Turtle Rock founder discusses Left 4 Dead

Cross platform game Left 4  Dead (X360, PC) has left us dreaming for days. When it was announced, developer Turtle Rock Studios has always maintained that the game feels and looks like Valve’s Counter Strike. But instead of terrorists and soldiers, fans get to play as humans and zombies.

We know that sounds a lot of fun, but the game is currently under heavy development, and there is still no news as to when it will officially come out. But regarding details and other features, it is a good thing that Turtle Rock founder Michael Booth has always been open about those things.

Apparently, the much talked about environment for Left 4 Dead will have its limitations as well. Booth mentioned that they actually tried a completely open and unstructured city environment. But this frustrates players as they oftentimes get lost. The official insisted that the objective of the game is survival and cooperation, not some sort of an Amazing Race. He then shared:

Getting lost added an unnecessary layer of complication that distracted from the core game experience of survival and cooperation. What evolved from this early playtesting is a more structured map design that affords the Survivors some flexibility in route choice without paralyzing them with too many possibilities.

Booth was generous with regard to the game’s basic features. We already know that online and offline components are both present, but he also mentioned that they’re investigating on the feasibility of a split screen option for the console. Also, Booth shared some insight on what to expect with the weapons available in the game.

The weapons in Left 4 Dead are typical of those you would find during such a catastrophe in a modern environment: Shotguns, pistols, hunting rifles, and so on. The only weapon you can “dual wield” are pistols. The other weapons are just too large and powerful to use two of them at once for any practical length of time.

Whenever players find themselves in a fix and with no weapon, they need not worry as a “shoe attack” has been provided, meaning players can quickly swing their weapons and knock away a zombie mob that has surrounded them. Aside from that, the shoe attack is also effective for busting out windows, as well as killing enemies silently.

Lastly, Michael Booth shared that as of now, they would like to focus first on the PC and the Xbox 360 versions. After they’ve finished these and have become pretty satisfied with their work, the game’s appearance in other platforms is highly possible.

Cross platform game Left 4  Dead (X360, PC) has left us dreaming for days. When it was announced, developer Turtle Rock Studios has always maintained that the game feels and looks like Valve’s Counter Strike. But instead of terrorists and soldiers, fans get to play as humans and zombies.

We know that sounds a lot of fun, but the game is currently under heavy development, and there is still no news as to when it will officially come out. But regarding details and other features, it is a good thing that Turtle Rock founder Michael Booth has always been open about those things.

Apparently, the much talked about environment for Left 4 Dead will have its limitations as well. Booth mentioned that they actually tried a completely open and unstructured city environment. But this frustrates players as they oftentimes get lost. The official insisted that the objective of the game is survival and cooperation, not some sort of an Amazing Race. He then shared:

Getting lost added an unnecessary layer of complication that distracted from the core game experience of survival and cooperation. What evolved from this early playtesting is a more structured map design that affords the Survivors some flexibility in route choice without paralyzing them with too many possibilities.

Booth was generous with regard to the game’s basic features. We already know that online and offline components are both present, but he also mentioned that they’re investigating on the feasibility of a split screen option for the console. Also, Booth shared some insight on what to expect with the weapons available in the game.

The weapons in Left 4 Dead are typical of those you would find during such a catastrophe in a modern environment: Shotguns, pistols, hunting rifles, and so on. The only weapon you can “dual wield” are pistols. The other weapons are just too large and powerful to use two of them at once for any practical length of time.

Whenever players find themselves in a fix and with no weapon, they need not worry as a “shoe attack” has been provided, meaning players can quickly swing their weapons and knock away a zombie mob that has surrounded them. Aside from that, the shoe attack is also effective for busting out windows, as well as killing enemies silently.

Lastly, Michael Booth shared that as of now, they would like to focus first on the PC and the Xbox 360 versions. After they’ve finished these and have become pretty satisfied with their work, the game’s appearance in other platforms is highly possible.