I picked up a copy of Left 4 Dead. Anyone looking for a review will find plenty all over the Interblags. Here, instead, I’m posting a gripe: pay attention to the Director!
For those not in the know, the AI Director is responsible for nearly everything in the game: mob placement, pacing, resources, the works. Its job is to make the game interesting and a little scary, but not so much that you want to put it down. It looks for queues and uses them to determine where and when best to place things, and it doesn’t like it when you just sit around. I have a theory that it hurts the Directors feelings, since you don’t want to move on and see what new surprises it’s left for you. Its response is to bring the surprises to you.
I played an online campaign recently with a group of players that were too new or too stupid to have figured out the Director. They found a door which politely warned them that opening it would trigger a horde of ravenous undead so hungry that they wouldn’t even wait for your flesh to be decently cooked. How rude! So my compatriots wandered around — ambled, even! — stocking up on everything they could, only to get mauled by the following horde each time.
On about the fifth or sixth time through, I decided to take action. Once the door was reached, I took just enough time to restock my ammo, and then opened the door. The Director, naturally sensing my eagerness to continue, sent in a quick horde to fulfill its promise, then let us continue on our merry way. Not one casualty.
So folks, please remember: heed the Director.
