The administration here at Francis Hates Everything is proud to announce that we’ve finally moved away from merely featuring other people’s artwork. Today marks my first foray into original content! Here it is (click to embiggen):
As you can clearly see, here we have an ensemble picture featuring Francis over on the left wielding dual pistols and wearing his favourite vest. Next to him is… I think it’s a hunter. Next to whatever that is is the tank, with his enormous fists and tiny tiny head. Above them (on a rooftop, maybe?) is a Boomer and a Smoker. The Smoker is apparently pulling… Zoey? Yes, he’s pulling Zoey up the building by her hair. Just like in the game. Finally, we have everyone’s favourite claw-handed zombie horror, the Witch! The reason her hands are so big is… um..m perspective. They’re closer to you, so they’re larger. And scarier. Yes.
On second thought, I think I’ll let people with actual talent and more then just a green crayon do the drawing from now on.
Just a quick update with some cool L4D links that have been thrown my way recently:
First off is a T-Shirt that’s available from Split Reason: Cocktail Party
Then there’s this GMod picture which I have been unable to source: Team 4 Tress
Finally, I came across a neat L4D podcast called The Survivor’s Diary. Their site appears to have exceeded it’s bandwidth at the moment, but I listened to the most recent episode and enjoyed it so I subscribed to their feed. I hope the site comes back soon, because it’s good stuff!
Valentines Day is coming up soon, whether you like it or not. It would appear that even zombies have a heart, if the following thread on the Penny Arcade forums is anything to go by. It may be a decaying, rotting, putrid heart, but it’s the thought that counts. Except when the thought is ‘Braaaaains’.
If you’ve watched the rough drafts of the L4D intro video you may have noticed that Zoey and Francis appeared to have a ‘thing’ going on. Someone with mad Gmod skillz has decided that this is a relationship that should flourish:
Why has no-one thought of this before now? Ok, the chances are someone has, but why did no-one tell me?! The whole secret-underground-research-facility setting is begging for a zombie revamp but neither of the Resident Evil mods that I’m currently aware of (here and here) deal with the Umbrella Corp’s lab beneath Raccoon City.
Clearly any campaign set in Aperture’s labs would lack the portal gun itself (we’ll just have to hope for multiplayer in Portal 2), but there is ample room for exploration of other areas in the Aperture complex. I see a potential campaign being executed in one of the following ways:
The players are the survivors of an experiment-gone-wrong in the Aperture labs and must escape to the surface. This option is too much like the Resident Evil option for my liking.
The survivors are part of an experiment involving huge numbers of zombies controlled by an Artificial Intelligence that actually exists in game. They are put through a series of ‘tests’ (chapters) and eventually find a way to escape their confines and destroy the A.I. in the finale.
I’ll repeat the last point in case you missed it: You get to kill the A.I. Director. How rewarding would it be to dispose not only of the mastermind behind your imprisonment in the Aperture labs, but also a personification of the entity responsible for killing you in every single L4D game you ever played?
I really hope there is a mapper or modder with enough free time out there capable of taking this on. I really do. So hurry up Valve, release the L4D SDK already so that someone with talent and time can implement my dreams.
