Comment Re:By what definition of game design? (Score 1) 60
Exactly. You can get a really good idea of just how much thought and experimentation went into Left 4 Dead's game design by reading the official blog and listening to the in-game commentary option. The game has a level of balance and polish that clearly suggests he hasn't played the game for long (if at all).
It's especially telling when he says this:
It's especially telling when he says this:
(...) his theory that in letting players build stories via Left 4 Dead-style happy accidents in open worlds, the designer doesn't have to tackle complex challenges like making choices meaningful, or making characters believable.
It seems that, to him, 'meaningful choices' don't include interesting tactical decisions - of which Left 4 Dead has plenty. And while the story may be threadbare, Left 4 Dead's characters are teeming with personality.
I get where he is coming from; in a guided, single-player existence, you can make decisions 'matter' more because the possibilities are narrow. Still, while his example of Left 4 Dead wasn't a good one, to me this comment sounds more like something said out of spite than anything else.
