IG: Were you looking to emphasize the story and personality of the survivors more in the trailers and ads for Left 4 Dead 2 compared to the original?
DL: Definitely. We wanted to show the co-operative experience and the zombies -- both goals held over from the original. But we also wanted to highlight what's new in the game -- melee weapons (Coach firing up the chainsaw), the breadth of creatures and locations (clown climbing the scaffold, haz-mat guy walking thru the flames) and as well as the new Survivors and the story offered in the product. We're also promoting the new cast online at L4D.com: Ellis, Coach, Nick and Rochelle, The Spitter, the Charger, and the Jockey.
IG: What sort of reception have you had to the ‘Dude, where's my thumb?’ promotion?
DL: Last year we saw something like 300 submissions to the contest and it was one of the more fun promotions we've done over the past 13 years of making games. So, it was a natural to bring it back, especially given the increase in cities and number of billboards this year. We announced the winner the other day, and saw a similar number of total submissions this year. And, like last year, they ran the gamut of basic shots in front of a billboard to highly Photoshopped creative works.
IG: Do you think the pre-order bonus bat has helped get a good response?
DL: Left 4 Dead 1 was just about tied with Half-Life 2 as the most pre-ordered game in Valve history. We don't have the final Left 4 Dead 2 pre-orders totaled yet, but they look to be between 3.5 to 4 times the size of L4D1's pre-orders. So, I guess ‘yes’ would be the simple answer.
IG: On an unrelated note, can we expect the last two "Meet the Team" movies [for Team Fortress 2] any time soon?
DL: I don't have an update on the movies today. Sorry.
IG: Aww, don’t make us beg Doug! Anyway, thanks.
Look for part two tomorrow with Kongregate.
