I'm working on my character designs for the Left 4 Dead contest.
Survivor :
The Homeless / The Old Fisherman / The sailor (name still not decided)
His name is Oliver. He calls himself Lord Oliver Hamburger III, claiming to be a noble man from Europe who lost his fortune due to some extremely unlucky investments; The truth is that no one knows who Oliver is, but there's a rumour that says he was a sailor who lost all his money through gambling and drinking. He now populates the alleys of the city among the homeless people, begging for money and liquor, and sleeping between boxes and newspapers.
Armed with a crowbar and a bottle of Scotch Whisky, he walks the land trying to avenge his dog Napoleon (a Bloodhound-Chihuahua half-breed, disappeared in strange circumstances while urinating in a dark corner of an alley). It is supposed to have been eaten by an "Alley Stalker" (see infected in this page).
- POLICE RECORD :
- Reports having been abducted by aliens that wanted to play chess against him.
- Reports having been abducted by aliens that wanted to make "embarrassing medical tests" on him.
- Reports having been abducted by aliens that wanted to "steal his alcohol".
- Reports having lost his dog in strange circumstances while it was urinating.
- Public scandal : Swimming naked in public fountain.
- Public scandal : Seen half naked in a "three star" restaurant.
- Public scandal : Getting naked in public because "it was too hot that day".
- Stealing alcohol from supermarket.
- Stealing alcohol from delivery truck.
- Stealing alcohol from other homeless people.
- Public disorder : Defying hygienic pool conditions by swimming with dirty clothes because "when I took them off, they say it's a public scandal"
- Public disorder : Demanding alcohol as reward after recovering woman purse from thief because "I don't want money, I want alcohol".
- Public disorder : Extremely bad language, even in front of children.
- Keep out of my booze, you infected bastards !
Oliver dixit.
- Do you know what is better than a crowbar and a bottle of liquor ? A shotgun and a bottle of liquor... although two bottles of liquor would be even better !
Oliver dixit.
- Alcohol sharpens my -already- keen senses.
Oliver dixit.
- There are three things that I hate... One is the infected stalkers... I can't remember the other two...
Oliver dixit.
- Do not fear, my friends ! I'm going to sing an old sailor song for you, to keep your spirits up : "TheEee shiiiip is faaaAAar frooOm po... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ".
Oliver dixit.
Conversation extract :
Louis : "Hey Oliver ! What are you doing ! Are you drunk ?!"
Oliver : "Do not worry, alcohol sharpens my senses... Hey, look there, an infected stalker !"
Louis : "No, Oliver, that's Francis..."
Oliver : "Oh, sorry. The lights made me thi... Look there, an infected stalker !"
Louis : "NO, Oliver, that's BILL..."
Oliver : "Oh, he looked like an infected just n... Bloody shit ! An infected stalker just here !"
Louis : "Oliver... that's ME !"
Oliver : "Ehhh... yes, it was a joke... hahahaha!"
Oliver : "Oh... hello Zoey !"
Louis : "Wacha doin' Oliver ?! It's an infected stalker ! Kill him !"
NOTE : This is just a quick sketch and it's not finished. I'll be updating the picture.
Infected :
Stalker / Strangler / Hunchback (name still not decided)
Do you know why Oliver had to take a weapon and start killing infected ? Yes, I know it was to protect his booze from those infected bastards, but there was another reason : back in the alleys, the homeless found that they were not alone. Kidnapping and murder flood the underworld in which Oliver lived. They thought that criminal gangs were trying to profit on the poor, thinking that no one would help them (not even the police). One day, a few corageous beggars decided to explore the alleys were the crimes had taken place in order to find out who was the criminal. What they found was not human... well, at least not at all.
With yellow eyes that glow in the dark, and a big hunchback (it suffers from Kyphosis due to the infection), this beast is impressive upon sight. This monster lurks in the shadows, waiting for the prey to come near him. When near enough, he rushes forward to catch the prey with his hands. Then, he strangles the prey and eats it once dead... or at least enough dead to make sure it won't escape.
The infected is fast, and has the ability to "ambush". This ability works like this : The infected can activate the "ambush" ability for a short period of time (1 minute or so). During that time, the infected does not make any sound, even when moving. Also, the infected changes slightly his skin color to match the main color of the surrounding area (like a chameleon, but only slight change. I.E. : inside a buildind with grey concrete walls, brown wood floor and white color on columns, etc... the infected changes his skin tone slightly to a greyish-like skin color with a brownish coat on areas that "reflect" the floor). This makes it difficult to spot, but only works when the infected is not moving.
This infected ambushes the survivors in dark places. Once the survivor is near him, he rushes forward to catch him by the neck. He then begins to strangle the survivor while taking him far away from the rest of the survivors, thus enabling other infected to attack him without being exposed to open fire from the rest. You could say that he is a "kidnapper" that strangles the victim at the same time. XD During the attack, the survivor's vision gets blurry due to the fault of oxygen. He only has around 1 minute to be rescued before he dies from asphyxiation.
Even though it is tough enough to take a serious beating, once damaged badly this beast unlocks from battle and rushes to the nearest dark alley to recover health. Survivors should chase it to ensure it is defeated before being totally recovered.
This strange being is sensible to very loud sounds (i.e.: explosions). Upon hearing a very loud sound, this infected is stunned/disoriented for a while and starts moving in a random pattern, hitting anything in its path. [If a player plays with this infected, hearing an explosion near him will blurry the screen a lot (he will see vague forms), making difficult to discern friends from foes.]
It also has another weakness : light. This monster is photophobic, meaning that any light pointed at its eyes makes it retreat (that's why it wears a hat, to block the light XD). This is the best way to keep it away from the survivors. [Although he will have an excellent night-vision, if a player plays with this infected, looking directly at a light will bright the screen a lot, making difficult to see.]
It makes a sound similar to "deep breaths" (excuse my english if I write something funny/strange XD English is not my mother language). When being hit, it screams/shouts a deep gutural/nasal sound (similar to the moans of donkeys/cows/etc...). Some people claim having heard it whispering some kind of unintelligible sounds; however it is considered that are just sounds, not a language.
It could be said that this infected abilities bring a bit of "controlled chaos" to the gameplay.
NOTE : This is just a quick sketch and it's not finished. I'll be updating the picture.
What do you people think about them ?
Are they good enough to fight for the prize ?
