document_title: Molissa Fenley

question_text: what year did molissa fenley perform state of darkness

question_tokens: what year did molissa fenley perform state of darkness

text: Molissa Fenley

text: Early life and education[edit]

text: Molissa Fenley (née Avril Molissa Fenley) was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 15, 1954. She is the youngest of three children born to Eileen Allison Walker and John Morris Fenley. At the age of six months Fenley and her family moved to Ithaca, NY where her father was a professor of Agricultural Extension at Cornell University. At the age of six, her family moved to Ibadan, Nigeria where her father worked for the US State Department's USAID program. Fenley attended high school in Spain, and at 16 returned to the US where she received her BA in Dance from Mills College in 1975.[1] Immediately after graduating from Mills, Fenley moved to New York City to begin her career as a choreographer and dancer.[2]

text: Career[edit]

text: Early career[edit]

text:
Upon arriving in New York City in 1975, Fenley trained with Merce Cunningham, Viola Farber and studied at the Erick Hawkins School.[3] During her first years in New York Fenley danced for several choreographers including Carol Conway and Andrew deGroat.[4] She began creating her own work and formed Molissa Fenley and Dancers in 1977. After a tour of European festivals in 1980 her work began to receive more critical attention in the United State and abroad.[5]
Her early career (1977-1987) was focused on presenting ensemble work. Fenley and her dancers displayed remarkable stamina through complex patterning and sustained passages of intense speed, exemplified in works such as Energizer (1980). In addition to more traditional dance classes, Fenley and her dancers did workouts that included running, calisthenics and weight training in order to achieve the strength and endurance needed to execute her physically demanding choreography.  Fenley has maintained this aesthetic of athletic virtuosity throughout her career.[6][7]

text: Solo Work[edit]

text: In 1987 she disbanded her ensemble and made a shift to performing solo works, often in collaboration with visual artists including Kiki Smith, Richard Long and Tatsuo Miyajima and composers such as Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Pauline Oliveros.[8] It was during this period that she created her seminal work, State of Darkness (1988), which was commissioned by the American Dance Festival in Durham, N.C. Set to Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, this 35 minute solo received critical acclaim for both its physical rigor, innovative use of Stravinsky's score and intense sense of ritual drama.[9] Fenley reconstructed State of Darkness in 1999 at the request of New York City Ballet principal dancer Peter Boal, and again in 2007 for Pacific Northwest Ballet.[10] State of Darkness received a Bessie Award for both Fenley's original performance in 1989 and for Boal's reconstruction in 1999.

text: Current Work[edit]

text:
After a decade of solo work, Fenley began creating ensemble pieces performed by herself and her company. She continues to create and perform in the United States and abroad.[11] Fenley has maintained a long-time collaboration with composer Philip Glass and continues to collaborate with visual artists, composers and writers. Recent works include The Vessel Stories (2011), choreographed to music by Glass and featured at the Days and Nights Festival in Carmel, CA, and Credo in Us (2011) set to the John Cage piece of the same name and performed at the Mills College Art Museum and the Judson Memorial Church in New York City.  She is currently working on a new project, entitled Found Object, with playwright John Guare, and writers Joy Harjo, Bob Holman, Rudy Wurlitzer. A book titled Rhythm Field: The Dance of Molissa Fenley containing essays by Fenley and her colleagues is due to be published in 2014.[12]
Over the course of her career Fenley has created over 75 works, which have been presented in the United States, South America, Europe, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.[13] Her work has been commissioned by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Seattle Dance Project, Marymount Manhattan College, The American Dance Festival, Deutsche Opera Ballet of Berlin, Robert Moses' Kin, The Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, the William Hale Harkness Foundation, The New National Theater, Tokyo, The Ohio Ballet, Australian Dance Theater, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Barnard/Columbia, Repertory Dance Theater, Oakland Ballet, and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.[14] In 2015 Seagull Press/University of Chicago published Rhythm Field: The Dance of Molissa Fenley about her life and work.[15] She has created over 85 works since founding her company Molissa Fenley and Dancers in 1977.[16]

text: Recognition and Professional Affiliations[edit]

text:
Fenley's contribution to her field has been recognized with awards in the United States and internationally.  She is an eleven-time recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellowship.[17] Fenley received a Bessie Award for Choreography in 1985 for her work Cenotaph and again in 1988 for State of Darkness. Fenley received a 2000 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.[18] She is a Guggenheim Fellow (2008), a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome (2008) and recipient of the American Masterpieces Initiative from the National Endowment of the Arts (2010).[19]
Fenley is a member of many professional arts organizations such as the Atlantic Center for the Arts, American Dance Guild, Asian Cultural Council, CHIME Mentorship program, Dance USA, International Dance Council and New York Live Arts. She is the Executive Director of the Momenta Foundation which she founded in 1986.[20]
Mills College and Higher Education Teaching
In addition to being one of Mills College's most esteemed alumna, Fenley has been on the Mills College Dance Department faculty since 1999. She began as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in 1999 and became an Associate Professor of Dance in 2006. She was made Full Professor in 2013. Fenley teaches courses in technique, choreography and oversees MFA candidates' thesis projects. Additionally, Fenley often sets work on Mills College's Repertory Dance Company. She was awarded the Mills College Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award in 2011.[21] Extensive archives from Fenley's career are held at the F.W. Olin Library's Special Collections on Mills campus.[22]
Fenley has taught as a Visiting Lecturer at New York University's Experimental Theater Wing, University of Georgia at Athens and University of Utah. She worked as a Resident Artist for the Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, The American Academy in Rome, Bard College, The Hotchkiss School, The Asian Cultural Council in Tokyo, Yaddo, the Bogliasco Foundation, Djerassi, and Harvard University. She has taught repertory workshops at Bennington College, Barnard/Columbia and Hunter College.[23]

text: Personal life[edit]

text: Fenley resides in New York, NY and Oakland, CA. She is married to painter Roy Fowler.

text: Major Works[edit]

text: Circadian Rhythm (2016), created in collaboration with visual artist Robert Gaylor with music by Peter Garland

text: Rue Surf (2016), collaboration with poet Bob Holman and artist Roy Fowler

text: Water Table (2016), a work in 8 parts:

text: Seven (2015), commissioned by Dana and Shinichi Iova-Koga as part of 95 Rituals for Anna Halprin

text: Dance an Impossible Space (2014), music composed and performed by Erin Gee

text: Redwood Park, Part 1 (2014), commissioned by the Oakland Ballet, music composed by Joan Jeanrenaud

text: Redwood Park, part 2 (2014)

text: Esperanto (2014), reconstructed by Christiana Axelsen and Molissa Fenley, music by Ryuichi Sakamoto

text: Entrance (2014), duet for Christiana Axelsen and Molissa Fenley, music by David Behrman

text: BEAMS (2014), music by Alvin Curran

text: Horizon, (2013), music by Pauline Oliveros

text: Found Object (2012), collaboration with Peiling Kao

text: Cross Bridge, (2012), collaboration with Holley Farmer, John Jesurun, David Moodey and Rosemary Quinn

text: Credo In Us, (2011), music by John Cage. Commissioned by the Mills College Art Museum

text: The Vessel Stories (2011), music by Philip Glass

text: The Prop Dances (2010)

text: Regions (Revival), (2010), set by Roy Fowler, with music by Maggi Payne

text: Double Beginning (2009), with spoken word by Bob Holman

text: Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape (2009), with music by Alvin Curran

text: Cosmati Variations (2008), with music by John Cage

text: Calculus and Politics (2007), with music by Harry Partch. Commissioned by The Joyce Theater

text: Four Lines, (2006), with music by Jon Gibson

text: Dreaming Awake, (2006), with music by Philip Glass. Commissioned by the Rovereto Music Festival, Rovereto, Italy

text: Patterns and Expectations, (2006), with music by Fred Frith

text: Desert Sea, (2005), with music by Lou Harrison.  Commissioned by Repertory Dance Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah

text: Lava Field, (2004), with music by John Bischoff

text: Kuro Shio, (2003), with music by Bun Ching Lam. Commissioned by Women in Dance/Seoul, Korea and Tokyo, Japan

text: Water Courses (2003), with music by Joy Harjo

text: Waiting For Rain (2003), with music by Robert Ashley, set by Roy Fowler.  Commissioned by Peter Boal

text: 331 Steps (2002), with music by Laetitia Sonami, set by Merrill Wagner

text: Short Stories (2002), with music by Anthony Davis and in silence, costumes by Chado

text: Signs/Landmark (2001), with music by Somei Satoh. Commissioned by the New National Theater, Tokyo

text: Folds (2001), with music by Fred Frith, choreographed in collaboration with Bebe Miller. Commissioned by Virginia Commonwealth University

text: Ceremony(2000), text by Joy Harjo

text: Spring Waterfall (2000), music by Philip Glass and Foday Musa Suso

text: Island (2000), with music by Harold Meltzer, artwork by Carol Hepper

text: I and You Resemble Each Other, Now (2000), with music by Somei Satoh

text: Delta (2000), music by John Cage

text: Weathering  (2000), with set by Merrill Wagner

text: Voices (1999), music by Kevin Volans, with cellist Joan Jeanrenaud

text: Timbral Inventions (1999), music by John Cage

text: Tala (1999), with music by John Cage. La Muse Menagére (1998) with music by Darius Milhaud

text: Icho (1997) music by Leroy Jenkins, commissioned by Felicia Norton

text: On the Other Ocean (1997) with music by David Behrman

text: Trace (1997) with composer Jonathan Hart Makwaia, painter Roy Fowler and writer John Jesurun. Commissioned by The Joyce Theater

text: Latitudes(1996), a work created for the internet, commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation

text: Pola'a (1996) with music by Lou Harrison. Commissioned by Jacob's Pillow

text: Regions (1995) with music by Maggi Payne. Commissioned by the 92nd Street Y

text: Savanna (1995) with music by Peter Garland. Commissioned by Peggy Baker Dance Projects

text: Sita (1995) with composer Philip Glass and photographer Sandi Fellman. Commissioned by The Joyce Theater

text: Jalan Jalan (1994), music by Lou Harrison

text: Bridge of Dreams (1994) with composer Laurie Anderson and visual artist Kiki Smith. Commissioned by the Deutsche Oper Berlin

text: Witches' Float (1993) with composer Alvin Lucier and visual artist Kiki Smith. Commissioned by the Krannert Art Center

text: Sightings (1993) with composer Pauline Oliveros and sculptor Tatsuo Miyajima

text: Nullarbor (1993) with composer Robert Lloyd and sculptor Richard Long

text: Channel (1993) with composer Somei Satoh and visual artist Richard Serra

text: Tilliboyo/Escalay (1993) with composers Foday Musa Suso and Hamza El Din

text: Place (1992) with music by Arvo Pärt. Commissioned by the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts

text: Threshold (1992), with music by Somei Satoh. Commissioned by The Joyce Theater

text: Inner Enchantments (1991), with music by Philip Glass

text: Bardo (1990), with music by Somei Satoh. Commissioned by Jacob's Pillow

text: Augury (1989) with music by Christopher Hyams-Hart, choreographed in collaboration with Doug Varone, commissioned by The American Dance Festival

text: The Floor Dances (1989) with composer Henryk Gorecki and sculptor Richard Long. Commissioned by the Dia Art Foundation

text: Provenance Unknown (1989), with composer Philip Glass. Commissioned by Dance Chance and The Kitchen for Video, Music and Dance

text: State of Darkness (1988), music by Igor Stravinsky. Commissioned by the American Dance Festival. Subsequently, reconstructed for Peter Boal (1999), commissioned by Lincoln Center and for the Pacific Northwest Ballet, (2007) danced in alternation by Rachel Foster, James Moore and Jonathan Porretta

text: In Recognition (1988), music by Philip Glass. Commissioned by Serious Fun Festival, Lincoln Center

text: Separate Voices (1987), a group work performed in silence. Commissioned by The Joyce Theater

text: A Descent into the Maelstrom (1986) music by Philip Glass, set design by Eamon D"Arcy, direction by Matthew McGuire, commissioned by the Adelaide Festival and performed by the Australian Dance Theatre

text: Geologic Moments (1986), with composers Philip Glass and Julius Eastman. Commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Next Wave Festival

text: Feral (1986), music by Robert Lloyd, commissioned by the Ohio Ballet

text: Cenotaph (1985), with composer Jamaaladeen Tacuma and text by Eric Bogosian. Commissioned by Jacob's Pillow

text: Esperanto (1985), with composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. Commissioned by Tsurumoto Room, Tokyo

text: Hemispheres (1983), with composer Anthony Davis and visual artist Francesco Clemente. Commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Next Wave Festival

text: Eureka (1982), with music by Peter Gordon. Commissioned by Dance Theater Workshop

text: Gentle Desire (1981), with music by Mark Freedman. Commissioned by the American Dance Festival

text: Peripheral Vision (1981), with music by Mark Freedman

text: Energizer (1980), with music by Mark Freedman. Commissioned by Dance Theater Workshop

text: Boca Raton (1980), extended dance mix by Paul Alexander of Talking Heads. Decor by Steven Keister

text: Mix (1979), Commissioned by The Kitchen for Video, Music and Dance

text: Video Clones (1979), video and performance work with Keith Haring


document_title: Trolls: The Beat Goes On!

question_text: who does the voice of smidge in trolls

question_tokens: who does the voice of smidge in trolls

root

text: Trolls: The Beat Goes On!

text: Plot[edit]

text: The show picks up where the film Trolls left off; the series will follow Queen Poppy, Branch, the Snack Pack and the other Trolls, and their Bergen pals, as they experience everyday life in Troll Village.

tag: p

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text:
Skylar Astin as Branch, an over-cautious and good-hearted Troll survivalist, and Felt Troll.
Amanda Leighton as Poppy, the optimistic queen of the Trolls.
Kari Wahlgren as Bridget, Poppy's best friend.
Wahlgren also voices Bernice, a Bergen, Bella Brightly,a troll, Harper, another troll who is very artistic, Mags Gumdrop and Old Lady Bergen.
Sam Lerner as King Gristle, the leader of the Bergens.
Sean T. Krishnan as Guy Diamond, a glittery, silver naked troll with a highly Auto-tuned voice, Tae-Kwon-Kevin and Fang Flower.
Kevin Michael Richardson as Smidge, a troll with an extremely deep voice.
Richardson also voices Groth, a Bergen, and Chad and Todd, the guards of the Royal Bergen family, Eyestalk, Maitre D', Foreman, Klaus Von Frousting, Tae-Kwon-Joe, Toby, Fang Flowers, Certai Death and Spider.
Fryda Wolff as DJ Suki, the Trolls' resident disk jockey, Satin and Chenille, twins who are joined by their hair, Dr. Moonbloom, Gemma Fur and Gia Grooves.
David Fynn as Biggie, a chubby, friendly troll, Mr. Dinkles, his pet worm, and Sir Tandeth.
Ron Funches as Cooper, a giraffe-like troll who walks on all fours.
Walt Dohrn as Cloud Guy, an anthropomorphic cloud who often makes fun of Branch.
Matt Lowe as Creek, a troll with zen-like wisdom, and Aspen Heitz.
David Kaye as King Peppy, the former leader of the Trolls and Poppy's father.
Declan Churchil Carter as Keith, a young troll.
Abby Ryder Fortson as Priscilla, a young troll.
Gary Cole as Sky Toronto, the boss and owner of Sky Toronto's Party Shop
Utkarsh Ambudkar as Master Controll, a troll.
Arnie Pantoja as Archer Pastry, a creature who is part of a group called "The Party Crashers" and a new friend to Poppy and the Trolls.
Sainty Nelsen as Nova Swift.
Jonah Platt as Milton Moss
David Koechner as Buzby, a Bergen.
Pat Pinney as Nangus, a Bergen who is in charge of the dungeon.

tag: ul

text: Episodes[edit]

text: SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedFirst airedLast aired16January 19, 201827March 9, 201836August 24, 2018

tag: table

text: Season 1 (2018)[edit]

text:
No.overallNo. inseasonTitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date1a1a"A New Bergen-ing"Allan Jacobson, Spencer Laudiero, and Jim MortensenStory by : Hannah Friedman Teleplay by : Matthew Beans Storyboard by : Marcelo De Souza, Naz Ghodrati-Azadi, Ruolin Li, Howie Perry, Stan Ruiz, and Sang Eun SongJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Queen Poppy invites the Bergens to a party, leaving the other trolls horrified.
1b1b"Laugh-Out Cloud"Alex Almaguer and Howie PerryWritten by : Matt Ackels Storyboard by : Noel BelknapJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Cloud Guy offers to end a drought, but only if Branch becomes his best friend for a day.
2a2a"Two-Party System"Spencer Laudiero and Jim MortensenWritten by : Matt Ackels Storyboard by : Dennis Messner, Stan Ruiz, and Sang Eun SongJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Poppy faces a dilemma after she learns that Bridget and Branch both share the same birthday.
2b2b"Fun Branch"Alex AlmaguerWritten by : Nate Federman Storyboard by : Sang Eun SongJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Branch invites the Snack Pack into his survival bunker in order to prove he's fun.
3a3a"Royal Review"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiWritten by : Caitlin Meares Storyboard by : Kevin FrankJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
A nervous Poppy awaits for her performance as queen.
3b3b"Funishment"Spencer Laudiero and Jim MortensenWritten by : Elaine Carroll Storyboard by : Onno De Jong, Marcelo De Souza, Ian Freedman, and Howie PerryJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Poppy has to implement discipline in her kingdom when Cooper accidentally steals a Bergen's pie.
4a4a"Bad News Bergens"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiWritten by : Marissa Berlin Storyboard by : Ruolin LiJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Poppy signs the trolls up for Bergenball.
4b4b"Unhealthy Competition"Alex AlmaguerWritten by : Marissa Berlin Storyboard by : Noel BelknapJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Smidge's stoutberry juice and Guy Diamond's Glitterade are rivaled.
5a5a"Cloudy with a Chance of Hugs"Jim MortensenWritten by : John D'Arco Storyboard by : Marcelo De SouzaJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
When Poppy and Cloud Guy hang out on Hug Day (a day where Trolls can only hug one another), a jealous Branch fears that Poppy's hug will be gone.
5b5b"Creek Week"Brian Hatfield and Spencer LaudieroWritten by : Julia Miranda Storyboard by : Stan Ruiz and Portlynn TagaviJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
After he survived being eaten at the end of Trolls, a reformed Creek returns to Troll Village.
6a6a"The Giver"Naz Ghodrati-Azadi and Bryan NewtonWritten by : John D'Arco Storyboard by : Ruolin LiJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Poppy must figure out who left some gifts every harvest moon.
6b6b"Bellow Bug Day"Alex AlmaguerWritten by : Nate Federman Storyboard by : Noel BelknapJanuary 19, 2018 (2018-01-19)
Things go from bad to worse when Poppy tries to fix a holiday.

text: Season 2 (2018)[edit]

text:
No.overallNo. inseasonTitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date7a1a"Prank Day"Alex AlmaguerWritten by : John D'Arco, Nate Federman and Alex Reid Storyboard by : Noel Belknap, Yaron Farkash and Portlynn TagaviMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
This Prank Day, Poppy and Branch must outprank each other in order to earn the title of "Prank Master".
7b1b"Adventures in Dinkles-Sitting"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiWritten by : Cam Baity Storyboard by : Ruolin LiMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Poppy and Branch agree to babysit Mr. Dinkles, but things take a detour (for Branch, anyway).
8a2a"Eye'll Be Watching You"Alex AlmaguerStory by : Hannah Friedman and Sam Friedman Teleplay by : Matthew Beans Storyboard by : Noel Belknap, Howie Perry and Sang Eun SongMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Branch creates a safety monitor for the village.
8b2b"Sorry Not Sorry"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiWritten by : Marissa Berlin Storyboard by : Kevin FrankMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
After upsetting Bridget—and to think that Bergens apologize—Gristle seeks help from Poppy on doing so.
9a3a"Big Poppy"Alex AlmaguerWritten by : Matthew Beans Storyboard by : Amy MaiMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Poppy competes at a rap battle in order to save DJ Suki's show.
9b3b"Neighbor War"Brian HatfieldWritten by : Alex Reid Storyboard by : Fabien Tong and Portlynn TagaviMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Branch's plans go wrong when it comes to drive Sky Toronto away.
10a4a"Remote Out of Control"Brian Hatfield and Zesung KangWritten by : Nate Federman and Alex Reid Storyboard by : Marcelo De Souza and Portlynn TagaviMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Smidge, Guy, Cooper and Biggie steal Branch's remote control—whom he dubs it "Gary"—and take it out for a spin.
10b4b"Critter Comfort"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiWritten by : Matthew Beans and Nate Federman Storyboard by : Kevin Frank and Pat PakulaMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
It doesn't help matters when Poppy "helps" a bunch of Swampkins.
11a5a"The Poppy Horror Picture Show"Naz Ghodrati-Azadi and Brian HatfieldWritten by : Julia Miranda Storyboard by : Kevin FrankMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
A scary story frightens Biggie so much, he hides away.
11b5b"Dinkles Dinkles Little Star"Brian Hatfield, Spencer Laudiero and Greg MillerWritten by : Matt Ackels Storyboard by : Marcelo De SouzaMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Biggie hires a confidence coach to include Mr. Dinkles in a pet show.
12a6a"The Party Games"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiWritten by : John D'Arco and Alex Reid Storyboard by : Ruolin LiMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Guy is dumbfounded when a new Party Games contestant arrives.
12b6b"Trolly Tales"Alex AlmaguerWritten by : Nate Federman and Alex Reid Storyboard by : Amy MaiMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
On the kids' first day in the library, Branch and Poppy relive some old tales.
13a7a"Model Behavior"Alex AlmaguerWritten by : John D'Arco Storyboard by : Yaron FarkashMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
Satin and Chenille put on a fashion show.
13b7b"Pillow War"Jim MortensenWritten by : Nate Federman Storyboard by : Pat Pakula and Fabien TongMarch 9, 2018 (2018-03-09)
The village puts on a pillow fight in order for one to win the very comfortable Pillow of Destiny.

text: Season 3 (2018)[edit]

text:
No.overallNo. inseasonTitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date14a1a"The Imposter"Zesung Kang and Jim MortensenJohn D'ArcoStoryboards by: Marcelo de Souza and Lexy NautAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Someone poses as one of the Trolls, and Poppy and Branch must figure out who that imposter is.
14b1b"The Frenemy"Alex AlmaguerMatthew Beans, Nate Federman, and Julie YorksStoryboards by: Amy MaiAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Picking up where the last episode left off, the Snack Pack investigate their newfound imposter.
15a2a"Hair-Jitsu"Alex AlmaguerJohn D'ArcoStoryboards by: Amy MaiAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Branch must learn about the patience of "hair-jitsu".
15b2b"Crushin' It"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiLindsay KernsStoryboards by: Kevin Frank and Portlynn TagaviAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Smidge becomes heartstruck.
16a3a"Meet the Peppy"Zesung KangLindsay KernsStoryboards by: Fabien TongAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
To impress King Peppy during a Swag Stag hunt, Branch invents a tall tale he has to keep up with.
16b3b"Party Crash Course"Zesung KangJulia YorksStoryboards by: Marcelo De SouzaAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
DJ Suki takes Poppy's crash course in party hosting.
17a4a"Trolly Tales 2"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiLindsay KernsStoryboards by: Ruolin LiAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
The Trolls try to entertain Archer Pastry with a series of Troll stories.
17b4b"Rainbowmageddon"Zesung KangStory by: Mitch WatsonTeleplay by: Nate Federman and Lindsay KernsStoryboards by: Yaron FarkashAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Cloud Guy offers to fix a local rainbow in urgent need of repair.
18a5a"Coop, Where's My Guy?"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiNate FedermanStoryboards by: Ruolin LiAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Cooper leads Poppy and Branch in an unfortunate way to find Guy Diamond in time for his party.
18b5b"Fluffleberry Quest"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiAlex ReidStoryboards by: Portlynn TagaviAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
The Snack Pack learn about Branch's Fluffleberry cake recipe.
19a6a"FOMO-OPUP"Naz Ghodrati-AzadiJulia YorksStoryboards by: Portlynn TagaviAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Guy Diamond enlists the Snack Pack to hunt down Nova Swift's next pop-up party.
19b6b"Lost in the Woods"Zesung KangNate FedermanStoryboards by: Fabien TongAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Lost in Troll Forest, Poppy and Archer must learn to trust each other.

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text:
DreamWorks Trolls - The Beat Goes On! (Music From the TV Series)Soundtrack album by Cast  of Trolls: The Beat Goes On!Released
March 16, 2018Genre
SoundtrackLength
34:00Label
RCA Records

text: Songs[edit]

text: All tracks written by Da Fonseca and Yaeger except written.

text: No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length1."Hair In The Air"Jeannie Lurie, Mia Minichiello, & Matias MoraAmanda Leighton, Skylar Astin, & Ensemble2:162."Happily Ever After" Leighton, Astin, & Ensemble2:343."One and Only Love" Kari Wahlgren, Sam Lerner2:224."Sunshine All the Time" Fryda Wolff2:355."Best Day Ever" Leighton2:326."Party On" Kevin Michael Richardson2:207."Forgive Me (Show Version)" Astin2:248."Move Ya Body" Walt  Dohrn2:429."The Other Side of the Storm" Leighton, Astin2:5810."Happy Prank Day" Leighton, Ensemble Cast2:1811."Rap Battle Suite" Leighton, Richardson, Utkarsh Ambudkar, David Fynn2:1512."Dance It Out" Leighton2:4913."The Winners" Leighton2:2214."Forgive Me (Remix)" Astin2:22

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: The series was released internationally on Netflix. It was also released in the United Kingdom on Pop, in Australia on ABC Me, and in Canada on Family.


document_title: Left 4 Dead

question_text: in the game left 4 dead what is the name of the big muscular enemy

text: Left 4 Dead

text: Plot[edit]

text: Pennsylvania suffers an outbreak of "Green Flu"; a highly contagious pathogen causing extreme aggression, mutation to the body cells, and loss of higher brain functions (essentially zombifying those who catch the flu). Two weeks after the first infection four immune survivors—William "Bill" Overbeck (voiced by Jim French), a Vietnam veteran; Zoey (voiced by Jen Taylor), a college student; Louis (voiced by Earl Alexander), an IT analyst, and Francis (voiced by Vince Valenzuela), an outlaw biker—make their way through the city of Fairfield, only to discover that the infection is creating more dangerous mutations. After narrowly avoiding these new infected, along with hordes of others, the survivors are alerted to the presence of an evacuation point at the nearby Mercy Hospital roof by a passing helicopter. Fighting their way through the city's streets, subway and sewers, they are rescued from the hospital's roof by the pilot, only to discover he is infected.

text: With Zoey forced to kill him, the helicopter crash lands in an industrial district outside the city. Finding an armored delivery truck, the group uses it to make their way to the town of Riverside. However, they find the road blocked, and travel the rest of the way on foot. After an encounter with an infected lunatic in the local church, they discover that the town is overrun, and decide to head to a nearby boathouse for rescue. Contacting a small fishing vessel, they manage to reach the city of Newburg on the other side of the river, only to find much of it in flames. Seeking cover in a large greenhouse, their rest is interrupted when a military C-130 Hercules passes overhead, leading the survivors to travel through the city's business district towards Metro International Airport. Upon arrival, the group see that in an attempt to contain the infection, the military had bombed the airport while infected pilots crash planes in an attempt to land; the runway however is largely intact, allowing the survivors to fuel up and escape in a waiting C-130.

text: Despite this apparent rescue, it crashes as well, and the survivors once again find themselves alone on the outskirts of Allegheny National Forest. Following a series of train tracks through the area, the group find themselves at a functioning, but abandoned, military outpost. After answering a radio transmission, the survivors make their final stand against hordes of infected, before a military APC arrives to transport them to Northeast Safe Zone Echo, supposedly the only uninfected area not yet overrun. Instead, they are kept at a military installation and informed that even though they are immune, they still carry the infection. They are temporarily held by the military before the base is overrun with infected. The four escape via train and travel south at Bill's insistence; Bill believes that they can find long-term safety from the infected on the islands of the Florida Keys.

text: At the portside town of Rayford, they find a boat but must raise an old rusty bridge powered by an aging generator to get the boat into open waters, assured that the machinery noise will alert a large horde. However, the generator gives out. Bill sacrifices himself in order to restart it, so that the others may reach safety. After waiting for the horde to disperse, the three then encounter four more survivors. They move the boat to the other side of the bridge and help them re-lower the bridge so they can cross in their car. Afterwards, Louis, Zoey, and Francis head back to the boat and set course to the Keys.

text: Gameplay[edit]

text: Left 4 Dead is a first-person shooter in which the player takes control of one of four survivors; if human players are not available, then the remaining survivors are AI-controlled bots. They play through the levels fighting off the infected—living humans who have been infected with a rabies-like virus that causes psychosis. Although the survivors are carriers of the disease they do not show signs of any symptoms.[2][3]

text: The game focuses on cooperation and teamwork and thus eschews some "realism" conventions usual in most FPS games of the wider genre; colored outlines of teammates are visible through walls to help players stick together and coordinate their movement. If a survivor falls off a ledge, then they may automatically hang onto it and can only be helped up by another survivor. If a survivor's health is depleted, then they become incapacitated and can only be revived by another survivor, at which point they continue playing with a low amount of health that decreases over time. If a survivor has been incapacitated and revived twice without tending to their wounds, then they will experience distorted black-and-white vision, and the next incapacitation will kill the character. If a survivor takes enough damage while incapacitated, or is not eventually helped up by teammates, then the incapacitated character will die. During "Campaign" mode, if a survivor is killed, then they will respawn in a closet or other enclosed space after a period of time (except during key points in the scenario), but must be freed by another survivor to rejoin the team. Otherwise, the player must wait until the next level.[4] However, if all human player survivors are killed or incapacitated, players will have to restart from the last checkpoint. Survivors can share first-aid kits and pain pills and help each other heal. Left 4 Dead has friendly fire (which causes no damage on the easy difficulty mode), increasing the need for caution around other survivors.

text: The survivors communicate by voice commands that are accessed by quick menus, and some may sound off automatically when performing actions such as reloading or spotting infected.[5] Over 1,000 unique lines have been recorded for each survivor.[6] Additional communication of player actions is conveyed through character lights. Also, weapon-mounted flashlights and muzzle flashes help the players in determining whether their companions are shooting, performing melee attacks, reloading or moving. Due to control issues and the likelihood of players using a headset, the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead omits the quick phrases feature.[7]

text: The game is experienced through five campaigns that take place in various urban and rural locales. Multiple visual in-game hints—including license plates, park signs, markings on airport equipment, and lines of dialogue spoken by the survivors—suggest that these locations are in Pennsylvania,[8] and similarly a memorial wall giving names of those who have died in the infection (actually names of the game's development team) along with their dates of birth and death suggests that the game takes place in October 2009.[9] Each campaign is divided into five chapters (except Crash Course, which has two chapters) marked by safe rooms, which are checkpoints where players can heal, re-arm and revive characters who were killed.[10] Specifically, the four campaigns are: "No Mercy", an urban setting culminating in a hospital skyscraper; "Death Toll", a small-town and countryside setting; "Dead Air", an airport setting; and "Blood Harvest", a woodland and farm setting. A two-level campaign, "Crash Course", was released on September 29, and is set in the outskirts of a small industrial town. The levels have distinct beginnings and ends, but there are a number of alternate routes to follow with more supplies, helping to create a sense of non-linearity.[11] In the final chapter of each campaign, the players must defend a position from an onslaught of infected until rescue arrives.[6] Each campaign typically lasts between 20 and 75 minutes depending on the difficulty level. Both platform versions of the game utilize an achievement system.[12]

text: Survivor characters[edit]

text: There are four protagonists of the game: Francis, an outlaw biker (voiced by Vince Valenzuela), Bill, a Vietnam Veteran (voiced by Jim French), Zoey, a university student (voiced by Jen Taylor) and Louis, a district Account Manager (voiced by Earl Alexander).[13] Early plans were for players to be randomly assigned to characters but in the final release, players can choose any character—provided that the character has not already been selected—or be randomly assigned an unselected character.[6] Aside from appearances, all of the characters play exactly the same in-game.

text: Weapons[edit]

text: Survivors are armed with various firearms. Each player starts the game with a semiautomatic pistol.[14] It may be reloaded an unlimited number of times and is the only weapon that the survivor can use when they are incapacitated. When a second pistol is found, the player can dual wield them, also with unlimited ammo. At the beginning of each campaign, the player can choose between a submachine gun and a pump-action shotgun. As the survivors progress through a campaign, more powerful weapons can be found: the fully automatic assault rifle (an upgrade to the submachine gun), a semi-automatic shotgun (an upgrade to the pump-action shotgun), and a scoped hunting rifle. A flashlight that can be toggled on and off is mounted on each firearm, with the exception of additional pistols. In addition to firearms, a player can also carry three other items in their inventory: improvised grenades (either a Molotov cocktail or a pipe bomb modified with an attached smoke alarm designed to attract the infected to it before it explodes);[14] a first aid kit, which can be used to heal any survivor and pain pills, which provide temporary health that depletes gradually and quicker with damage from infected, and can be handed to teammates for later use. Regardless of what weapon or item a player is using, a melee attack can be used to shove away any infected within reach. Also available are environmental weapons, such as gas cans, propane cylinders, and oxygen tanks, all of which explode when shot. These environmental weapons can be picked up, moved, and used as a melee weapon by the survivors, but while carrying an object they cannot use their weapons or health items. Strategically placed minigun turrets are also encountered at various locations throughout the different maps.

text: Infected characters[edit]

text: The infected (voiced by experimental musician Mike Patton and voice actor Fred Tatasciore)[15] are the survivors' foes in Left 4 Dead, and they appear to be partly inspired by the infected from several modern films, including Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, and Quarantine.[16][17] An important distinction from the former is that while the infected do resemble traditional undead zombies, they are, as cited in the game's manual, living humans infected with a rabies-like pathogen, very much like the infected in the later two films. While they are never seen eating human flesh or brains, multiple 'survivors' who have been killed by the infected appear throughout the game, and appear to have been partially eaten. In The Sacrifice comic, Zoey's mother is bitten in the face. She then begins to attack the rest of her family. One such victim can be heard saying "I can't believe he bit me!" before being encountered later on, fully infected. In an interview with 1Up.com, Mike Booth commented on the concept of using a pathogen as an inspiration for the setting:

text:
“

Even though we obviously pushed well beyond the realm of believability with many of our "boss" infected, the core idea of a mind-destroying, civilization-collapsing pathogen is more horrifying to me than magically animated corpses, precisely because it is plausible. Rabies is a good example of a pathogen that can turn a loyal, friendly, protective family pet into a slavering attack machine. It is a virus that reprograms the behaviors of a complex animal – a mammal, in fact. What if something similar happened to humans? Left 4 Dead is one possible answer.[2]

”

text: The common infected encountered during the game are fast and agile, weak individually, but may be overwhelming in numbers. They display a special attraction to high-pitched alarm-type sounds, such as the beeping device attached to pipe bombs and car alarms. Common infected will often chase down the source of these noises while ignoring lower-pitched, but much louder sounds such as gunfire. They occasionally attack in masses referred to in-game as a "horde".[18]

text: In addition to the common infected, there are five "special" or "boss" infected whose mutations grant them special attacks that make them far more dangerous. Each of the special infected, as well as approaching hordes, have a distinctive sound or a timely musical cue, making their presence easily recognizable by players. There are five special infected in Left 4 Dead.[18]

text:
The Boomer is a bloated infected that can spit vision-impairing bile on the Survivors, attracting hordes of infected, and explodes on death, spewing more bile in the immediate area. They emit burping and vomiting like sounds when close by. A 5-note double bass cue plays to signal Boomer.
The Hunter is an agile foe that can jump and pounce on a survivor, and then tear at his victim until he is knocked off, kills his prey or is killed. A hunter emits animal like screeches or light roars when close by, and a snarling growl can be heard when in close proximity. The Hunter is signaled by a startling high pitched piano cue.
The Smoker is a boil-covered creature with six long tongues that it uses to ensnare and drag a survivor back to himself. It may then either attack the survivor directly, allow the horde to attack him, or leave the survivor suspended over a cliff or roof-edge. The Smoker only releases its victim if a teammate shoves the ensnared survivor, if the tongue is shot, the survivor is killed, or upon the Smoker's death, which results in an explosion that leaves a vision-obscuring cloud. Smokers have raspy voices and frequently wheeze and cough, presuming that they may have been an avid smoker before becoming an Infected. A 2-note low piano cue signals the Smoker.
The Tank is a gigantic, muscular infected that has the ability to swipe at survivors, knocking them off their feet and incapacitating them; it can also throw rocks and knock cars and other debris into the survivors. The Tank looks like its lower jaw is missing, but it's actually hidden in its neck muscle. The Tank is the most durable of all the special infected, and requires the full support of all of the survivors in order to be killed. The Tank is accompanied by a booming orchestral score to signal his appearance.
The Witch is a female infected with long claws that stays crying in one spot. Survivors can often avoid the Witch but if they disturb her with light, loud noises or gunfire, she will become aggressive and charge at the one who "startled" her. Along with crying, an eerie choir tune plays when she is near. The Witch has the strongest attack of the infected in the game; able to kill a survivor outright with one blow on the hardest difficulty. As such she is not playable by human players in Versus mode.

text: In versus mode, four additional players can take control of the special infected—apart from the witch, who remains computer-controlled. Each infected player is randomly assigned a class of special infected when they enter a spawn mode. While in spawn mode, the infected can quickly roam around the map in search of an appropriate place in which to spawn. This location must be sufficiently distant from any survivor, out of the line of sight of any survivor, and outside restricted areas such as safe rooms. Upon death, the infected player must wait up to 10–25 seconds before re-entering spawn mode, depending on how many players are on the infected team. When a tank is spawned in the game, infected players receive a message indicating which player will control it. The human-controlled infected can see their teammates' outlines through walls similar to the survivors, but can also see each survivor's outline, which is colored according to the survivor's health and fades out if the survivor refrains from attacking, running and vocalizing. Vertical pathways exclusive to the infected, such as pipes and vines, are marked with animated symbols for the infected players. These can be climbed and used for ambushes.

text: Another special character, the "Screamer" was an infected tied to a strait jacket and heard by its maniacal cackling. He would not attack, but would run away if spotted and when he found a safe hiding place, he would emit a scream that would attract a horde of zombies to attack the survivors. The directors soon found him to be stressful, especially if he was in a crowd, so they removed him from the game. His horde-attracting power later turned into the Boomer's vomit attack, which they found to be fitting due to the Boomer's obese image.

text: AI Director[edit]

text: The artificial intelligence of Left 4 Dead features a dynamic system for game dramatics, pacing and difficulty called the "Director". Instead of fixed spawn points for enemies, the Director places enemies and items in varying positions and quantities based upon each player's current situation, status, skill and location, creating a new experience for each playthrough.[6] The Director also creates mood and tension with emotional cues, such as visual effects, dynamic music, and character communication.[7]

text: Valve has termed this dynamic set-up "procedural narrative".[19] In addition to the AI Director, there is a second Director that controls music. It was created as a way to keep the music interesting throughout the game. The music Director monitors what a player has experienced to create an appropriate mix. The process is client-side and done by a multi-track system. Each player hears their own mix, which is being generated as they play through the game, and dead players watching a teammate hear their teammates' mix.[20]

text: A far simpler version of the A.I. Director was previously used for some key battles in Half-Life 2: Episode Two.[21]

text: Valve is looking for ways to apply the Director in their future games to make pacing and difficulty more dynamic.[22]

text: Game modes[edit]

text: Left 4 Dead contains four game modes: campaign, versus, survival, and single-player. The cooperative campaign consists of up to four human-controlled survivors who attempt to make their way between safe rooms and eventually to rescue. In this mode, the special infected are controlled by the AI. In a versus campaign, each team of one to four players plays each chapter of the campaign as both survivor and infected, swapping sides once per chapter.[23] Unlike campaign mode, dead survivors do not respawn. If at least one player-controlled survivor finishes the level, the survivor team earns 100 points as well as bonus points based on their health and the health items in their inventory. These points are then multiplied by the chapter's difficulty level, and the number of survivors who finished. If all player-controlled survivors are killed, the survivor team only earns points according to their average progress through the chapter and the difficulty multiplier.[24] Survival mode consists of a timed challenge where players try to survive as long as possible against a never-ending flood of the infected, added in April 2009 in the Survival Pack downloadable content.[25] Single-player mode is similar to campaign mode, but played offline with three AI-controlled bots as the other survivors. On Xbox 360, other players can join in on the same console to turn single player into an offline co-op game. The game can also be played through a system link, or local area network. Players have also discovered a way to do splitscreen co-op play with the PC version.[26]

text: Development[edit]

text: Development on Left 4 Dead started in mid-2005.[27] Turtle Rock Studios aimed to create a horror film-inspired game that merges single player games' character-driven narrative structure with multiplayer games' social interaction and high replayability.[7] The game was first revealed in the Christmas 2006 publication of PC Gamer UK with a six-page article describing a playthrough at Turtle Rock Studios headquarters. A teaser was released with The Orange Box. The game was first playable at the Showdown 2007 LAN in San Jose and at QuakeCon 2007. Turtle Rock Studios announced Left 4 Dead on November 20, 2006,[28] and was acquired by Valve Corporation on January 10, 2008, because of the game and long-standing relationship between the companies.[29] The game opened up to pre-purchasing on Valve's Steam system on October 15, 2008.[30]

text: To give Left 4 Dead significant exposure, Valve financed a $10-million marketing campaign for the game in the United States and Europe, with advertisements appearing on television, print, websites and outdoor placements in many cities. Valve also hosted photo contests called, "Dude, where's my thumb?" offering copies of Left 4 Dead to people who submitted the best picture involving zombies or the outdoor advertising.[31]

text: Development[edit]

text: Left 4 Dead uses the 2008 version of Valve's Source engine, with improvements such as multi-core processor support and physics-based animation to more realistically portray hair and clothing, and to improve physics interaction with enemies when shot or shoved in different body parts.[32] Animation was also improved to allow characters to lean realistically when moving in curved paths. Rendering and artificial intelligence were scaled up to allow for a greater number of enemies who can navigate the world in better ways, such as climbing, jumping, or breaking obstacles.[33][34] Lighting was enhanced with new self-shadowing normal mapping and advanced shadow rendering that is important to convey information about the environment and player actions.[7][35] Wet surfaces and fog are used to create mood.[36][37] Many kinds of post processing cinematic visual effects inspired by horror movies have been added to the game. There is dynamic color correction that accentuates details based on importance, contrast and sharpening to focus attention on critical areas, film grain to expose details or imply details in dark areas and vignetting to evoke tension and a horror-film look.[7]

text: Left 4 Dead underwent many phases of development; influenced by playtesting, Turtle Rock Studios removed many of the features that were originally in the game. In the initial phases, there was another special infected, called the "screamer", which had no attacks but upon spotting a survivor would run to a safe place and then emit a loud scream that attracted a horde of infected. This infected class was removed, but its ability to attract the horde was incorporated into the boomer's vomit.[38] A persistent merit/demerit system was envisioned to provide positive feedback for good behavior, such as aiding a fallen teammate; and negative feedback for poor behavior, such as shooting a teammate. This would provide a score to rank a player's effectiveness as a teammate,[39] but this system was removed late in the development of the game in favor of immediate, non-persistent feedback displayed in-game. Another significant element removed was a long introduction between campaigns; because the game is designed for replayability, it was difficult to hold the player's attention for repeated viewings of cut scenes, so they were dropped in favor of a sparse narrative.[40] Also, the game started out with one big city design with many routes for the survivors, but playtesters were confused when they began to play, and later they always chose the same route; ultimately Turtle Rock Studios cut the city maps into the first "No Mercy" and "Dead Air" campaigns.[41]

text: Certain Affinity assisted Turtle Rock Studios with the Xbox 360 version of the game.[42] The Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead has the same game modes as the PC version but has additional features such as support for split screen, allowing for two players to play offline and online from the same console,[43] and System Link play.[44] Split-screen mode can also be achieved on the PC version, but it requires console commands and may require the modification of controller configuration files; and it is not officially supported.[45] Both versions of the game have a new matchmaking system to simplify the process of finding other players.[7][46] This new server management system was met with a negative reaction from PC server operators, who, with this system, had very little control over their servers. This led to Valve releasing a series of patches that allowed server operators to remove their server from the matchmaking "pool" of servers or make private servers.[47] Valve runs dedicated servers for both versions of the game.[43][48]

text: Promotion[edit]

text: To promote the game and provide basic training to players before starting the game, Valve chose to develop a pre-rendered intro movie. This movie was released on Halloween[49] and shows events prior to the beginning of the "No Mercy" campaign.[50] Valve chose an intro movie over in-game training mechanics because they wanted the players to be immediately dropped into a zombie apocalypse. Valve later detailed in their official Left 4 Dead blog how they designed the movie, from an intentionally very basic animation in the beginning of July 2008 to the final result for the launch of the game.[50]

text: Early access to the Left 4 Dead demo for people who pre-ordered the game began on November 6, 2008, for both Windows and Xbox 360. It gave users access to both online and single-player play in two "scenes" in one "movie" within the game. This promotion was being offered in addition to the ten percent savings for those who pre-order and applies to all Steam Windows pre-orders and all Windows and Xbox 360 pre-orders from GameStop and EB Games in North America.[51] On November 11, the Left 4 Dead demo was made available to all Windows and Xbox 360 gamers worldwide.[52] The Left 4 Dead demo was removed from the Xbox 360 Marketplace and Valve's own Steam after the game's release on November 18, 2008, however it is still available for those that played it.

text: The demo had many server problems when it launched, primarily Valve's strategy for server management which made it impossible to set up a dedicated private server with administrator controls.[53] However, a stream of patches led to the availability of a server browser and basic private server functionality as well as Valve's acknowledgment of player concerns.[53] It appears that a patch released just before the game itself has resolved many of the connection issues that demo players were having.[54]

text: On May 1, 2009, the game was released freely via Steam as a one-day trial called "Freaky Free Friday". The trial was then extended to end on Saturday.[55]

text: On October 5, 2010, the price of the game via Steam was dropped to $6.80 USD, or a "4-pack" for $20.40, as a promotion coinciding with the release of "The Sacrifice" DLC.[56]

text: Release[edit]

text: Left 4 Dead went gold on November 13, 2008, and was released on November 18, 2008, in North America; and on November 21, 2008, in Europe to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of Half-Life.[57][58]

text: Valve released a server patch in December 2008 to stop players on Xbox Live from using PC-style cheats.[59] A spokesman from Valve said, "The fix is designed to halt the cheating behavior on the dedicated servers, which accounts for the majority of the co-op and versus modes of play."[60]

text: After release[edit]

text: Valve intends to support the PC version of the game through free content updates and the Xbox 360 version with DLC.[61] On a podcast by Kotaku, writer Chet Faliszek divulged that an announcement regarding DLC for the PC and Xbox 360 would be released "very soon", and that the announcement was delayed by the holiday season. On February 5, 2009, Valve released details about the upcoming downloadable content pack. The two full campaigns of "Death Toll" and "Dead Air" for versus mode—which were previously unavailable—are included, as well as the survival game mode, where the survivors try to survive endless waves of the infected for as long as possible. On February 11, 2009, Valve announced that the downloadable content for the game would be free for both the Xbox 360 and PC;[62] and on April 21, it was released.[63] Survival mode shipped with 16 maps, 15 of them being modified portions of existing maps and one being a new lighthouse-themed level titled "The Last Stand".[25] A Game Of the Year Edition of Left 4 Dead was released on the PC and Xbox 360 on May 12, 2009, with updates and new content included on the disc.[64]

text: On May 15, 2009, an open beta test for the Source Development Kit updated to support Left 4 Dead was started under the name of the "Left 4 Dead Authoring tools". This included a new set of plugins that allowed for users to import data from SketchUp, a free 3D modeling program, directly into the Hammer level editor for use in maps.[65] The beta was concluded on June 25, 2009, with the full release of the Left 4 Dead authoring tools and corresponding server and matchmaking update to support custom maps. The update included a command line tool for packaging custom Left 4 Dead campaigns to ease distribution.[66]

text: A sequel, announced at the 2009 E3 conference and was released November 17, 2009.[67] Addressing concerns voiced by fans, Gabe Newell responded to an email from Kotaku explaining that despite the upcoming sequel, Left 4 Dead would continue to be supported and more content is planned in the coming months.[68]

text: On August 4, 2009, Valve announced the second DLC pack. It contains a new campaign called Crash Course, set shortly after the events of the No Mercy campaign, where the Survivors try to get to a Truck Depot after the helicopter they were in crashed. It is available for co-op, versus and survival modes, with various tweaks to game mechanics, and containing new locations and character dialog.[69][70][71] The DLC was announced to be released on September 29, 2009,[72] on which date it was released for free for PC, but was accidentally released on Xbox Live at a higher price. The price was amended soon after, and all players who bought the DLC at the higher price were refunded.[73]

text: On November 9, 2009, a matchmaking update to allow for matchmaking between teams of four players in versus mode was released.[74][75]

text: An add-on campaign for Left 4 Dead 2, "The Passing", featured the Left 4 Dead survivors meeting the new cast as part of a full campaign. The Left 4 Dead 2 content was set for release in March 2010, however it was delayed until April 22, 2010. To connect the events in "The Passing" to that in Left 4 Dead, Valve released another add-on in October 2010 for both Left 4 Dead and its sequel, entitled "The Sacrifice"; the events of the add-on take place before "The Passing" and tells how the Left 4 Dead survivors come to encounter the group from Left 4 Dead 2, and how one sacrificed themselves for the safety of the others.[76][77][78]

text: Valve announced a 190-page digital comic that has been revealed in four parts in the weeks leading up to the release of The Sacrifice.[79] Part one was released on September 14, 2010,[80] with a new part scheduled for release each week until The Sacrifice's October 5 release.[81] The comic is illustrated by Mike Oeming, the artist behind the Powers comic series,[82] and tells the stories of the original four survivors, as well as the events leading up to the infection. The comic begins with Bill, having just sacrificed himself to save the others, taking on three tanks while severely wounded. It then cuts to the finale of Blood Harvest, which is revealed to be one week earlier. In The Sacrifice DLC, any player, whether playing as Bill or not, can choose to sacrifice themselves to allow the other survivors to complete the campaign.

text: In March 2010, Valve announced that it would be bringing the Steam content platform to Mac OS X computers; along with it, they will be providing native versions of existing Valve games including Left 4 Dead and its sequel. The game was released for Mac OS X on October 27, 2010[83] Left 4 Dead support cross-platform play, allowing Mac players to play alongside PC players on the same servers, and is also part of the "Steam Play" cross-compatible and Steam Cloud titles, allowing a player that has purchased the game on one platform to download and play it on the other platform for free.[84]

text: Overkill Software, the developers of Payday: The Heist, a similar game to Left 4 Dead featuring four player co-operative gameplay, announced in June 2012 that it has worked with Valve to create a DLC level for Payday in the form of a map mirroring the "No Mercy" level from Left 4 Dead, however, this DLC level is not canon to Left 4 Dead and does not lead to the infection that initiated the events in Left 4 Dead.[85]

text: On August 20, 2015, an update for the game Zombie Army Trilogy was released, which imported the eight survivors from both Left 4 Dead games into ZAT.

text: Reception[edit]

text:
Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator
Score

GameRankings
89.44% (X360)[86]
89.43% (PC)[87]

Metacritic
89/100 (X360)[88]
89/100 (PC)[89]

Review scores

Publication
Score

Edge
9/10

EGM
A- A A+ [90]

Eurogamer
9/10[91]

Famitsu
35/40[92]

Game Informer
9.25/10

GameSpot
8.5/10[23]

GameSpy
4.5/5[93]

Giant Bomb
[94]

IGN
9.0/10[95]

OXM (US)
9.5/10[96]

PC Gamer (UK)
93%[97]

TeamXbox
9.1/10[98]

X-Play
5/5[99]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Left 4 Dead received highly positive reviews from critics. On GameRankings, the game received aggregated scores of 89.44% and 89.43%, on Xbox 360[86] and PC[87] respectively, and a score of 89 out of 100 for both Xbox 360[88] and PC,[89] on Metacritic. IGN stated, "It's almost pitch perfect in how it captures the tension and the action of a Hollywood zombie movie", and went on to describe it as, "quite possibly the perfect co-op shooter."[95] Giant Bomb commented that the Source engine was beginning to show its age, but praised the game's use of lighting and filmic effects that gives the game world, "a desolate, washed-out feeling", as well as the realistic and emotive faces and the engrossing art direction.[94] Eurogamer concluded that Left 4 Dead "is another deeply professional, personality-filled and progressive take on the shooter from Valve."[91] Both IGN and GameSpot praised the game's replayability, but Gamespot criticized the "limited map selection" that could "sometimes feel a bit repetitious".[23][95] GameSpy noted the lack of an overall narrative between the campaigns was disappointing.[93] However, some reviewers praised its faithfulness to the zombie film genre,[100][101][102] including the "deliberately ambiguous" back-story,[103] and the amount of characterization and emotion brought by each of the four survivors.[104] TeamXbox commented that clipping issues hurt the otherwise "incredibly good" visual experience.[98] Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series declared in an interview to 1UP.com that he was "addicted to the game", which was, in his view, one of the "core titles made with movie-industry people that explore the depths of hi-def".[105]

text: Sales[edit]

text: On October 28, 2008, Valve reported that preorders for Left 4 Dead had beaten those of The Orange Box by 95 percent after the Steam pre-order was launched.[106] On November 21, 2008, the day of the game's release in Europe, Valve issued a press release stating that Left 4 Dead had exceeded the pre-order numbers of The Orange Box by over 160 percent.[107] The Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead was the seventh best-selling game of December 2008 in the United States, selling in excess of 629,000 copies.[108] On February 3, Electronic Arts revealed that Left 4 Dead had sold 1.8 million copies, excluding Steam and worldwide sales figures.[109] On March 26, Mike Booth revealed that the game had exceeded 2.5 million sales at retail during a presentation at the Game Developers Conference 2009.[110] On September 24, 2009, Valve announced that almost 3 million copies of the game had been sold.[111] On May 10, 2011, Doug Lombardi mentioned that the game and its sequel have each sold 3 million copies on the Xbox 360.[112] On August 11, 2011, in a phone interview with Giant Bomb, Chet Faliszek said that the series has sold over 11 million units in total.[113]

text: Awards[edit]

text: Left 4 Dead received recognition as one of the best multiplayer and PC games of 2008 from various organizations and gaming publications. The game was named the Best Multiplayer Game of 2008 by IGN,[114][115] GameSpy,[116] Spike TV,[117] NoFrag[118] and BAFTA;[119] and as the Computer Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS),[120] Spike TV, and Bit-tech.[121] Other awards include Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay from the AIAS, Best Use of Sound for the PC[122] and Best Shooting[123] game overall from IGN, Father of All FPS from Nofrag, and the best Cooperative Multiplayer[124] and Shooter[125] of 2008 from GameSpot who also nominated it for Game of the Year.