Difference between revisions of "Left 4 Dead series"
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The infected that passively wait for the characters, or come charging in hordes, are the [[Enemies]] in the game. These are mixed in with the rarer special infected that function somewhat like [[Boss Monsters]] in that they are tougher opponents with special abilities but they are not only present at the end of levels or campaigns. | The infected that passively wait for the characters, or come charging in hordes, are the [[Enemies]] in the game. These are mixed in with the rarer special infected that function somewhat like [[Boss Monsters]] in that they are tougher opponents with special abilities but they are not only present at the end of levels or campaigns. | ||
| + | Weapons, ammunition and healing equipment | ||
| + | Special ammunition in [[Left 4 Dead 2]] and shock pads. | ||
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| + | Like many First-Person Shooters each character as hit points to show how healthy they are, and when this reaches zero one becomes incapacitated. When in this condition it is only possible to look in different directions and shoot with pistols while awaiting rescue from the other players; if all players are incapacitated the game level has to be restarted. [[Avatars]] can be incapacitated in others ways, either by falling of ledges or by being the victim of the attacks of the Hunter special infected (as Charger in [[Left 4 Dead 2]]). | ||
| − | [[ | + | [[Traverse]] |
| + | [[Game Lobby]] | ||
| + | [[Cooperation]] | ||
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The series allow [[Betrayal]] in that players can opt to run to safe rooms or the escape vehicles while leaving the other players to their fate, choices that have persistent effects since only the survivors of a campaign get the [[Achievements]] associated with it. | The series allow [[Betrayal]] in that players can opt to run to safe rooms or the escape vehicles while leaving the other players to their fate, choices that have persistent effects since only the survivors of a campaign get the [[Achievements]] associated with it. | ||
| + | The overall gameplay is highly geared towards encouraging [[Cooperation]]. That players easily find themselves in dangerous situations they cannot get out of on their own | ||
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| + | Even players whose [[Avatars]] have been incapacitated can support other players since they can still shoot with pistols. | ||
[[Non-Diegetic Elements]] | [[Non-Diegetic Elements]] | ||
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Ammunition [[Limited Resources]] | Ammunition [[Limited Resources]] | ||
Revision as of 13:03, 15 December 2009
Contents
Brief
The Left 4 Dead series[1] puts players in the roles of 4 characters trying to get to safety in a world where the majority of all people have been infected with a disease making them homicidal maniacs. Although similar to zombie movies as Dawn of the Dead or even more so infected movies such as 28 days later, it adds the concept of some infected being mutated to get various abilities. These mutants are simply referred to as special infected. Overall, the gameplay is similar to most first-person shooters but with heavy emphasis on co-operation and getting from one safe house to another.
The series currently consists of Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.
See wikipedia entries[2][3] for more detailed description of the games.
Gameplay
The goal for most types of game modes in the series is to Survive attacks by the infected while Traversing game levels. The exceptions are the Survival Mode which replaces the Traverse goal with a Time Limit goal and the Versus Mode when players having the role of special infected have the Preventing Goal of hindering those playing uninfected humans. The game levels are arranged into groups that define several different campaigns, giving the games Narrative Structure (in Left 4 Dead 2 these campaigns are also diegetically linked). All game modes except Survival Mode follow the campaign structures of the levels although the Versus Mode runs each game level twice before proceeding to the next level so that both teams can play both as humans and as special infected. Completing a campaign gives one of the Achievements in the games and there are additional Achievements for completing the campaigns at the most difficult level (and one additional one for completing it in Realism Mode for Left 4 Dead 2).
The players take the role of one of four Avatars which are diegetically different but have the same abilities within the game. The game always starts with all four Avatars in game, using Agents when not enough humans are playing. Through making it possible for people to temporarily give over control of their Avatars to Agents, the series shows that one can provide individual Game Pauses in Multiplayer Real-Time Games, although of course the overall gameplay continues. This, and the fact that players can log-in and take over Avatars that were controlled by Agents initially provides the game with Drop-In/Drop-Out possibilities.
The infected that passively wait for the characters, or come charging in hordes, are the Enemies in the game. These are mixed in with the rarer special infected that function somewhat like Boss Monsters in that they are tougher opponents with special abilities but they are not only present at the end of levels or campaigns.
Weapons, ammunition and healing equipment Special ammunition in Left 4 Dead 2 and shock pads.
Like many First-Person Shooters each character as hit points to show how healthy they are, and when this reaches zero one becomes incapacitated. When in this condition it is only possible to look in different directions and shoot with pistols while awaiting rescue from the other players; if all players are incapacitated the game level has to be restarted. Avatars can be incapacitated in others ways, either by falling of ledges or by being the victim of the attacks of the Hunter special infected (as Charger in Left 4 Dead 2).
The games rely heavily on Achievements to provide Replayability of the levels and campaigns. Some of the Achievements are simply gained by completing the campaigns, others one can gain more or else through Grinding since they are based upon achieving a certain event (e.g. killing zombies with machine guns or honking the noses of zombie clowns), and others through actions that require Timing or Game Mastery (e.g. throwing Molotov cocktails on a special type of zombie or killing witches in a single shot), and yet others which make gameplay more difficult for the other players. The last category consists both of voluntarily limiting oneself to using less effective weapons and of goals such as carrying garden gnomes extensive distances (in Left 4 Dead 2. Although some of the Achievements can be seen as Optional Goals, these and the goals of completing levels and campaigns might effectively become Incompatible Goals.
Some of the gamers actions in the games are both Extended and Interruptable Actions, specifically those that help the other players. Helping other players while they are hanging from heights or healing them takes time and can be interrupted by zombie attacks (and is best done with yet other players having the Supporting Goals of protecting them). Besides providing Time Pressure these actions can also be seen as a form of Delayed Reciprocity since there is typically an unstated understanding that the helped players while in the future be helpees. Healing oneself with bandages is also an Extended and Interruptable Actions in the game, but since this also is best done when guarded by other players it also encourages team work.
The series allow Betrayal in that players can opt to run to safe rooms or the escape vehicles while leaving the other players to their fate, choices that have persistent effects since only the survivors of a campaign get the Achievements associated with it.
The overall gameplay is highly geared towards encouraging Cooperation. That players easily find themselves in dangerous situations they cannot get out of on their own
Even players whose Avatars have been incapacitated can support other players since they can still shoot with pistols.
Left 4 Dead 2 adds some tangible Shared Rewards through cases with special ammo that can be handed out to all players.
Ammunition Limited Resources
Campaign Mode
Survival Mode
Added in an update of Left 4 Dead but present from the release of Left 4 Dead 2, this mode gives the gamers a Survive goal where specific medals are achieved by being alive beyond specific Time Limits (4, 7, and 10 minutes for bronze, silver, and gold medals respectively).
Versus Mode
The Versus mode pits players against players with some playing humans and others playing special infected. This introduced Asymmetric Abilities on both team and player level. All special infected can see the
The special infected have
Single-Player Mode
Realism Mode
Added in Left 4 Dead 2, this mode removes all the glowing outlines (i.e. the Non-Diegetic Elements) around the PCs, weapons, and health equipment. The ammo dumps are an exception to this. By doing so the game both makes Exploration to find items (i.e. fulfill Gain Ownership goals) more difficult and increases the risk of friendly fire (i.e. makes Cooperation more difficult).
Other Noteworthy Aspects
Developer
Valve Corporation (Windows version) Certain Affinity (Xbox 360 version)
