I really have no idea how I stumbled into this interview. One minute I was banging on my keyboard, knocking out a work project, the next minute I was reading Valve’s design process with my tongue dangling out the side of my mouth. And boy oh boy – this is an interesting read. It’s titled, “Why Ellis is Valve’s favorite character” but that’s only one section of a larger article.

On an aside, I used to enjoy Ellis, but now I can’t stand him. I don’t know what it is. Maybe as I get older, I have less patience for long rambling stories that serve no purpose. I don’t know, but whenever he breaks into a monologue, I wish I could smash him with the butt of my shotgun only to shut him up. Er, where’d I leave my meds ;)

The interview is a sit down discussion with Left 4 Dead 2 writer Chet (I dare you to say my last name backwards) Faliszek about the overall process that went into the game. It’s interesting how they developed the new special infected, the new heroes, and even the world where it all takes place. Here’s an example:

“We just liked the idea of you having more choices to make and giving you more reason to scavenge around and look for things. Adrenaline was an early one, we wanted it for those moments where you were the last guy standing and you need to heal three people and do it as fast as you can… to let you be a hero rather than run away from your team.

and

“We kept iterating out of it, and thought how county fairs in the US are normally where washed-up rock bands end up. We were joking around with that idea for a little while, and kept it on theme. Originally there was going to be this old roadie there you talked to, but what it was about kept changing. At the same time, the fair started getting a little goofier, with the different games you can play and you running the roller-coaster – all of that. So if that was getting odder, we had to get the finale to match it!”

There were a great many tidbits in the article which will actually make me a better player (somewhere out there Jamie – brother in law and frequent teammate, is cheering). For instance, I thought the laser was kind of redundant because I already have one (aka the targeting reticule). In the article, Chet explains that the laser sight isn’t to help me shoot, but rather, to tell what my teammates are shooting at. Hence, no two people aiming at the same common infected. Some of you are probably making a “duh” sound by now, but the point WHOOOOSED (writing that never gets old for me) right over my head.

There’s a bunch more little gems in there, but I’ll leave you to do the mining. Enjoy!

Why Ellis is Valve’s favorite character (gamesradar.com <- new window)