: "I'm gonna give that Witch something to cry about."
In the beta version of Left 4 Dead, doors could be locked to stop incoming Common Infected for a short time. It was most likely scrapped due to the amount of doors there were to get to the Survivors, so they could get away if low on health or they didn't want the Infected to open doors.
It is possible to spawn the original Survivors in any campaign in Left 4 Dead 2, but if you spawn them directly the game will crash because of a precaching error. To fix this, you must spawn the original Survivors models yourself with the "prop_dynamic_create" console command (cheats needed to do this, and only works if you start a listen server by opening a map by typing in the console "map MAPNAMEHERE"), after you have spawned the original Survivors' models, it's okay to spawn the original Survivors now because they have had their models spawned. But you will not be able to play as or control them with the "sb_takecontrol" Convar.
Wooden 42 pound crates of U.S. military K rations appear in most Left 4 Dead safe houses. K rations are an obsolete class of combat ration that was first issued in World War II. They were intended for short-term consumption only since the calorie content was inadequate to maintain a soldier's physical condition during hard and prolonged exertion. It is assumed that the Survivors sustain themselves on K ration packs, yet it is noticeable that none of them appear to have lost weight as their clothes still fit perfectly. It is therefore logical to believe that the Survivors spend most of their time holed up in safe houses [thus conserving energy] and that Campaign episodes depict short and intense opportunistic breakouts. Even when freshly made, the monotonous nature of K rations is well-documented whilst the taste and condition of such items taken from long-term military storage can only be imagined, which may explain Zoey's enthusiasm for peanut butter in Part Three of The Sacrifice comic. In the opening scene of Left 4 Dead 2, however, there are several bags of what appear to be a Peanut M 'n' M's knockoff in a cardboard bin, and Coach can be seen eating some sort of chocolate bar. This implies that perhaps left-over candy is eaten because it takes a long time to go bad, and is probably easy to find in abandoned stores.
In The Sacrifice (comic), the military thinks that the original Survivors are carriers, and have been unintentionally transmitting the Infection across Pennsylvania. Whether this is true or not, or that all immune Survivors are carriers is currently unknown.
In Part One, Mora calls himself a Captain. However, in Part 2, he is referred to as a Lieutenant. Furthermore, when called on the Radio in Blood Harvest, the Soldier says "I don't believe it. Captain! We got Survivors out there!" This may be an oversight.
As seen in The Sacrifice comic, sometime after Nick, Ellis, Rochelle and Coach depart from Zoey, Francis and Louis in The Passing, the original three remaining Survivors board their boat (which Zoey and/or Francis had evidently moved to the downriver side of the bridge just prior to the start of The Passing) and sail off to the Florida Keys. The last we see of them is in the bow of their boat looking out at an island in the sunrise. But for unknown reasons, the pages which would be for The Passing's parts are not there as the comic is missing the last 12 pages (Valve stated that the comic will have 190 pages or more) and no one has made any reports or sign of them.
With the release of The Sacrifice, Bill has new lines regarding the new Special Infected in Left 4 Dead 2. However, all the original Survivors lack lines when it comes to new items and weapons, such as the Defibrillator, special ammo, Adrenaline Shot, etc. and will use the generic "Look here" response instead (for melee weapons and Grenade Launchers they re-use the lines for when spotting regular weapons).
They also lacked reactions to the Special Infected when attacked, using their pain sounds instead (as of the port of Death Toll they now re-use some lines, for Spitters they exclaim "get back", "move it" and critical pain sounds, for Jockeys they re-use Hunter-related lines and the Chargers for when getting pounded by the Tanks). A possible explanation may be because the decision to port The Sacrifice and No Mercy to Left 4 Dead 2 was taken after the voice actors had finished recording their voices, since originally Valve intended to launch The Sacrifice DLC only for Left 4 Dead.
Because the original Survivors were never actually intended to have Left 4 Dead 2's weapon animations, their hands invariably clip through them on many occasions. This effect is most evident when Zoey reloads the Magnum Pistol and when Bill reloads the P220 Pistol (this is because their ValveBiped.weapon_bone bone is actually meant for the original weapon animations).
They hold two-handed weapons like shotguns and rifles oddly as well. The gun is placed more to the right, showing the fingers on the underside of their palms.
Grenade-type items and Pills are also held off center. The models make it look like the Survivors are holding the items with their fingertips instead of in their hand completely.
The original Survivors do not even have their melee weapons shown on their backs when stowed, which means currently you can only tell if they have such weapons or not by checking if their holsters have a pistol (mods can be used to make up for this problem).
When the original Survivor's hands are loaded up with "Load Weapon" when the viewmodel of the M1911 Pistol is the loaded model in the Model Viewer their hands appear completely fine (nearly the same for the new Survivors, but their pointing finger tip is further out).
Bill and Francis mistakenly refer the Spitter as a male when they kill her, using lines such as "He's dead!" or "Popped a cap in his ass!" This is due to the original Survivors encountering only male Special Infected in Left 4 Dead (with the exception of the Witch) so their lines refer the infected as male. These lines got recycled in Left 4 Dead 2 when No Mercy was ported.A horde as one would appear in the Farmhouse Finale.
A horde is a large group of Common Infected (sometimes Uncommon Infected included) that will rush the Survivors either at random intervals, during the finales, as a response to Boomer bile/bile bombs, or in response to loud, high-pitched noises and/or bright lights (car alarms, most alarms or noises during Panic Events, pipe bombs).
Left 4 Dead 2 introduced six special types (seven counting Jimmy Gibbs Junior) of Common Infected known as "Uncommon Common Infected," "Uncommon Common," or simply "Uncommon Infected." Each Uncommon Infected is unique to the campaign it appears in. Dead Center features the CEDA Worker Infected (which are immune to fire and may have Bile bombs attached to them) and Jimmy Gibbs Junior, The Passing features the Fallen Survivor (who may carry a Healing items#First aid kit, Molotov, Pipe bomb or Pain pills), Dark Carnival features the Clown Infected (which have squeaky shoes that attract surrounding Common Infected), Swamp Fever features the Mud Men (each hit slightly blinds a Survivor's vision, they also crawl swiftly around on all fours), Hard Rain features the Worker Infected (who have earmuffs, so they don't chase Pipe bombs and strangely, are immune to the attraction of the Bile bomb, but that is only if it doesn't hit an Infected), and The Parish features the Riot Infected (who can only be killed by attacking them from behind due to their body armor). Each Uncommon Infected has its own special ability that make them slightly more dangerous than Common Infected.
Special Infected
The Special Infected have been heavily mutated by the Infection, giving them "special abilities." Each generally has a unique ability that a Survivor cannot face alone, making them the true teamwork testers in this game. They are not attracted by car alarms or loud noise and have a higher degree of intelligence than Common Infected, being able to run away if required and setting up ambushes. They are also more aggressive than the Common Infected, as they will actively attack Survivors rather than passively sitting in a stupor until disturbed (except for the Witch and the Tank, which will wait for the Survivors to alert or attack them). They are deadly to lone survivors, but can be avoided and defeated through communication and synergy. The Director is able to spawn them at any time according to the difficulty and how the Survivors are doing. If you are playing online, it is best to note that there is a special infected around
Seven of the Special Infected are playable by human players in the following gameplay modes:
The Boomer is a Special Infected that vomits a special bile at Survivors, which temporarily blinds them and draws Common Infected to them. At a distance the Boomer isn't much of a threat; his large size and low health make him an easy target against any weapon at mid or long range. However, if within range he can vomit on Survivors, attracting the Horde. When he dies, he explodes, covering any Survivors who are close enough with bile, blinding them and causing them to stumble backwards. The Boomer is notorious on the Expert difficulty for being able to snipe Survivors. Boomers can be anticipated because of the near-constant gurgling they make. In Left 4 Dead 2, there is also a female Boomer, although the gender has no effect on gameplay.
The Hunter is a Special Infected that is not as mutated on the outside. The Hunter is extremely fast and agile, capable of quickly scaling walls. Additionally, he can pounce and pin down Survivors, clawing at their abdomen until either the victim is dead or the Hunter has been knocked off or killed by another Survivor. They are not the most physically robust Infected, having relatively low health, and thus it doesn't take very much to kill them. When the Hunter crouches down in preparation to pounce, it growls, giving it away to any nearby Survivors. However, whilst standing, it makes no noise. The Hunter is the only Special Infected that can remain absolutely silent. In Left 4 Dead 2, they can be killed with a melee weapon while in the state of pouncing by aiming upwards and hitting, although this is fairly difficult, as timing is vital and it's easier to kill them from a distance with a high-powered primary weapon.
The Smoker is an ambush class that can strangle Survivors with its long tongue, similar to Half-Life's Barnacle. The help of another Survivor is required to escape from a Smoker's hold (though if quick enough it is possible, though difficult, to kill a Smoker who has already grabbed you, earning an achievement). As the name implies, Smokers emit smoke when killed to impair Survivors' vision. A Smoker also will frequently cough, letting the Survivors know when he is in the area. The Smoker can drag players that he has captured with his tongue towards himself, though he remains stationary and cannot move. The Smoker is also momentarily paralyzed for a few seconds after having his tongue removed from his captive by another Survivor. In Left 4 Dead 2, the Smoker has six tongues, but this has no effect on gameplay.
The Tank is the biggest and strongest of all the Infected and is reasonably fast, only slowing if hit with large amounts of automatic weapons fire or when lit on fire (Versus in Left 4 Dead only and any mode aside Versus on Left 4 Dead 2). He is the only player-controllable "Boss Infected." If any Survivors at 40% or above health (including health gained from Pain pills or the Adrenaline Shot) are running away from the Tank, it will not be able to catch them, as they can run slightly faster (unless the Tank in question is an AI Tank in Left 4 Dead). The Tank has incredible strength and resistance―his punch can send Survivors flying, rendering them temporarily defenseless, and in Expert mode, instantly incapacitate them. The blow can send Survivors off high hazards to their deaths. He is also capable of throwing chunks of concrete that he rips out of the ground to momentarily stun Survivors and dealing the same damage as a punch from a Tank. It can also punch large objects in the direction of Survivors with enough force to incapacitate them instantly. Nevertheless, the Tank will die within 30 to 45 seconds if set on fire (varying with the difficulty), except in Versus. When controlled by a player, the Tank has a "Control Meter"; unless the player is able to locate the Survivors and hit one of them, the Control Meter of the Tank will slowly lessen, and once it runs out, the player will lose control of the Tank to another randomly assigned player. When idle, the sound that a Tank makes is heavy breathing. The Survivors are alerted of an approaching Tank by dramatic music, furious roars and, when he is dangerously close, the screen will start to shake. The Tank's Music Cue
The Charger is a Special Infected that appears in Left 4 Dead 2. The Charger's main attack is charging forward and plowing into the Survivors. On a successful charge, he will grab and carry a single Survivor while knocking down the others. Once the Charger has hit a wall or other surface, or after he has run a certain distance, he will begin slamming his captive into the ground until an ally frees them. If he misses and hits a wall, he will stumble, leaving him open to attack. The Charger can be detected by the Survivors by the warped growling noise he makes. He will announce his charge with a loud bellow. The Charger appears to have a rocky or calloused surface on his larger right arm, which may be what he uses to inflict most of his force when charging, while his other arm appears to have no bones or muscle. Because of his hulking size, the Charger cannot be shoved off with melee, and must be killed in order to release his victim. If a Survivor has explosive rounds, they will dislodge the Charger from the Survivor and stumble him. Any Survivor that has been knocked out of the way during his charge will fly a considerable distance and slowly stand back up, making the Charger a deadly foe in cramped hallways or near high passageways. He is also the strongest and most durable of the Special Infected (excluding the Tank and the Witch); additionally, his melee attacks are very strong and can easily incapacitate a weakened Survivor.
The Jockey is a Special Infected that appears in Left 4 Dead 2. He is a small Infected that attacks Survivors by clinging to them from behind and literally riding the Survivor while attacking them. He can shift his weight around and cause the Survivor to stumble in his desired direction, giving this Special Infected a type of control over the Survivor. Survivors who are being ridden by the Jockey can attempt to "resist" the Jockey, which will allow other players a chance to catch up and knock the Jockey off. Jockeys can ride Survivors into dangerous situations, such as into natural hazards, Witches, or other Infected; a Jockey can also pull a Survivor off of a ledge, causing them to become incapacitated, or riding them to their death if they are not resisting. The Jockey seems to have a spinal disease, similar to kyphosis, giving him a hunched appearance. He also has a maniacal laugh and is constantly twitching, giving him a sort of hyperactive nature.
The Spitter is a new Special Infected in Left 4 Dead 2. She possesses the ability to spit a green ball of acid from long distances, which, upon hitting the ground, will expand into a large puddle and damage any Survivors who make contact with it. After spitting, however, the Spitter is temporarily paralyzed for a second, giving the Survivors a chance to kill her. The longer the Survivor stands in it, the more damage the Survivor takes from the goo. This ability allows the Spitter to aid other Special Infected; for instance, if a Hunter pounces a Survivor, a Spitter can spit upon that Survivor, causing even more damage. However, in spite of such a useful ability, the Spitter is very weak in terms of health, so taking out a Spitter will be an easy task. Upon death, the Spitter leaves a similar, smaller kind of puddle that has the same effect on the Survivors. She is one of the most powerful Infected if Survivors are caught standing in her spit, and are too distracted to move quickly due to other Infected or a lack of awareness at damage being dealt. On Scavange mode or any finale requiring Gas cans, when Gas cans are dropped, the Spitter's goo will ignite the Gas cans if left in the goo long enough.
The Witch generally only appears a few times per campaign, and is passive unless provoked by flashlights, gunfire, or Survivors in close proximity. She is the second "Boss Infected." Pistol fire does not provoke her easily, but it will do only a small amount of damage. She is very powerful, capable of incapacitating, and even killing Survivors with one hit. When the Director spawns a Witch, the faint chord of the Witch music will play, allowing veterans of the game to quickly prepare for the "obstacle." The Witch cries loudly, which Survivors will mention they hear, warn you to turn off your flashlight, and dramatic music will play. While the Witch can be killed, it is best to avoid startling her unless absolutely necessary. The most common means of her being startled is by staying near her too long or bumping into her. The flashlight will quicken her agitation rate, as she stands up faster with a flashlight shone near (or on) her. If you attack her, or if someone else startles it, it will say "[Survivor's name] startled the Witch". If a Special Infected like the Jockey or Charger gets too close to the Witch and a person was targeted and hit her, it will say, "You startled the Witch! Best not to disturb her next time."
The Witch is very rarely found in small rooms and normally stays off the main route, but has been found in front of safe rooms (or even inside the safe room), doorways, and in the middle of streets. Once a Witch has killed a Survivor, she will retreat out the area and completely disappear. However, in some strange cases, the Witch has been known to kill the closest Survivor to her. This does not usually happen, and when it does, the Witch runs off as normal after killing the Survivor. Also, if a survivor blocks the Witch from attacking the Survivor who startled her, she will attack the Survivor blocking her and either incapacitate the blocking player and run away or incapacitate both the blocking player and the player who startled her. If the Witch is lit on fire (Molotov, Incendiary ammo, Gas can) while she is chasing a Survivor, she will immediately start chasing after whoever burned her. Even if she is retreating, if she is lit on fire, she will go after that Survivor even though she either killed another Survivor or one locked themselves in a safe room.
The Wandering Witch appears in Left 4 Dead 2. She is seen only in the daylight hours, aimlessly wandering around and sobbing loudly with her head in her hands. Her constant movement makes The Wandering Witch harder to avoid, but she is also far more introverted and reacts only to direct attacks or physical contact. One can even damage her slightly without startling her. Unlike the sitting Witches, she does not seem to be alerted more readily by flashlights.
The Wandering Witch remains as vulnerable as ever to cr0wning from a shotgun, and her more placid nature makes her much easier to cr0wn.
In Left 4 Dead 2's Hard Rain campaign, a large number of Wandering Witches have infested an abandoned sugar mill, which the Survivors must traverse to obtain fuel for their rescue boat. An achievement, Sob Story, is earned for navigating the sugar mill without startling any of them.
She has on occasions been observed to peacefully follow the Survivors without any provocation, although they may just be walking along its programmed path.
Carolyn: Turned into common infected after minutes of being bitten.
Jimmy Gibbs Junior: Turned into common infected (period of time unknown).
Lt. Mora: Turned after a few minutes, he was in transition of turning and was still able to hold a gun and speak some English; however, he sees survivors as monsters (might not have been completely turned).
News Chopper 5 Pilot: Turned into Common Infected in mid-air after rescuing and encountering the Survivors. He was bitten prior to rescuing the Survivors, which resulted in Zoey shooting him as soon as he turned.
Sandra: Turns into a Common Infected (period of time unknown).
Originally, there was going to be a Special Infected named The Screamer. Wearing a straitjacket, he would run from Survivors, hide, then let out a scream attracting the Horde; but he was removed because game testers found it too difficult to locate and kill him before he could summon a Horde, and his ability was given to the Boomer's bile instead. However, in Left 4 Dead 2, there exists a type of Uncommon Infected called the Clown which can attract a small Horde of idle Common Infected around him with his squeaky shoes. In the Passing, there is a new Uncommon Infected referred to as the Fallen Survivor. When shot, the Fallen Survivor attempts to run away, much like what the producers had planned for the Screamer.
The Leaker
A Special Infected called "The Leaker" was being developed. It had similar attacks as the Spitter and Boomer, and the ability to plant itself in the ground and act as a mine bomb. It was removed because the Survivors could run away from it, as the Leaker would alert the Survivors that it was planting itself. But, It is still possible to play as The Leaker with console commands by using "Map MAPNAME Versus", then typing in console "Boomer_Leaker_Chance" and a number between 0 and 1. You will know when you are a leaker if it says "You are a/the Leaker!", or if you explode on death and cause a small fire. [1]
Behind the Scenes
The idea of fighting massive hordes of melee-only Infected originated from a quick mini-game Turtle Rock Studios made while programming their Counter-Strike Source bots. The bots had knives, while the players had SMGs to fight them off with.
In the Left 4 Dead (left4dead) and Left 4 Dead 2 (left4dead2 and left4dead2_dlc3) sound files, there are some sounds similiar to a dog. All of them seem to have been cut, but they still exist in the game files. The attack sounds for "zombiedog" were recycled for the Hunter when he'd attack with his claws. This could explain why the Hunter yelps like a dog when he is killed. According to some of the Church Guy's "combatcolor" sound files, the "dog" sounds seem to have been re-made for when he would turn into a Hunter.
Notes
It is still unclear who actually gave the Infected their names in-game. It was probably some external faction, as the Survivors from both games use the same names for them after initial encounters. Possible candidates include CEDA, the military, the media, an unrevealed faction, or even various Survivors, though it seems unlikely that the military would have given them these names because in the comic, the two guard soldiers ask if "the whiskey deltas are changing," suggesting they've never seen a special infected before.
Some of the names of the Special Infected, if not all, seem to have been assigned to them by CEDA or the government, and not by the Survivors themselves. For example, in Left 4 Dead 2, there is a poster early on in the Dead Center campaign with photos labeled "Boomer," and on the side of Bile bombs there is a label stating that the jar contains "Boomer Excretion." When Rochelle speaks of Smokers, she says that they were called Smokers on the news. Witches are also referred to by name on a safe room wall in Hard Rain, stating that the Sugar Mill is "full of Witches". Also, when exiting the Sugar Mill safe room, the building opposite to it has a banner hanging from the roof with the text "Stay away, Witches!" Additionally, in The Passing, one of the graffiti remarks on a pre-infection piece, stating one of the prostitutes in an establishment had "become a Boomer."
These could also be cases of official sources catching onto and using more well-known epithets for the Special Infected; as the aforementioned examples are all from the second game, which takes place three weeks after the initial Infection.
Almost every Infected and deceased being in the game appears to have faded textures in comparison to the colorfully textured Survivors. This is probably to help prevent cases of mistaken identity between Survivors and Infected. It could also mean that the Infected are slowly dying, since a very sickly person can look pale, and dead bodies will lose color as the blood circulation stops.
At the Bridge finale in Left 4 Dead 2, if the player listens to the military conversation on the radio long enough, the pilot mentions seeing flashes on the west bank (i.e. the side with the Survivors on it). The other soldier asks if it was the Survivors or "Whiskey Delta" to which the pilot is unsure. Whiskey Delta is the term the military use for the Infected, though they also use the term Infected when they questioned the Survivors if they are immune. One of the possible responses is or along the lines of "Hell yeah we've fought zombies!", which they accept as the Infected, meaning they understand that the Survivors refer to the Infected as such.
It is fairly common knowledge that the military creates initials and acronyms out of the names of their enemies, then uses words that begin with the same letters. The most prominently known example would be Victor Charlie (from the ICAO spelling alphabet) which has the initial V.C. That, of course, refers to the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War; therefore, "Whiskey Delta" could be used to represent "Walking (or Wandering) Dead" i.e. Infected.
This is highly confirmed by looking at the French version of the game: the military refers to Infected as "Mac Victor", M.V. being the initials of "Mort Vivant", the French translation of "Living Dead".
This is confirmed in Part Two of The Sacrifice comic, where one of the army men confirms that Whiskey Delta means "Walking Dead."
The Infected seem to have become much stronger in Left 4 Dead 2. For example, in normal gameplay, the Boomer stumbles much less when melee'd than in the first game, and on Versus mode, as a Special Infected, you can kill a Common Infected with one claw attack as opposed to the first game, where it took several claw attacks to kill a single Common Infected. [2].
The Special Infected that appear in Left 4 Dead have mutated further in Left 4 Dead 2 since the Infection has spread further and possibly advanced. This is shown as the Smoker now has multiple tongues, the Tank has more muscles and less hair and the Boomer appears gorier. Also, the Hunter appears to have more boils and lesions than in the first game, as well as seemingly having clawed off much of its clothing.
It appears that most of the Special Infected have some form of intelligence. Smokers and Spitters will often run when sighted, hinting at a sense of self-preservation or at least the knowledge that their attacks must recharge. Boomers and Hunters will often hide before attacking, but the Charger will just run straight into the Survivors without much intelligence or thought into attacking. A very important aspect of this is that most Special Infected ignore pipe bombs, car alarms, and other noticeable events.
The Special Infected in Left 4 Dead 2 seem to appear in duos, such as two Hunters/Boomers etc. during Crescendo Events such as the Mall Crescendo and the Barns Crescendo, as well as in finales.
The Jockey is the only Special Infected to have one melee attack animation in both first and third-person. The Spitter has multiple third-person attack animations, and the Charger has two first-person animations.
In Left 4 Dead, when in Versus, it takes many hits to kill Common Infected as a Special Infected (not counting the Tank). In Left 4 Dead 2, one hit from a player will kill them. This change is most likely due to the inclusion of the Bile Bomb, and its intended function as a method to get the Infected to fight and kill each other wouldn't be very effective if they did very little damage to each other. It could also just show that the Special Infected are gaining strength at a rapid rate.
The Infected don't really seem to have a "method" of infecting others, though this may depend on the Survivor's immunity; some Infected (like the Tank) seem to be built for killing rather than infecting. None of the Infected attacks the player with actions that could transmit the Infection to them, disregarding the Hunter's bite. It is also unclear whether what the Infected can project (ex. Boomer bile or Spitter goo) is actually infectious, or perhaps it is up to the Common Infected to infect people while the Special Infected kill.
All of the Special Infected (excluding The Tank where the only way to see his arm is by using the melee attack) are able to see their arms in first-person view. But most of them shouldn't, as they hold their arms in third-person view down or out of passive sight. Only the Charger and the Jockey hold their arms higher to see them.
The use of orange/yellow filtering for first-person view for the Special Infected could have been inspired by the effects used to depict the the world through the eyes of the Infected in the film 28 Weeks Later, in which a similar orange/yellow filter effect was first used.
The spawn "rules" for human-controlled Infected seem to be flawed. Although you cannot spawn where the Survivors can see you, this seems to be based more on the field of vision of the Infected than the Survivors. For example, if you attempt to spawn behind a small pole or other object that is narrower than your body (especially for the Boomer), even though in your view you cannot see the Survivors, they may be able to see you spawn.
"The Passing" campaign drastically changes the way Versus is done (on all campaigns) when there are less than eight players. If there are less than four Special Infected on a team, AI-controlled Special Infected will constantly rotate and spawn during Versus to ensure there are always four Special Infected.
Despite being able to fall from very high distances and react oblivious to it, in certain dying animations, Common Infected will seem to notice where they have been shot. For example, if an Infected has been shot in the abdomen, they may put their hands near the wound, then die. This implies that they do feel and recognize pain, but do not seem to show it, as if the Infection has destroyed specific nerves in the body and weakened others. Also, when Infected are shot, but not enough to die (e.g. by a pistol), they will act dazed for about a second, then continue attacking.
Oddly enough, there are no Infected animals. The closest thing to one are the dead cows found around certain campaigns in both games, such as Blood Harvest. (Though in the sound folder for Left 4 Dead 2 [Sound/Player/Pz/Voice/Attack] there are sound clips labeled "zombiedog_attack", meaning there could have been Infected dogs in gameplay, but just later cut).
Human-controlled Infected can revive incapacitated Survivors through use of the same button that a Survivor would use; however, this doesn't work in Left 4 Dead 2. If reviving a Survivor in Left 4 Dead while playing as Infected, it will say "Helping your friend up."
In Versus Mode, while playing as the Jockey in first person view, he seems to be as tall as the other Infected, but the Jockey is the shortest of the Infected.
There have been three Mutations that gives attention to some Special Infected. TAAAAANK! has all Infected players in Versus play as a Tank only, but with half the usual health in order to give the Survivors a small chance (3000 instead of 6000). Hunting Party is a Campaign Mutation where the only Special Infected that spawn is the Hunter. Riding My Survivors is when the Special Infected are Jockeys.
Unlike the Common Infected, Special Infected do not lose body parts, even if you use a Chainsaw or a Pipe Bomb.
The only exception is the Boomer, which will lose his/her entire upper part of body upon death.
Survivors will often refer the Infected as "it", implying that they no longer view them as human, although this may simply designed so Survivors can call out the Infected without claiming the latter's gender
Added by Radical Edward2
Added by 1415gamer
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