Origin of Zombies

Zombies originated through the Haitian Voodoo culture.  Zombie, or "zombi" (as said in Haitian), means "spirit of the dead."  The Haitian Voodoo priests believed that through black magic you could ressurrect the dead by orally inserting a substance known as "coup padre" into the dead person.  According to legend, "a zombi(e) is someone who has annoyed his or her family and community to the degree that they can no longer stand to live with this person. They respond by hiring a Bokor..to turn them into a zombi(e).  Once they had been issued the coup padre, the subjects being prepared for their descent into zombidom would appear to die insofar as their heart rate would slow to a near stop, their breathing patterns would be greatly subdued and their body temperature would significantly decrease. The public, thinking that the person was dead, would bury him/ her as if they were a corpse. They would then be exhumed, still alive, by the Bokor and, although their physicality remained intact, their memory would be erased and they would be transformed into mindless drones. "Though still living, they remain under the Bokor's power until the Bokor dies."  (http://www.umich.edu/~engl415/zombies/zombie.html // Keegan, www.flmnh.ufl.edu)


Since then, the zombie culture has progressed, especially since the early 1900's.  Throughout the decades, the zombie culture has grown and changed in various ways, depending on society's fears at the time being.  It started out with black magic and summoning the undead and has now found its way into viral outbreaks of all sorts.  Here is a prime example of something that is triggering society's newest obsession with zombies and the undead culture:  http://www.left4dead411.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14208 (discussion on a new & unknown virus outbreak in Ukraine late last year)


The Left 4 Dead creators have gone with society's latest views on zombies and turned it into an action-set styled game.  So, the most recent style of zombie has been through viral outbreak that runs through the body and can be swapped through blood or saliva transfer in some instances between zombie and human.  Left 4 Dead uses the transfer into a zombie through the "Green Flu" virus that went around.  Once infected, the person's brain is slowed down and shut off in various places, turning them into flesh-craving buggars. 



ZOMBI(E) GALLERY OF GOREY WICKEDNESS:

me as a zombie for the short film "The Turn"

we're coming for you!  "The Turn"

behind the scenes.  "The Turn"

The Sacrifice

One of the newest features added onto the Left 4 Dead games is the downloadable content (360 & PC) for the campaign entitled "The Sacrifice."  There was a lot of buildup and anticipation for the latest L4D DLC, a lot of which was added throughout the official website and other L4D blogs & sites.  There was even a comic, split into four parts, put out onto the official website (which was quite entertaining from what I read).  If you read the entire comic, you can find out exactly what happens and, through that knowledge, you are able to choose your own ending once playing the actual game.  This portion of L4D is supposed to be a prequel to "The Passing" and takes place through the eyes of the survivors as they travel to the South.  When you download the game, you get full access to the maps playable in campaign, versus, and survival.  If you get this DLC through L4D 2 then you can play both "The Sacrifice" campaign and L4D 1's "No Mercy" (both of which are playable with L4D 1's characters).  Both of them also feature L4D 2's Special Infected, items, and weapons.  The trailer can be viewed here

Difference Between L4D 1 & 2

Aside from the plot difference, there are a few more things that differ from the two games (and they all make the second one sound even better).  First off, the groups of characters are different.  L4D 1 has Francis, Zoey, Louis, and Bill & L4D 2 has Nick, Rochelle, Coach, and Ellis.  Next, the second one has five levels (that intertwine), rather than 4 storylines that don't connect at all.  Their game modes both contain a Versus, Survival, and Campain mode, but the second game also has a Scavenge and Realism mode on top of the other three.  The second game also has a total of ten different melee weapons to choose from throughout the game (which is probably my favorite addition).  Also, the second one adds in ten new different types guns & special ammo/gun accessories.  In addition to the health pack and pills, L4D 2 includes an adrenaline injector and a defibrillator.  Also, instead of just having the normal group of infected, the second installment has three different types of infected: Zombie Clown (Dark Carnival), Hazmat Zombie (The Parish), & Mud Men (Swamp Fever).  On top of the five special zombies (Tank, Boomer, Smoker, Hunter, Witch), there are three more in L4D 2 - Charger, Spitter, Jockey.  Also, the Witches can now travel in daylight. 

Got Plot?

Left 4 Dead 1 had no connection between each storyline in the game - it was solely meant for entertainment purposes and to create separate small short storylines.  However, in the second installment, all five storyline's intertwine and make one big story arc.  In Left 4 Dead 2, the game is set in the Southern United States, starting in Savannah, Georgia & ending in New Orleans, Louisiana.  The four new characters (Nick, Rochelle,Coach, Ellis) get picked up by rescue helicopters in Savannah and go to a local mall, which turns out to be infected.  They then drive a stock car out of the mall and down to New Orleans, but along the way they come across the original Left 4 Dead characters (Francis, Zoey, Louis, Bill).  The characters then must travel through an abandoned, yet still operating, amusement park because the road is blocked off by loads of cars that are in the way.  When the characters get to the concert stage in the amusement park, they've got to sef off the fireworks and pyrotechnics to attract the attention of a helicopter pilot who will rescue them.  This loud and bright show will also attract a bajillion infected to attack you as well...but there's nothing more fun than rocking out on a groovadelic guitar and then smashing their faces in with it!  Unfortunately, their helicopter pilot is found out to be infected too, so Nick is forced to kill him and they crash into a swamp, whereupon they radio a boat captain named Virgil.  Unfortunately he needs more fuel to make it to New Orleans so they get to shore and walk through an abandoned sugar mill to get to a gas station.  Virgil then takes them to New Orleans where the military is apparently evacuating civillians...which turns out to be a cover up because they are bombing bridges to cover their retreat (wimps!).  The four survivors make it across a lift bridge and make it into the last leaving military helicopter.  From there, we don't really know what happens..buttt Chet Faliszek, the game writer, said that the military is taking survivors to cruise ships in order to avoid worldwide infection.  dun dun dun.

Harmony In Extremis

Like every game or televised program, there is a musical score to go along with it.  The music, or soundtrack, is an essential part of games and movies.  Sound and music are a huge part of what makes the certain piece of entertainment you are playing / viewing complete, especially when it comes to the horror genre.  Other than L4D, the two biggest games that I can think of as examples for this are Silent Hill and Resident Evil.  I have played Silent Hill 2 with and without sound and it is terrifying with sound, but when it's off the game suddenly become a whole lot less creepy, same with Resident Evil 4.  Anyways, Left 4 Dead's soundtrack is all composed by Mike Morasky.  The way that the sound and music is directed in Left 4 Dead is the same as I just explained for Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil 4.  The structure style of the songs and how they're used are similar to that of a movie - certain cues will often be repeated throughout the soundtracks, like a recognizable theme for the game.  Various songs will play when something happens to your character or when you reach a certain point in a level.  Here is a link I found to all of the songs in the game (through youtube):  http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/Left_4_Dead_Soundtrack

Left 3 Dead

Only after one week of the second Left 4 Dead's release, there were rumors circulating of a third installment.  I have been trying to research this, but what I have been getting so far is that it is simply a hoax.  Through trying different websites and trying to confirm what I heard off of one site with another site or two, it seems that there isn't anything legit going on yet.  If I had to make a guess, a third installment for this game wouldn't be released until late 2011 or 2012, earliest.  Upon my searching I also found rumors and internet discussion of a Left 4 Dead movie, which took me a while to decide on whether or not it was a fake.  As of now, I think it actually might be real -- I found two separate trailers for a movie on youtube, being made by two separate people (one is high budget and one is a lower budget short film).  This first link is to the short film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rimT0--7DTM and this right here are the links to the high budget version, which I think doesn't look too bad:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-aEbuisjfQ & http://left4deadmovie.us.splinder.com/ .  As long as Uwe Boll isn't related to this film in any way, I think it has a good potential.

Here is a fake trailer for the supposed third installment:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIsxufNSJdI

Gimmie Dat Eight-Bit, Gimmie Dat Good Shit

Now this is entertaining: an 8-bit remake of Left 4 Dead!  Eric Ruth, an indie game developer, is the one behind the creative take on this 8-bit mayhem entitled Pixel Force: Left 4 Dead.  Eric has designed many games over the years of his life and is an aspiring developer.  All of his games are free and he is hoping one day to seek employment at a good studio.  In fact, you can download his games and get to know more about him at his website, http://www.ericruthgames.com/ .  This game allows single player and co-op modes.  And as you will see, the way it is designed makes it look like it actually came out in the late 80's or early 90's for the NES.  There are two difficulty modes and the weapons are thrown about the path in various places. 

I do not know how to add a video into the blog itself, so here is a link to some gameplay:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lFkXFqHc9E

Wretched Sales & Dangerous Devices

      As with all games, the company's goal is to create a great time for the player and generate as much money as they can through doing so.  Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 did quite a remarkable job with their sales and it still continues to be a great game that still sells well.  Left 4 Dead 1 was released in North America on November 18th, 2008 and Left 4 Dead 2 was released in North America on November 17th, 2009.  I am having trouble finding out how much the games made within their fist weekend / week of release, but I am sure it was enough to be a big deal (although it is no COD Black Ops, which made $350 million within its first 24 hours of release!).  What I have found, however, are statistics on its sales afterwards:  On February 20th, 2009, an article stated that when Valve cut the first Left 4 Dead's price by 50%, their game sales immediately jumped 3,000% in sales!  Apparently these sales were so strong that it dominated the game's opening weekend sales (http://www.mcvuk.com/news/33312/Left-4-Dead-sales-jump-3000).  The second Left 4 Dead ended up selling over two million units throughout the world within two weeks of release.  It had also been played over one million times by X-Box Live Gold members within that first two weeks.  Within these first two weeks, the second installment had already outsold its income from the first game!  Currently Left 4 Dead 1 goes for around $15 - $20, while the second installment goes for $25 - $30...well above the price of a one-year-outdated sports game.
     Left 4 Dead is not only displayed through the television screen, but also in physical forms through all of its merchandise throughout its time of release.  The game had quickly become a big name within the action and horror game fanbase and therefore had merch made after it.  Various t-shirts, action figures, stickers, and much more can be found either through the internet or various stores.  Valve even added a downloadable content comic book.  I actually found out about this game through my friend because he was wearing a shirt advertising the game.

Fear



Can I has your soul nao?




     Why do people like Left 4 Dead so much?  Is it because of the non-stop action?  Is it because of the dark and fearful atmospheres the game puts you in? Or is it because of the zombie society which has grown within our current culture?  For me, Left 4 Dead is an amazing game because of a mixture of all these things.  I am always satisfied with a good action-filled or horrific game, and this seems to cover both of those topics very well.  The game always keeps you on the edge of your seat and puts you in good, dark environments while you get to unload an army of bullets to save you and your partners from the wrath of the undead.  I have been a zombie and horror fan for a while now, but not until recently have I been a big fan of the genres.  Therefore, this game is a satisfactory means for escaping from the real world to kick some undead ass.

     Anyways, the point of this blog post is to discuss what fear is and how our society is fascinated with horror, violence, and the undead.  The topic of zombies has been around for a long time, especially within recent culture, particularly because of George A. Romero's 1968 release of Night of the Living Dead.  Ever since then zombies and the undead have been a part of our society.  Earlier on, during the 20th century, zombies were widely known to spawn through black magic of various sorts because that was what the society had feared at the time.  If you notice, currently all zombie storylines involve them coming through viruses and blood transfusion, which is what we as a society now have been currently fearing (ie. swine flu, anthrax, mad cow, to quickly name a few).  The original Resident Evil game was highly influenced by the 1990's gas attack/scare in Japan and it became a major element in the game because it was what the Japanese society was dealing with at the time and it made the game more relatable, and ultimately more terrifying.

     Left 4 Dead is a prime example of the current societal scare.  The game takes place because of the outbreak of the "Green Flu" virus, which is highly contageous and causes a lack of higher brain functions.  If the viewpoint for the game was made through the earlier 20th century's perspective, then it would be sort of like: A witch who was sentenced to die but escaped has a vengence upon the world so she takes her magic, potions, or whatever and summons the undead to attack all who live...or something like that.  Left 4 Dead is a great example of how current scares influence what we see on our television screens.  It also has fun with the violence factor, which society has always loved since the beginning of time.  All in all, this game did a great job with what the modern society would want within an action-packed zombie horror-survival game.

Death

     Death in video games has always been a factor, especially once the games started advancing with better storylines and graphics.  Even though in the early games they may not have focused on the deaths so much, they were still there and they were still violent depending on how it's looked upon.  Super Mario stomps his enemies to death, Pacman turns himself inside out until he is nothing, in Burger Time the chef basically has a seizure, and so on.  In the mid 90s, when graphics were progressing and so were games, we had more visual deaths evolving.  And now through time with the advancement of video game genres/styles and better graphics with consols such as the X-Box 360 & Playstation 3, we have come to a whole new gaming experience than we had years ago.

     In Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, we experience these newest styles of death in video games.  The violence and deaths in this game are everywhere and occur almost every second it feels like.  When the rush of zombies come at you, you and your three teammates are littering ammo everywhere trying to kill everything around you.  When this happens you see limbs flying in the air, heads getting blown off, etc.  It is a much more realistic way of killing your enemies than in the older games, like Super Mario World or something. 

     Since Left 4 Dead is meant for replay value and the levels are fairly short, you don't really get to feel for the characters as much as you would with other video games, such as RPGs.  In lots of RPGs you get to build up your character over time and choose primarily what happens or what certain characters can do.  This then progresses the storyline and changes the game up due to what you have chosen to do.  Over time, you start to feel for the characters like you would in a movie, only this time you are in control of what they do so it can create an even further bonding experience.  In Left 4 Dead, there are several storylines to choose from with chapters within them.  On average each storyline can take an hour or so and then it is over with.  Due to the lack of backstory with the characters and the short length of gameplay per story, you cannot learn much about your characters, which in the end leaves you with less emotion and sorrow towards a character if they end up dying.

Expanding the Mayhem

Left 4 Dead was originally made for X-Box 360 and then moved to PC because of its popularity.  There were rumors going around on the internet that Left 4 Dead will be released for the Playstation 3 as well, but that turned out to be only a rumor.  As of last year, the Valve team has been fixing things up and adding new features to further enhance the PC and online gameplay, such as versus and survivor mode.  Valve's main plan is to release more updates and such for the PC game version and then later on group up these updates for the X-Box 360 version.  The game statistics allow the company to personally see what is going well and what isn't.  An example of this is that they "flipped the order in which teams play the next round based on who was winning the round before it."  This gave players a better chance to play through the final map.  The game's playing percentage jumped 5% after that change, which is small but it's going the way they want it to.  Other than statistics, Valve gets direct feedback from players as well to help out what they should keep and change.

Wicked Cinema

As I stated in my last post, Valve Corporation was largly inspired by all kinds of horror films.  One of the biggest goals for the art direction of this video game was to make it seem like the player is right in the middle of a horror flick.  This meant that they had to make the various environments around the game in a specific "filmic" way.  The art direction used five specific ways of creating this atmosphere: color, correction, film grain, vignette, and local contrast.  Some examples of what they did include:
For the color, they simply dimmed down certain spots in the game's environment while they enhanced the color on specific items to catch the player's attention (health, blood, exits).  While working with the film grain effect during the cinematic parts of the game, Valve realized that the effect added both a heightened sense of feeling/authenticity, but if used too much the players (at least game testers) got tired of it fast.  Therefore, Valve evened this situation out and let the darker parts get grainy, but the lighter the screen got, the less grain appeared.  Altogether, Valve wanted the player to have a "visually unique experience" every time they play, based upon their performance.  Blending all of the effects together in the end made the game look a lot more realistic and cinematic for the user's enjoyment. 

A Hellish Development

Left 4 Dead was an improvement upon Valve's Source engine (a 3D game engine which they developed) and allowed them to work on many different things, such as the physics-based animation.  This allowed them to use a more realistic portrayal on characters' hair and clothing and let them improve upon the physics interaction with enemies.  This also allowed the characters to move more realistically.  Because of these improvements, the game was able to run smooth as all of the zombies continued to keep coming.  Valve also used some sort of advanced shadow rendering as well for the lighting aspects of the game.  Horror films were a big inspiration for Left 4 Dead too, and a lot of the time you can see how they affected how it added to the cinematic parts of the game.


During the testing and development of Left 4 Dead, there were lots of features that were removed from the game, like various types of zombies.  Because the game is meant for its replayability and fast action, Valve decided to take away the long introduction and many of the cut scenes and replaced them with some narratives so that the players would have more time to focus on the gameplay itself. 

Back(breaking)-Story of Game Production

Turtle Rock Studios started to develop Left 4 Dead in mid-2005.  What they intended to make was a horror film-esq video game involved with good character narration structure and multiplayer interactions.  Ultimately Turtle Rock Studios aimed for a high game replay value, which they succeeded upon, in my opinion.  As time went by, the studio slowly released more information and demos on the game.  On November 20th, 2006, the studio publicly announced their game.  The first two places in which the game was first played were at the Showdown 2007 LAN in San Jose and at QuakeCon 2007.  Left 4 Dead was finally released through Valve Corporation (which had a long relationship with Turtle Rock)on October 15th, 2008.  Soon advertisements and contests for the game were showing up everywhere and the game took off from there.

First Blog - Left 4 Dread

For my video games & culture class at Hartwick College, I have chosen to research the action-packed, horror survival game series Left 4 Dead.  It takes place in Pennsylvania, where a virus has hit, called the "Green Flu," which causes a loss of brain functions and extreme aggression. This game is a fast paced zombie shooter that will never fail to keep you on the edge of your seat.  Throughout this class, I will be blogging much information about all aspects of this series.