Mike Booth, the man behind Left 4 Dead’s genre-defining brand of multiplayer chaos, is back in the four-player co-op business — this time under J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Games. And he’s inviting Left 4 Dead players to help shape it from the ground up.
The veteran designer announced the project, codenamed Project Tacoma, in a post that teases “a 4-player co-op shooter built on the foundations of what made L4D special“. “If you enjoyed the teamwork, tension, and replayability of my past games, you’ll probably find this one interesting,” Booth wrote. “It expands on the co-op formula in ways I’ve wanted to explore for a long time.”
A Return to His Roots
Booth co-founded Turtle Rock Studios, where he built Left 4 Dead before Valve bought the studio and turned the game into a landmark franchise. Its AI “director,” pacing mechanics, and emphasis on cooperation over kill count changed the way shooters were designed. After stints at Blizzard and Facebook/Oculus, Booth now serves as Chief Creative Officer at Bad Robot Games, Abrams’ interactive arm best known for its cinematic flair.
Sign Up For The Playtest
The project is still early in development, but Booth says they’re opening up playtests to a limited number of players. Interested fans can apply for early testing at BadRobotGames.com/invite.
No setting, story, or monster roster has been revealed yet, though speculation is running wild. Is it another apocalyptic survival game? A sci-fi spin on co-op horror? Booth isn’t saying, but the DNA of L4D, which means it’s probably not exactly a zombie shooter. If it’s following the theme of some of his recent VR project made at Resolution Games, Demeo, it could be a monsters & magic theme.
Abrams-Style Mystery Meets Booth’s Design Philosophy?
Bad Robot Games has made no secret of its ambition to bring Hollywood-style storytelling into interactive spaces. There last attempt, was a interactive streaming series named Silent Hill: Ascension. It flopped internationally, but Booth wasn’t a part of it.
Pairing Abrams’ mystery-box sensibilities with Booth’s proven co-op design could give “Project Tacoma” the high-concept punch that fans of both creators expect.
But for now, Booth is keeping things simple. “We’re still in the early stages of development,” he wrote, “but we’d love to have you involved.”