Valve on that Dead Island trailer

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 17 March, 2011

"The violence towards kids is unpleasant."

Techland's eye-catching Dead Island trailer, which shows a reverse-time account of a young girl on a tropical holiday island being torn away from her parents, become a zombie and eventually be flung out of a window, turned heads - but what did Valve, the maker of Left 4 Dead, perhaps the best zombie game of this generation, think?

"It's pretty awesome. It's really good," Left 4 Dead writer Chet Faliszek told Eurogamer.

"I think it's great, but I just had a baby this year and I just had a weird feeling," offered writing partner Erik Wolpaw. "The violence towards kids is unpleasant. I'm not offended by it, but it's unpleasant in a way that makes it difficult to watch.

"But it looks cool. An open world zombie game would be awesome."

Left 4 Dead is a four-player co-op first-person shooter that sees players battle against hordes of zombies as they desperately head for safety.

Dead Island, due out this year, is also a four-player co-op zombie survival game, but it takes place on an island.

It has a heavy focus on melee fighting - lopping zombie's arms off with sharp objects and staving their rotten faces in with blunt objects. Guns exist, but ammo is scarce.

The game's also got RPG guts - character classes, skill development and weapon customisation.

While the trailer got gamers talking, and indeed caused Dead Island to trend on Twitter, some remain sceptical that it does not accurately reflect the video game it promotes.

"That's what I'm curious about as well," said Faliszek. "But I'll tell you what, it brought me in and I want to know more about the game."

Wolpaw agreed: "Telling it in reverse was a neat filmic thing. Coming out of it, I still don't know anything about the game, but as a way to reintroduce... hey guys, remember this game we talked about three years ago? Here it is.

"It was hardcore. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the game."

Dead Island was revealed way back in 2007, and despite Techland announcing that everything was well and good in 2009, it had been assumed to be in limbo. Some suggested Techland was waiting for Left 4 Dead and L4D2 to come and go.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Kayin #1 1 year ago

    It definitely is a cool trailer, nice to see Valve giving it props.

  • evild_edd #2 1 year ago

    Will be interesting to see whether that footage becomes a blessing or a curse for Dead Island.

    I fear expectation levels will be extremely high....

  • bad09 #3 1 year ago

    Am I the only father not affected by make believe imagery? I've seen a few say "as a parent I felt uneasy" but I was not affected, I just thought it was a clever well made trailer.

    Funnily I was just looking at some screenies on RPS

    [link url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/17/holiday-snaps-rips-dead-island-screens/
    ]http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/...[/link]

    Not sure what to make of it, is it an FPS (excitingly looking rather similar to the wickedly visceral Condemned gameplay) or a TPS? Either way it looks as exciting as the trailer. Not out until November though :(

  • metalangel #4 1 year ago

    Violence towards adults, meanwhile, is absolutely fine.

  • thedaveeyres #5 1 year ago

    It's going to be arse. Shame.

  • UkHardcore23 #6 1 year ago

    Certainly one of the best game trailer's i've seen if not thee best.

  • metalangel #7 1 year ago

    @Ap3xx: the 'breed suppression field' the Covena... er, COMBINE installed stops you getting your groove on. Hence any children around at the time of the invasion have now grown to maturity and Valve can neatly avoid that unpleasant childkilling.

  • JStaunton #8 1 year ago

    @metalangel, yeah because that's their point isn't it....

    Children are seen as more vulnerable, whereas adults can generally fend for themselves.

  • metalangel #9 1 year ago

    @JStaunton: Little Lamplight says hello, mungo.

    EDIT: Fallout 3 has a settlement composed entirely of heavily armed children who kill raiders and slavers
    Edited by metalangel at 17/03/11 @ 12:08

  • JStaunton #10 1 year ago

    @metalangels, you're going to have to explain that one i'm afraid. though i can only assume the original comment was sarcastic.

  • ZizouFC #11 1 year ago

    Violence towards children in movies, meanwhile, is absolutely fine.

  • IronCladChicken #12 1 year ago

    Guys, he is a new father - By the time his second kid pops out the novelty of being parent will have worn off and he'll be perfectly fine with the trailer.

  • MrWonderstuff #13 1 year ago

    As above. New Dad. To be expected. Novelty will wear off and the the holier-than-thou parent thing will fall by the wayside as the reality of it all sets in.

  • SomaticSense #14 1 year ago

    "But it looks cool. An open world zombie game would be awesome."

    What? Did the last five years completely pass him by or something? There's already been two games from one fairly large franchise that fall exactly under that description released in that period alone.

  • captainCandy #15 1 year ago

    I.e., Valve doesn't want to put emotion into games. Nothing new though.

  • Eraysor #16 1 year ago

    I'm sorry, but anyone who's finished Episode 2 and says there's no emotion in Valve games is a cold, heartless bastard *cries*

  • stodgypudding #17 1 year ago

    I have two kids 3 and 6. I was effected by the trailer - I wanted to chop all those zombies into tiny peices with that fire axe.

  • Manctim #18 1 year ago

    "The violence towards kids is unpleasant. I'm not offended by it, but it's unpleasant in a way that makes it difficult to watch." - isn't that the point?

  • Smudge1983 #19 1 year ago

    I liked it and am gonna keep my eye on this game from now until release. Zombies are pretty nasty...unfortunately towards kids too. Still I hope you can punt or drop kick the zombies in the game. Paybacks a bitch.

  • Mik3yB #20 1 year ago

    It's a great trailer, it instantly made me give a shit about the characters and would give me the most motivation I'd ever have to kill stuff. I'm going to keep my eye on this game, consider me very interested!

    ps. Did anyone watch Frank Darabonts Walking Dead? If it has the same quality of story it might be excellent.

  • Ezzekhiel #21 1 year ago

    Meanwhile violence towards Gnomes, Yordles and other Halflings is just working as intended.

    I guess FoxNews will be happy about this trailer though :p

  • CaptainQuint #22 1 year ago

    Best game trailer of 2011 so far.

    Hope the game lives up to it.

  • chrisola #23 1 year ago

    @Mik3yB

    Walking Dead is AWESOME (i say IS because the comic book is on-going and even better than the TV show)

    The first few mins of the first episode tells you all you need know...and yes if you don't like the themes in the Dead Island trailer then the first 5 mis of the show will probably break you :p

  • node #24 1 year ago

    That's fair enough. It was definitely unsettling, but that was part of its impact I guess.

  • Golgo #25 1 year ago

    Great trailer. Very affecting and effective.

    As for: "I just had a baby this year and I just had a weird feeling," offered writing partner Erik Wolpaw.

    Well, men aren't meant to have babies so I guess it must've been a weird feeling.
    Edited by Golgo at 17/03/11 @ 12:49

  • superstu1337 #26 1 year ago

    Surprisingly, a zombie attack wouldn't be pleasant.

  • kangarootoo #27 1 year ago

    "I think it's great, but I just had a baby this morning... for breakfast"

  • Makeem95 #28 1 year ago

    I just find watching people being eaten by zombies uncomfortable.

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #29 1 year ago

    I have 2 kids, eldest is 7 - similar age to the girl in the trailer.

    I totally understand what this guy is saying, and he's not saying he's offended by it. Neither am I, if anything it adds to the emotional connection with the game.
    It is difficult to watch for a parent, because you can't help but associate it with your own children.
    I can still watch it and I still think its class but I do feel uneasy - Like him, I'm not preaching, it's just a fact.

  • jack_klugman #30 1 year ago

    Isn't that a rather inflammatory and misleading headline, Eurogamer? The tone of Valve's comments was upbeat, enthusiastic and measured, whereas your "The violence towards kids is unpleasant." sub-header suggests a much more negative appraisal.

  • Ezzekhiel #31 1 year ago

    @jack_klugman: ofc it is, it's an old journalist trick "picking a sentence out of it's context" to attract readers.

    And guess what, it worked on both of us :)

  • kangarootoo #32 1 year ago

    As someone who is currently not a parent, I find the violence in the trailer against some dude who could be me quite disturbing.

    I identified with the guy in the trailer that was getting his neck chomped by some zombie kid, and thought "if that was me... that would suck, and be quite frightening too, neither of which is nice".

    I wasn't offended by it, it was just unpleasant in a way that made it difficult to watch.

  • Timbercottage #33 1 year ago

    "Games can't be art" - Have you seen this?!

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #34 1 year ago

    Kangarootoo,

    Did you identify with the fact it was his own daughter biting his neck?

    I see where you are coming from, I hate people boasting about being parents, I wasn't trying to do that.
    Edited by CHAZBIGPOTATO at 17/03/11 @ 13:47

  • Sar #35 1 year ago

    The point of the trailer is to evoke an emotional response. Looks like it worked eh?

    I'm a parent myself, and I found the trailer bringing a lump to my throat.

    Good job Techland. Just hope the game lives up to it...

  • drchocapic #36 1 year ago

    "violence towards kids is unpleasant."

    Especially if you're the kid.

  • geeza2020 #37 1 year ago

    "as a parent, i think..." - is that a euphamism for talking out of your arse? (Bill Bailey)

  • TheGuvernor #38 1 year ago

    Violence towards adults, meanwhile, is absolutely fine.

    Then why play video games? We're all dishing out violence toward pixels disguised as adults, aren't we?

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #39 1 year ago

    I've got 3 of the little blighters and the trailer definitely put an empathetic lump in my throat. Which I suspect was the point and I loved it. Made me wanna kill some Zs.

  • Cherub007 #40 1 year ago

    At times during the past year, I have often wondered if my newborn son is some kind of zombie. Some unsleeping, screaming, evil, projectile shitting zombie. That or the antichrist. He's cool now, but once I'd seen the wrong end of 4am for the umpteenth time in a month, I definitely wanted to beat him senseless with his own dismembered limbs.

    Just to clarify, he is actually still alive and well and long may that continue.

  • Freek #41 1 year ago

    At a recent preview event, written about on this verry site, it became clear that the actual game has no relation to that trailer what so ever. Not in terms of story or themes.
    Interesting trailer, that they unfortunatly could not live up to with the game.

  • kangarootoo #42 1 year ago

    @CHAZBIGPOTATO

    "Did you identify with the fact it was his own daughter biting his neck?"

    Oh for sure, but she was a zombie by that stage and was asking for trouble. I tell you, if my future daughter ever turned into a zombie, she would be as a dead to me... as.... a zombie kid?


    Anyway, I don't mean to offend parents out there. I just find the "as a parent" prefix a gold mine of fuel for my sarcasm engine (which apparently runs on gold), and I shall continue to do so even after I likely one day become one.


    Edit:
    "I'm a parent myself, and I found the trailer bringing a lump to my throat."

    I should also add, me too. I normally don't like teaser trailers, but as a piece of film making I thought it was one of the best pieces of game associated work I've ever seen.
    Edited by kangarootoo at 17/03/11 @ 16:13

  • coomber #43 1 year ago

    @Mik3yB

    I loved the Walking Dead series. Can't wait for the next to come round, though it won't be for a while. I thought it improved on the comics, (especially with regards to one of the major plot differences between the show and Book 1).

  • solidSnake04 #44 1 year ago

    its sad

  • TheGuvernor #45 1 year ago

    I think the zombies are just feeling misunderstood.

  • Pikol #46 1 year ago

    I gotta agree, it was a little unpleasant to watch this trailer, nevertheless it's awesome.