Left 4 Dead

Making of Left 4 Dead presentation by Gabe Newell given at E3 2008. From a film makers point of view it is really interesting to see how much effort they have put into making the game look and feel like a film. Gabe talks about colour correction, vignetting and lighting. Further to this he talks of the Left 4 Dead director. This unseen puppet master of the program adapts the narrative and experience depending on the players skill. From a creative writing point of view this is a fantastic concept. The story develops depending on skill right from the number of zombies to the cinematic rewards. For example at a low level a gas station encounter is fairly restrained with the pay off being zombie death and player advancment. At a higher skill level the player is rewarded with a massive petrol explosion.