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Valve lead designer Mike Booth has revealed that something rather peculiar is happening; testing the studio’s latest game, Left 4 Dead, hasn’t become torture.
The game is nearing completion and over the past week the Valve team has been playtesting the Xbox 360 version non-stop. Booth notes that this testing “is all about making the game crash in some spectacular way. The tests go on more or less around-the-clock and require everyone at Valve (plus whatever friends and family we can rope into helping) to playtest in shifts”.
As great as playing a game non-stop sounds Booth admits even the greatest of titles can begin to become a chore to play.
“… it sucks,” said Booth. “I mean, Episode 2 is a great game. Until you have to play it 30 times in a row as fast as you can and also get the “Collect All the Grubs” achievement or you’re fired. This is the dark secret the government doesn’t want you to know about game design: At some point, playing your own game becomes torture. One company we know calls its weekly playtest session “The Hour of Fun” out of pure, ironic meanness. After three days of testing Half Life 2, Gabe Newell’s cousin gouged out his own eyes, turned his bloody face to the sky and began screaming, “I can still see Alyx!” So what with the constant game playing and the eye trauma, it’s all pretty horrific.”
Not fun then, but this isn’t the case with Valve’s latest title, Left 4 Dead. This game has been built for replayability and so far it’s holding up great.
“One of the unintended consequences of making L4D, a game that’s built from the ground up for replayability, is that we’re actually having a blast playtesting it,” explained Booth. “The final sprint to ship has truly been one completely un-ironic “Hour of Fun” after another. “Company Loves Own Product!” probably doesn’t sound like a huge newsflash. But, in all seriousness, it’s a rare feeling at this point in the process. We’re thrilled to be experiencing it, and even more thrilled that it won’t be long before you’re experiencing it as well.”
Left 4 Dead is scheduled for release on PC and Xbox 360 on November 21.
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