They Live

January 22, 2010 - L4D Team

With our last update having come out a few weeks ago and the next one a few weeks out, we wanted to let people know what we are working on. In addition to "The Passing" DLC, we are working on some other updates coming for both PC and 360. While not a complete list by any means, we wanted to give a heads up on a few Versus changes coming.

Bots
We are adding bots for the Infected team to help out the Infected when they are down a man or two. This will also make 1v1 Versus a bit more fun.

Auto-spawning
We've also been experimenting with a solution for auto-spawning in Versus finales. Even though it's pretty obvious from the L4D forums that EVERYONE LOVES auto-spawning in finales, we figured, what the hell-we'd just go ahead and remove auto-spawning anyway. But before we make any change to Versus we always need to see how the game is currently being played.

So how do finales currently play out? Across all finales in Left 4 Dead 2 currently, a single survivor has a 34.56% chance of escaping. That includes the Concert Finale in "Dark Carnival", which boasts close to a 50% escape rate (and yes, a fix for everyone's favorite cheese spot is coming). Remove the Concert Finale, and we see the average drop to 29.61%. With these figures in mind, when we make changes, we can measure the difference and see how much the change impacted the balance.

Another stat we often see discussed: What gets played more, Versus or Campaign? It really depends on the day, as they are almost always statistically tied. They are unquestionably the two favorite modes of Left 4 Dead.

Also: With work on "The Passing" in full swing, we will soon be recording the actors. First up in our recording sessions is everybody's favorite suit-wearing zombie killer Nick, played by Hugh Dillon. If you haven't already caught it, Hugh's show Durham County has been picked up by ION and is on Sunday nights at 10pm.

Lastly, in case you missed it, the CG Society has an interview up with Valve's own Randy Lundeen and Jeremy Bennett.

Turning Silver into Gold

January 12, 2010 - L4D Team

For this weekend only, Microsoft is hosting a free multiplayer weekend for Left 4 Dead 2. What does this mean? You don't need to have an Xbox Live Gold account to access Left 4 Dead 2's multiplayer features. That's right: You will be upgraded from Silver to Gold for free. You can go online alone or with a split-screen friend. This event starts at 5pm GMT Friday, January 15th and ends at 5pm on Sunday the 18th.

In other news: We've just rolled out a new PC update that you can read more about here. Xbox 360 users should be seeing a console version of this same patch very soon.

Also, over the next few weeks, keep an eye on your favorite gaming web sites and magazines for new info on our upcoming DLC "The Passing".

All I want for Christmas is an SDK

December 23, 2009 - Yasser Malaika

We are releasing the Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring Tools and Left 4 Dead 2 Add-on Support today.

PLAYERS: If you are not looking to design but play custom campaigns all you need to do is install the add-on support package. Just go into steam and open up the Tools tab. Look for the entry labeled Left 4 Dead 2 - Add-on Support click and install it. This download is sizable, but will update your L4D2 installation to allow running ANY map, including custom maps made for the original Left 4 Dead. Once installed, you do not need to run this application, it will always be active.

We will be updating the Left 4 Dead 2 game UI to include links to this package when applicable but for now please just download it directly. If you see any missing textures or models from your favorite map let us know in the forums.

DESIGNERS: Besides also downloading the above file you will need to download the Left 4 Dead 2 - Authoring Tools. Downloading it will add applications, utilities, and example files that are useful for building L4D2 game add-ons. These are similar to the tools released for Left 4 Dead, but include many updates and new features. Among the most useful are:

Gamemode Logic: Designers can now make a single map that can behave differently depending on the gamemode in which it is being played. This can dramatically reduce the file size of Campaign add-ons, as the same map can be used for Co-op, Versus, Scavenge, and Survival.

Director Logic: Maps can now alter their layout and behavior depending on how "angry" the A.I. director is. The better the Survivors are doing, the angrier the AI Director seems to get. This allows you to base variable paths and other events on the player's skill and current conditions.

Scavenge Mode Support! All the elements map authors need to support Scavenge in their maps. This includes game props as well as a full example in the form of Deadline 2, an updated tutorial campaign.

We have included an updated tutorial to help you get going and as always you can join the discussion on the map designer email list. What we want for New Years is to get to play your custom maps in Left 4 Dead 2.

For the best user experience and to take advantage of the new map and nav mesh formats, Left 4 Dead 1 Map Makers will want to compile Left 4 Dead 2 specific versions of their map in the new tool.

Happy Holidays,

The Left 4 Dead 2 Team

Massive 360 Server Upgrade

November 25, 2009 - L4D Team

We have upgraded our network infrastructure to better accommodate the huge response to L4D2. 360 players will now have lag-free servers. We've also added more dedicated servers.

We will continue to monitor the situation and add resources as needed.

Thank you for your patience. Now quit reading this, get out there and kill some zombies!

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Left 4 Dead 2 Nabs Six VGA Nominations

November 18, 2009 - L4D Team

Spike TV just posted their nominees for the 2009 Video Game Awards, and we're proud to announce that Left 4 Dead 2 is up for six awards—Game of the Year, Studio of the Year, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best PC Game, Best Shooter and Best Multiplayer Game. If you've been enjoying L4D2 this week, don't forget to drop into Spike's onine voting center and give us some love!

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An Update for all you Zombie Killers in the UK

November 17, 2009 - L4D Team

Due to high demand for L4D2, we decided to move various street dates forward for a coordinated worldwide release—except in the UK, where this was not possible (copies of the game are still arriving).

The good news is that we plan to have everyone in the UK playing Left 4 Dead 2 by Friday morning. Those who pre-ordered in the UK before the worldwide launch have been given access to the game.

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Left 4 Dead 2 is live on Steam!

November 16, 2009 - L4D Team

The PC version of Left 4 Dead 2, the sequel to the best-selling and critically-acclaimed co-operative multiplayer thriller, is now available via Steam to gamers around the globe. The title will be available for the PC and Xbox 360 at retail stores on Tuesday, November 17th in North America, and worldwide throughout the week. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com.

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Our Contest Winners, and L4D2's New Special Infected

November 16, 2009 - L4D Team

The "Dude, Where's My Thumb?" contest is officially closed. Congratulations to contest winner Roland Nagy, who just won himself an extremely limited edition (i.e. one) customized "infected" Xbox 360 for his entry below:

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A Slight Clarification...

November 13, 2009 - L4D Team

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Get Free Wallpaper, Turn Yourself into a Zombie, and Win an Xbox

November 12, 2009 - L4D Team

During the production of a game, a lot of concept art gets drawn up, redrawn, thrown away, cursed at, and, occasionally, even used. There's a mountain of this stuff fluttering around the Valve offices, and while the non-artists among us might not know much (anything) about art, we hope we're not embarrassing our artists by saying it looks pretty kickass. So we grabbed some of it off the nearest pile and made it into desktop wallpaper:

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L4D2's "Dude, Where's My Thumb 2" Contest

November 10, 2009 - L4D Team

For our Left 4 Dead 1 contest giveaway, we gave all you gamers a simple proposition: take a picture of yourself or a friend doing something creative in front of a L4D ad. We were blown away by the inventiveness, humor, and photoshop mastery of some of the replies.

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Left 4 Dead 2's G4TV Interviews

November 5, 2009 - L4D Team

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Left 4 Dead 2 TV Spot #2 Hits the Airwaves

November 4, 2009 - L4D Team

Starting today, L4D2's second television spot (watch the first here)—drops on TV channels across North America. It's packed with explosions, jets, the song "Electric Worry" by Clutch, and hard-hitting action courtesy of our four Survivors Coach, Rochelle, Nick and Ellis.

Oh, and zombies.

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The L4D2 Demo is Live!

November 4, 2009 - L4D Team

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo is live and available for download on Xbox 360 and PC. Featuring gameplay from the first two (of five) chapters from "The Parish" campaign, the demo is set in the New Orleans French Quarter and is playable in Campaign mode. Keep an eye out for all-new guns, melee weapons, items, Special Infected and "Uncommon Common," a new campaign-specific set of zombies with unique abilities.

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Pre-Order Giveaway Madness!

November 2, 2009 - L4D Team

Those of you who pre-ordered Left 4 Dead 2 (for PC on Steam or at participating retailers) now have exclusive access to the momentous event they said would never happen. For the first time in history, two separate Valve universes collide. That's right: it's a Left 4 Dead/Team Fortress crossover! This is not fan fiction! This is not a dream sequence! The characters from Team Fortress 2 will team-up with Bill's hat from Left 4 Dead 1!

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We're back!

October 13, 2009 - Erik Johnson

As many of you might have heard, Gabe and I went to Australia last week to try out the Source MOD made by Joe W-A, after he was able to raise the funds for the $3000 plane ticket in less than 48 hours.

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Warning!!! Zombies Invade Tokyo and London!

October 2, 2009 - Chet Faliszek

We just had a great showing at the Tokyo Game Show. One of Left 4 Dead 2’s level designers, Kim Swift made the trip. You can check out her multi-language interview here.

Next public showing will be at the London Game Show where we will be showing the as of yet unannounced new game mode. We really should announce that soon… We can give you one hint, the game is 4 v 4. So get your team together and join us in London on October 29th or 30th.

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I Hate Helicopters

September 29, 2009 - Chet Faliszek

Crash Course DLC is here! Find out what happens to Bill, Zoey, Louis, and Francis after their rooftop helicopter rescue in the No Mercy campaign. To celebrate the release of our second DLC for Left 4 Dead, we are offering Left 4 Dead for 50% off until Oct 2nd.

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Left 4 Dead 2 Summer Tour Continues

August 27, 2009 - Chet Faliszek

Next Stop: Penny Arcade Expo

We will be unveiling Dark Carnival at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle September 4-6.

Dark Carnival is the third of five campaigns we have revealed. It is the second campaign of the game and picks up after you have escaped from Savannah.

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Left 4 Dead 2's Zombies Invade Gametrailers TV at 12:30am on SPIKE!

August 13, 2009 - L4D Team

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Left 4 Dead 2 Summer Tour Begins

July 31, 2009 - Andrea Wicklund, Arsenio Navarro and Adrian Finol

First Stop: Comic Con

During the San Diego Comic Con gamers had an opportunity to visit us in our Left 4 Dead 2 room and try out two L4D2 levels from the "Swamp Fever" campaign. The response was overwhelming, with lines going out the door well before we opened. Throughout the four days that the demo was made available, there was never an empty seat.

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Get your Campaign On

June 19, 2009 - Yasser Malaika

We're pretty excited about this next Left 4 Dead update, and we hope you will be as well. Since the Left 4 Dead Authoring Tools Beta was released several weeks ago, mod authors have been cooking with gas, so to speak. The ranks of dedicated community members working hard to create new content have been swelling, and a very hungry horde awaits...

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Rules of Thumb

June 15, 2009 - L4D Team

When it came time to photograph the box art of L4D1, our art staff had three goals. One, there should be a hand in it somehow. Two, the hand should have a thumb bitten off, so customers would look at the four fingers remaining on the hand and think, "Hey, four." Three, under no circumstances would we use Photoshop. L4D is a visceral experience, and its box art deserved the same approach. Valve artist and L4D1 hand model Andrea Wicklund was more than happy to help.

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Announcing Left 4 Dead 2!

June 1, 2009 - L4D Team

We've just announced that Left 4 Dead 2 is coming later this year! It's a much larger game than the original, and features new co-op and versus campaigns, all-new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, as well as melee combat. Check out the teaser trailer, and watch this space for more news in the coming days.

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Now Hiring!

May 19, 2009 - Zoid

It's been an interesting week for us here on the Left 4 Dead team. This Monday, for instance, somebody accidentally told Robin Walker he had the power to fire people. In other interesting news, the Left 4 Dead team has all been fired.

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A Subtle Hint

May 19, 2009 - L4D Team

The 27th Annual Golden Joystick Awards are now accepting votes for your favorite game of the year. Now, we'd of course never for a second want to sway your vote and suggest you follow this link and vote for Left 4 Dead. We're above that sort of thing.
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Personalize your apocalypse

May 15, 2009 - Yasser Malaika

Today we are opening the beta of the Left 4 Dead Authoring Tools to the public. It is available as a free download for all owners of the PC version of Left 4 Dead, and can be found under the "Tools" tab in Steam.

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Left 4 Dead, by the Numbers

April 30, 2009 - Charlie Burgin

Valve has always seen the value in gathering real-world gameplay data and using it to improve our products. Now we're hoping you'll find it as useful as we do. With the creation of the L4D stats page, our customers will now be able to see a wide variety of gameplay data across all of Left 4 Dead's various game modes.

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DLC Released! New L4D swag at The Valve Store.

April 22, 2009 - L4D Team

We just released the DLC on the PC and 360. This includes the new Survival Mode, The Lighthouse Survival map, and 2 new Versus campaigns. To celebrate the release of the DLC we have cooked up a few items for the Valve Store.

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Surviving the L4D Survival Pack

April 16, 2009 - Kerry Davis and Scott Dalton

Survival Mode pits your team against never ending waves of infected. Sounds simple. Just trap the survivors in a small part of a map, unleash the hordes, and record the longest time. Survival Mode, which will be released next week, is actually a bit more than that.
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Lose the Thumb: Creating Left 4 Dead's Box Art

April 9, 2009 - Jeremy Bennett

Hello. My name is Jeremy Bennett, and I'm an artist at Valve. Most gamers only ever get to see the finished product of a game cover, so we thought some of you might find it interesting to hear the process that led to Left 4 Dead's final art. As you'll see, there were quite a few attempts along the way, all of them eventually abandoned.
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A Match Made In Zombie Heaven

April 1, 2009 - Zoid

In a recent update for L4D on the PC, we provided the option for players to choose between starting a game on an Official server or the Best Available. This is just the first step in giving players control over what servers they play on and the type of experience they have.

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Building a Better Apocalypse

March 25, 2009 - Chet Faliszek

We recently updated the PC version of Left 4 Dead with some exploit fixes and Versus balancing. We are going to be releasing another small update shortly that contains some server issue fixes and one small, but very large, gameplay adjustment. We have made a change to the melee mechanic in Versus and the soon-to-be-released Survival Mode.
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Game of the Year

January 8, 2009 - L4D Team

With 2008 behind us, the gaming press has once again sorted through the year's releases and made up their annual lists for Game of the Year. Find out how Left 4 Dead ranks with IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy, 1UP, Onion AV Club, Destructoid, Kotaku, Team XBOX and more by clicking here.
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L4D Art Direction, Part 2: Stylized Darkness

January 2, 2009 - Randy Lundeen

Aesthetics, fiction and gameplay: these are three criteria that we always consider when employing a new art direction for a game. With a game as dark as Left 4 Dead, this meant having to figure out a lot of new ways to use the absence of light to our advantage.

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The Moviemaking Process: Left 4 Dead's Intro Movie

December 4, 2008 - Jason Mitchell

Because Left 4 Dead is a new property for us, we wanted to provide some basic player training prior to the start of the game. Traditional in-game training mechanics didn't make sense for Left 4 Dead, because they would take away from the sense that players had been immediately dropped into a very real, very dire zombie apocalypse.

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Play Left 4 Dead with Valve

November 20, 2008 - L4D Team

Join Left 4 Dead’s developers for a few campaigns against the zombie horde this Saturday, November 22 at 9:00 pm (EST). All you have to do is send off a game invite to one of the gamertags listed below. See you there!

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L4D Roundup: Contest Results, Great Deals and Early Reviews

November 18, 2008 - L4D Team

Our "Dude, Where's My Thumb?" contest finishes today. We asked hopefuls in the US and UK to submit a picture of themselves in front of a Left 4 Dead billboard for a chance to win prizes. Gabe Newell's looked through all the entries and selected 25 lucky winners
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Left 4 Dead is live on Steam

November 18, 2008 - L4D Team

As of midnight EST, the PC version of Left 4 Dead, Valve's zombie thriller, is now available via Steam to gamers around the globe. The title will be available for the PC and Xbox 360 at retail stores on Tuesday, November 18 in North America, and worldwide on Friday, November 21. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com.
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Update, 5:24 pm

November 17, 2008 - L4D Team

Good news on the Valve Launch Box test run! There was an electrical fire, and all the bees burned to death. The bad news: several employees also perished in the fire and the game will be delayed. Just kidding! About the game. There were some burning deaths. But the game's coming out!

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The End is Near...

November 17, 2008 - L4D Team

Less than four hours to go until Left 4 Dead goes live at the stroke of midnight (EST) on Steam, and that means the Valve Launch Box will be dragged out of its off-season home in Gabe Newell's tool shed.

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Downloadable L4D Desktop Wallpaper

November 14, 2008 - L4D Team

We were going to title this post "Infect Your Desktop!" until someone remembered what a bad idea it is to put those words together in conjunction with free downloads. Our back-up title, "Put These Pictures on Your Computer," wasn't nearly as clever, so we'll just quit while we're ahead and let you download the wallpaper.

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Download the Left 4 Dead Demo!

November 11, 2008 - L4D Team

Left 4 Dead is finally here! Well, almost, anyway. The full game won’t be available for another week (November 18 on Steam and in retail stores across America). But you can get a taste of the blood-splattering, zombie-killing fun right now!

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L4D Art Direction, Part 1: Filmic Effects

November 10, 2008 - Randy Lundeen

One of the goals of Left 4 Dead's art direction was to capture the tone and feel of being right in the middle of a horror movie. This meant making the environments look scary in a specifically cinematic way.

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Left 4 Dead Intro Movie

October 31, 2008 - L4D Team

Less than a week from today, everyone who pre-ordered will be playing the Left 4 Dead demo. We know! We can't believe it either. To make the wait easier, we've released the five minute movie that opens the game. Caution: The movie may actually make the wait harder. Anyway, happy Halloween.

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It's the Zombie Ad-pocalypse.

October 30, 2008 - L4D Team

As part of our ongoing marketing campaign, we're airing a pair of commercials on network and cable television, including ABC, FOX, Spike, ESPN, MTV, Comedy Central, CBC and more. Created with footage from Left 4 Dead's opening sequence, the commercial goes live on television November 8th. But you can watch it online now!
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Dude, Where's My Thumb?

October 28, 2008 - L4D Team

Want to win a free copy of Left 4 Dead? How about a new gaming PC? All it takes is a snapshot of you in front of a Left 4 Dead billboard, bus, Jumbotron or other piece of outdoor advertising. So fire up your Leica and get over to the official contest page.
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Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

October 25, 2008 - L4D Team

Hot off of solving the global credit crisis, world leaders have turned to more important matters. They have declared this Sunday October 26th, World Zombie Day. What better way to celebrate World Zombie Day than dress up like a zombie and shamble around?
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A Contest so Easy, Even a Zombie Could Win.

October 18, 2008 - L4D Team

The guys over at Left4Dead411.com just launched a new contest today with the grand prize being four copies of Left 4 Dead. The contest is all about getting your picture taken in front of a horde of zombies.

Where can you find a horde before November 18th? Left4Dead411 has plenty of tips. Just please remember to respect the native zombies, they get hungry for brains if you anger them.
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The Left 4 Dead Pre-Purchase Infection is Now On!

October 15, 2008 - L4D Team

Left 4 Dead is now available for pre-purchase worldwide via Steam! As with our pre-purchase promotions for retail PC and Xbox 360, customers who pre-purchase Left 4 Dead via Steam will save 10% off the regular price. Left 4 Dead will be released at retail on PC and Xbox 360 on November 18 in North America and November 21 in Europe. The worldwide Steam release will be November 18.
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Left 4 Dead Spreads Around the World

October 10, 2008 - L4D Team

In Germany, lucky members of the press were able to play co-op with Gabe Newell at the Leipzig Games Convention, while Torsten Zabka manned the L4D tour bus outside.
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Legoland of the Dead

October 3, 2008 - Erik Wolpaw

This weekend, expert Lego Builders from all over the world will convene in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall for BrickCon 2008.
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First post - Welcome to the L4D blog

September 30, 2008 - Mike Booth

Since we announced Left 4 Dead in late 2006, the growing online community has been a great source of feedback and support during the development process. We're planning on using this blog to talk more directly with that community - through stories, artwork, and insights into our design and development process.
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