When Left 2 Dead 2 was announced, it teased that all these chapters were connected in some way. Left 4 Dead 3 must release with the best load times the series has seen so far, lest the franchise will lose its relevancy today.Įach of Left 4 Dead‘s campaign chapters were designed as standalone zombie experiences rather than parts of a full-fledged story. What community you will have mustered will lose their engagement quickly, thus not supporting you financially through merchandise, DLC and/or in-game content. In today’s gaming landscape, long load times are a sure means of ending your title’s online prevalence early. Teammates might be rendered unprepared given how they would be in the middle of something else once the session starts again. When online, the silence between matches would result in awkward chatting.
It may outright encourage the player to stop playing or switch in another, more responsive game entirely.
The break in action could go so far as to ruin immersion. Transitioning to new chapters in either game or even launching an online session would result in extremely long load times. Veteran Left 4 Dead players are familiar with this phenomenon all too well. Those same frustrating circle animations on the bottom of your screen are as ubiquitous as they’ve ever been. While games seem to be improving from a graphical standpoint year after year, the same can’t be said about load times. What Left 4 Dead 3 Needs: Shorter Load Times In an era saturated by battle royale modes and senseless waves of Team Deathmatch, Left 4 Dead 3 could offer something significant enough to change the formula. The third iteration in the franchise needs to mix things up to appeal to modern gaming’s audience. If one thing’s for sure, the next game in the hit series certainly can’t feel as similar as how Left 4 Dead 2 felt with the original. If this doesn’t scream Left 4 Dead 3, I don’t know what does. The Left 4 Dead developer has apparently been hiring for a “globally known game franchise.” The studio has been looking for people with “experience working on competitive FPSs” who have worked “with modern FPS engines” before. Things will hopefully change soon, if a recent job posting by Turtle Rock Studios serves as any indication. Given how long it’s been since we’ve seen a new Portal, Half-Life, or Team Fortress title, this coincidence has just become a cruel joke. At least, we hope so. At this point, the fact that Valve never releases a third iteration in one of their major franchises has transcended meme stasis.