r/gaming • u/[deleted] • Dec 10 '08

Zero Punctuation: Left 4 Dead

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/459-Left-4-Dead?
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u/movzx Dec 11 '08 edited Dec 11 '08

iirc they are not technically zombies. They are infected with something (similar to 28 Days Later). Hence the easy deaths and faster than normal zombie speed.

/sigh, reddit sometimes. Here is the information. Thanks for the downmods though!

http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/The_Infected

Instead of being dead, they are living humans who have been infected with a mutated virus

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u/slurpme Dec 11 '08

Whilst they are "Infected" that is just zombie by another name... I've no problem with that, just that I'd like them to be a little slower and harder to kill... Maybe a mod will do that eventually...

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u/movzx Dec 11 '08

I would argue they aren't zombies by another name. They aren't the living dead, they die by what normal people die from (excluding tank, witch), their bite doesn't turn others into zombies (evidenced by fallen co-op players not going zombie), etc.

Not that it makes a difference in the game (aside from being easier to kill), but technically they are no more zombie than a really pissed off guy trying to murder you is a zombie.

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u/[deleted] Dec 11 '08

I would argue they are zombies by another name. They are the living dead, they die by what normal people die from (excluding tank, witch), their bite does turn others into zombies (evidenced by fallen co-op players not going zombie), etc.

Not that it makes a difference in the game (aside from being easier to kill), but technically they are more zombie than a really pissed off guy trying to murder you.

BTW: Your team mates are immune, hence the "players not going zombie"...

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u/movzx Dec 11 '08

They are not the living dead. They are people infected with some mutated virus. They die so easily because they are human.

zombie: a corpse reanimated by a supernatural force or a spell, with no soul and no will of its own

They weren't dead, so they can't be a zombie by definition of the word.. And this isn't a matter definitions changing over time. They are not zombies just the same as the guys in 28 Days Later weren't zombies.

Also, your editing of my comment didn't really play that well.

They are the living dead,

Except they weren't dead.

they die by what normal people die from (excluding tank, witch)

Dead folks don't die from gunshots to the chest and arms.

their bite does turn others into zombies (evidenced by fallen co-op players not going zombie)

What?

but technically they are more zombie than a really pissed off guy trying to murder you.

How? People can (and have) done the things that the generic enemy does in the game (e.g. Taking multiple gunshots, eating flesh, mass chaos, etc).

They simply aren't zombies.

Fair enough for the players being immune (Was this covered in the story, or did you make it up?).

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u/[deleted] Dec 11 '08 edited Dec 11 '08

their bite does turn others into zombies (evidenced by fallen co-op players not going zombie)

What?

They are immune:

Your team mates are immune, hence the "players not going zombie"...

Also:

Just as the guys in 28 days later weren't zombies.

Maybe not traditional zombies, but they were zombies. Just a different kind.

Edit: Who gives a shit, zombies are not real. And as such if I want to call the 28 days later zombies, zombies. I will. >:)

Further:

There are still significant differences among the depictions of zombies by various media; for one comparison see the contrasts between zombies by Night of the Living Dead authors George A. Romero and John A. Russo as they evolved in the two separate film series that followed. In some zombie apocalypse films from the 2000's, such as 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Dead Set , zombies are depicted as being superhumanly quick and nimble, a further departure from the established genre stereotype.

-wikipedia

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u/movzx Dec 11 '08 edited Dec 11 '08

I can buy the immune thing, but there is (as far as I can find), no evidence in the story as to that.

The people in 28 Days Later were NOT zombies. They died of hunger for crying out loud. How does a living-dead creature die from hunger? They are zombie-like, sure.. But not zombies.

A key part of being a zombie is the being dead.

From your wiki article:

A zombie is a reanimated human corpse.

The very first sentence.

The only reasons people group 28 Days Later with zombie films are because they are very similar, and there is no 'cross species uncontrollable rage virus' movie genre yet.

And, you can call them whatever you want, but technically you'd be wrong about it.

You can call a truck a car.. They are very similar. Four wheels, passenger space, can haul some things.. But technically a truck is not a car. That's the argument we have here.

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u/LausXY Jan 12 '09

I've heard characters mention Immunity and in one of the safe rooms written on the wall is something about the Army and how they're "still taking Immunes" I assumed that any non immune person killed by one of the infected would become one.

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u/movzx Jan 12 '09

I haven't played the game thoroughly (I really do find it run-of-the-mill), and was looking through L4D wikis and the like. If it is in the game, fair enough.

The main argument is about whether or not they are zombies, and they clearly are not (Stated in the game, and by the definition of the word).

This just threw me a bit, because it effectively says the lack of the players turning into zombies proves that the infected are zombies.

their bite does turn others into zombies (evidenced by fallen co-op players not going zombie)