Valve Scrapped Flying Fairy Game Before L4D

[Hectic Glenn]

In an interview with PC Gamer earlier this month, Gabe, Doug & Erik were asked about what things Valve have failed at doing. Doug mentioned a prototype for a game before development on Left 4 Dead began later that year.

Doug Lombardi: There were a few failed starts to build Left 4 Dead.[br]
Gabe Newell: Well, there was the flying fairy game. Is that the one you were referring to?[br]
Erik Johnson: That was just a different game that, when we stabbed it? (everyone laughs)[br]
Doug Lombardi: ? It turned into Left 4 Dead!

Gabe was positive about the failure of the project. ?That was a useful failure to us,? says Gabe, ?because it was so clearly dumb that it made us say, ?OK, what are we actually good at that we can do instead??? The full interview will be in the next edition of PC Gamer out on September 1st.

 

[Shakermaker]

Screens or it didn't happen. Flying fairies?

 

[Blindasabat]

Flying fairies, my arse. I bet they walked every where.

 

[kupocake]

Sorry guys, I was away for the weekend.

I want this game.

 

[hipnotyq]

i thought Turtle Rock Studios had basically finished the game before being hired by Valve who tweaked it a bit?

 

[kupocake]

Well, it was in development at Valve for quite a bit longer than 'tweaking a bit' would suggest (a year and a half IIRC), but that is a valid point. Though most of the stuff in quotes probably shouldn't be taken literally, they don't really pay much lip service to the fact that L4D started as an external project, even if Turtle Rock were always an external studio with very close ties to Valve.