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During the EA press conference yesterday, Gabe Newell from Valve came on stage to show off Left 4 Dead. Dale touched on the Director AI after the presentation and we now have video of that segment of just how the Director AI will work after the break.

During the presentation, we also got to see the debut of the redesigned four main characters. Shacknews talked with Chet Faliszek from Valve who explained why the characters were redesigned:

""We're showing them now, but they've been worked on for a bit," he explained. "All the characters are being worked on almost non-stop. What it is a lot of playtesting that made us realize that we need to be able to separate infected from the survivors and make it clearer. One of the ways we thought we could do that was through clearer designs" 

Would you be surprised to know that there's already an online petition going around demanding the old character models to come back? Anyway, I for one love the new change, especially of lone female survivor Zoey. Zoey's new design makes her look even more like Alésia Glidewell, whom Zoey is modeled after. Also, I have a giant crush on Alésia. Hey Alésia, call me!   


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41 comments | showing # 1 to 41

Stahlbrand's Avatar
Stahlbrand at 07/16/2008 19:51
To the contrary, I much preferred the original female and the more beardly biker guy.
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 07/16/2008 19:54
So, does the zombie infected old guy look like Cancer Ridden John Wayne instead of how he looks now?
TheDreadHawk's Avatar
TheDreadHawk at 07/16/2008 19:56
I prefered the war-vet type guy, but the others are a welcome change. OH YEAH!
bluemeep's Avatar
bluemeep at 07/16/2008 19:57
I skimmed past these pictures and thought the A-Team was going to be unlockable for a moment there.
ThunderHeartXI's Avatar
ThunderHeartXI at 07/16/2008 19:59
The original old guy and original biker were superior, but I welcome the change from the Alyx Vance look alike.
DaedHead8's Avatar
DaedHead8 at 07/16/2008 19:59
I like the new designs. I think they look great.
CrocBox's Avatar
CrocBox at 07/16/2008 20:01
Well I'm not very fond of the new character designs but I still do want.
Fiat Mediocrity's Avatar
Fiat Mediocrity at 07/16/2008 20:10
Smug Expressions: Because The Characters Aren't In The Middle Of A Zombie Apocolypse
10BobMarleys's Avatar
10BobMarleys at 07/16/2008 20:32
I think that by the time the zombie brains hit the fan, nobody will care about character models anymore.
GuitarAtomik's Avatar
GuitarAtomik at 07/16/2008 20:41
I think the new designs are fine. Especially since they're that way for game play reasons.
Usedtabe's Avatar
Usedtabe at 07/16/2008 20:44
The biker looks like John C. McGinley.
s0lesurviv0r's Avatar
s0lesurviv0r at 07/16/2008 20:49
So will each character have different attributes?
ScreamingScarab's Avatar
ScreamingScarab at 07/16/2008 20:53
BLACKMAN looks like Mos Def! I love Mos Def!

ASIANGIRL reminds me of Cherokee. But then again, I've watched too much porn.

Doesn't the guy in the beret look like the guy from Hot Shots Part Deux?

Charlie Sheen should be in this game. He's a comedic genius.
Brenex's Avatar
Brenex at 07/16/2008 21:02
I have never looked into Left 4 Dead until this post came up on Destructoid, so I decided to take a gander at some footage on gametrailers. After watching the developer walkthrough I felt like someone went up to Capcom and said, "Capcom, plz update RE2 and rerelease keke" and they responded with, "We will do this for you." I came to that conclusion because of various similarities like the art direction, city environment, non racially specific zombies and the the similarity in boss figures. It's a resident evil 2 for 2008 with improved AI, co-op, including the usual updated fares (weapons, graphics, etc.)
SnakeDude4Life's Avatar
SnakeDude4Life at 07/16/2008 21:16
Can't we have both?
-PL-'s Avatar
-PL- at 07/16/2008 21:20
The new character models seem much more realistic to me. To the person talking about "smug expressions", their expressions change dynamically ingame. When they are scared, they'll look scared. When they're angry, they'll look angry.

I'm really looking forward to Left 4 Dead because of the co-op aspect of it. There aren't enough online games that focus on co-op versus bots, which I've grown to prefer over straight deathmatch or team deathmatch play. I've grown disillusioned with humanity and would rather not compete at all than compete against a bunch of twelve year olds whose balls haven't dropped yet. I don't mind co-operating with them though, because maybe they'll keep their mouths shut. Probably not, though.
Eschatos's Avatar
Eschatos at 07/16/2008 21:21
I liked the old ones a little better, but it's not like I won't buy the game because of this.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 07/16/2008 21:36
New designs are terrible. The old ones were fine, though I can understand why they thought they'd blend in with the zombies. I really hate these ones, though. Except maybe the black guy. Where are the fucking beards, you bastards!? Valve = fail, which is pretty rare for them.

But seriously, I loooved the original woman's design. Looked way more like Alesia/Chell (Alesia was also Chell in Portal) than the new one does. I'll sincerely miss it. Also, Alesia will be calling me first, CTZ. ;)
Clockwork's Avatar
Clockwork at 07/16/2008 21:42
I think it looks great. But I guess it would be nice if you could choose between the two.
hofftv's Avatar
hofftv at 07/16/2008 21:52
I played a pretty sweet round of Left 4 Dead with Anthony and Nick tonight just before the convention closed. It was badass.
lawlflip's Avatar
lawlflip at 07/16/2008 22:53
I love the change, now they look like actual civilians other than grizzled bad-asses.
Crapsh00t's Avatar
Crapsh00t at 07/16/2008 23:15
@Brenex: Seriously? Go do a bit more research on the game and see if you still feel that way.
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 07/16/2008 23:20
a petition to get old models back? seriously I'm surprised these devs still go through the trouble of building games for us... If I would get stupid shit like that I'd say FUCK you all and keep the games for myself :-)

I'm sorry but this is one of the most ridiculous gaming-petitions ever! It's like those dicks complaining that Diablo 3 looks too good...
AngelsDontBurn's Avatar
AngelsDontBurn at 07/16/2008 23:51
I like the change, I guess the look a tad more, realistic? Not too over the top anyway. Anyway it shouldn't matter cause this game is going to be AMAZING! GOD I WANT IT NOW! Lol@Brenex, comparing L4D to Resident Evil shouldn't even work. This is a totally different style of game, and it's AMAZING!

This will be the BEST zombie experience yet, it beats Dead Rising for me for sure.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 07/16/2008 23:55
How is the woman more realistic? The new model looks like she just walked out of an Abercrombie ad. The old model looked like a real person. I really hate her and the new biker. Reeeeally hate.

Link to the petition, please?
B-Radicate's Avatar
B-Radicate at 07/17/2008 00:35
Although I never played the game and don't know how hard it was to distinguish the player characters from the zombies, I liked the older models better.

I sorta feel as though I became attached to the characters in all the previews and such despite the fact I never played a single round with them.

These lackluster updates make me think the zombie models should have been updated instead. Oh well. Still a major DO WANT.
Timmeh's Avatar
Timmeh at 07/17/2008 03:21
Those concepts look shit, and why does grandpa have an arm growing out of his side? Do we deal with mutants as well as zombies now, because that'd be awesome!
kawitchate's Avatar
kawitchate at 07/17/2008 03:32
miss the bearded biker dude, but whatever.
and the "Director" AI system? holy shit, this is the first time i've heard of it. damn. now i've really gotta get this.
Knives's Avatar
Knives at 07/17/2008 04:03
Like I told Rockvillian, why so worried about the skins when we know there will be mods for them?

Honestly, we know we'll end up playing Mario, Yoshi, Luigi and Peach against the koopas. :P
RWarrior1CO's Avatar
RWarrior1CO at 07/17/2008 04:54
Feh. If it's not broken, don't fix it. I mean, seriously, WHAT was wrong with the originals?

Memo to Valve: Stop being a bunch of dainty perfectionists and focus on releasing your product.
hjd uk's Avatar
hjd uk at 07/17/2008 06:28
I liked the old biker more but the new bird and 'general-major' is hotness.

Im sold on this already.

And for those who want different models, wait a month and DL one of thr plethora of PPM packs that will popup.
CthulhuFtaghn's Avatar
CthulhuFtaghn at 07/17/2008 08:06
I can't shake the feeling that Zoey looks like Carla Valenti from Fahrenheit.
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar
TrailerParkJesus at 07/17/2008 08:50
I don't even get that online petition. People have already latched on to these characters even though they haven't had any playtime? It's not like these were established characters, plus they're just models. Fuck people.
Kryptinite's Avatar
Kryptinite at 07/17/2008 08:51
Oh shit, Kobe Bryant is in Left 4 Dead?

"hey kobe, tell me how my ass taste"

I'm buying this game. Co-op scary shit? Fuck yes.
DrNutt's Avatar
DrNutt at 07/17/2008 09:58
Does anyone else think that the new biker guy looks like the bad guy from Commando? "Hey Bennet, why don't you let off some steam!"
Primo's Avatar
Primo at 07/17/2008 12:42
@ kryptinite

I was thinking he looks like Vince Carter.

timtheterrible's Avatar
timtheterrible at 07/17/2008 12:46
Bruce Campbell!
pseudo hero's Avatar
pseudo hero at 07/17/2008 13:12
zombie co-op still instant win for me.
Brenex's Avatar
Brenex at 07/17/2008 13:13
Ah I can see where I was a bit too quick to judge. The trailer I saw was the developer's handon (which looks like Wii Powerpoint was used to make it) so there was more bullet points and less game time. Only problem I can think of is, there are alot of r-tards on xbox live. But that's what friends lists are for ^^
Volomon's Avatar
Volomon at 07/17/2008 17:42
Ya we learned alot from the TF2 production too if its unbalanced or needs tweaks only the PC version will get it.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 07/17/2008 20:33
Fuck you Valve, you took away my creepy homeless Vietnam vet beard guy.
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