Reasons for Infected Mutation?

[chimpmunk]

He's trying to be clever, and failing miserably.

What he said. That Eejit guy is a real prick.

WE GOT IT, IT'S A GAME! THANKS FOR TELLING US! WE ARE IMPRESSED, YOUR WORK HERE IS DONE

 

[CyberPitz]

Funny thing, I was thinking to myself about "Why are Zombies not attacking Zombies that are biled on.."

Oh well, balance issues!

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Do the infected attack each other? I've never seen it happen.

I've stood inside the safehouse and watched 2-4 beat the shit out of each other.

 

[FISHY CRACKERS]

I recall seeing a video of a witch in a train being attacked by a Hunter while the survivors watched, I think she just stood there, also a boomer came but the Hunter beat his ass within 3 seconds.

 

[chimpmunk]

I've stood inside the safehouse and watched 2-4 beat the shit out of each other.

But they don't really "attack" each others, they just fight, like animals would.

Gives us an hint as to their psychology (or lack of).
They probably eat too, else they couldn't vomit. But we never see them eat.

 

[Eejit]

I've noticed infected having 1v1 fights a couple of times toaster, usually in the Sewers for some reason.

But they don't really "attack" each others, they just fight, like animals would.

Yeah they don't attack, they just fight. :hmph:


I guess having a whole lot of examples of 'it's only for gameplay purposes' at once worked better than just using the boss' 6th sense. Whodathunkit?

 

[Love4Fire]

we need bruce campbell...he could tell us

 

[chimpmunk]

I've noticed infected having 1v1 fights a couple of times toaster, usually in the Sewers for some reason.

Yeah they don't attack, they just fight. :hmph:


I guess having a whole lot of examples of 'it's only for gameplay purposes' at once worked better than just using the boss' 6th sense. Whodathunkit?

Eejit, go away.

You're a troll and you are not willing to partake in what was a cool thread before you decided to come here and bitch. Why are not on Biology forums anyways? Why do we, lesser being, deserve your presence here?

And if you don't know the difference between attacking someone and fighting with him, go learn english.
The infected, from what I've seen, don't attack each others the way they attack the survivors, whenever I saw them "attacking" each other, it was a different animation.
It's more sloppy, slower and less aggressive. They're not attacking to "kill". It's more like when two animals fight for territory or something.

 

[Eejit]

So you mean they fight each other less aggressively than they fight the survivors?
Rightio, that merely reinforces my question doesn't it? Why do they fight each other so rarely and less aggressively than they do the survivors?

Saying "it's like animals and territory and stuff" is a terribly incomplete and vauge answer but thanks anyway.

 

[CyberPitz]

Weeeee, this thread ROX!!!

 

[G(ordon)-man]

You name it.

 

[Kase]

Reasons for Infected Mutation?
God Hates them =/

 

[chimpmunk]

So you mean they fight each other less aggressively than they fight the survivors?

From what I have seen in game, it appears to be so.

Saying "it's like animals and territory and stuff" is a terribly incomplete and vauge answer but thanks anyway.

Yes, "IT'S A GAME AND I KNOW ABOUT BIOLOGY" is such a better answer. I have tried to rationalise basing on what we know about the game setting and my own in game experience.

Infected do not gang up on another infected or claw madly at him. They do however punch each others sometimes in a less agressive fashion.

Once again, it's only what I have seen, maybe they use a different animation for when the infected attack another infected (and that would mean there is a reason for it).
Anyways, you are not worth discussing with because you are not here to partake in the theories, you only wanna prove any one wrong based on real life biology notions (because WE HAVE to know that you know about biology).

Anyways, if it's just a game and we're so dumb, what are you doing in this thread?

 

[morgs]

I think this thread is over, where are the mods when you need em:hmph:

 

[FISHY CRACKERS]

I think this thread is over, where are the mods when you need em:hmph:

Thinking of new things to post here.

 

[CyberPitz]

Seriously....you guys are still arguing with him? Just let his ideas go, and either stop posting in this shit hole thread, or ignore completely.

 

[chimpmunk]

There are a few ways to explain this. First, it's possible they feel some sort of rudimentary kinship with one another; a simple us vs. them mentality. It's as if they're some sort of separate species, despite simply being a modification of our own. In addition, it makes sense in terms of virus evolution; if they're driven to attack primarily healthy individuals, the virus has a greater chance to propagate itself. If the individual is already infected, there's little point in being driven to bite or scratch them. If we accept this as fact for a moment, however, it presents a problem, though: what sort of evolutionary path could the virus take for this kind of accuracy? It certainly points toward an infectious agent specifically developed by the government. Maybe I'm just SLIGHTLY DISTRACTED AT THE MOMENT (who wouldn't be), but I can't think of any natural evolutionary path that this virus could've taken in to ensure they only RAAAAGE'd at healthy individuals.

That makes a lot of sense actually, there are species of worms (and even plants!) that can control an insect's body when they get inside it:

The parasitic Nematomorph hairworm (Spinochordodes tellinii) develops inside land-dwelling grasshoppers and crickets until the time comes for the worm to transform into an aquatic adult. Somehow mature hairworms brainwash their hosts into behaving in way they never usually would - causing them to seek out and plunge into water.

Once in the water the mature hairworms - which are three to four times longer that their hosts when extended - emerge and swim away to find a mate, leaving their host dead or dying in the water. David Biron, one of the study team at IRD in Montpellier, France, notes that other parasites can also manipulate their hosts' behaviour: "'Enslaver' fungi make their insect hosts die perched in a position that favours the dispersal of spores by the wind, for example."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7927

Although the human brain would be too complex for those parasites to control, in a sci-fi setting like Left4Dead, it's not that far fetched to believe a "super parasite worm/virus" could control its host.

 

[CyberPitz]

God, imagining that whole "Mind controlling parasite" dead is just ....****ed up.

 

[chimpmunk]

God, imagining that whole "Mind controlling parasite" dead is just ....****ed up.

You mean that in a good or bad way?

In my eyes, it would make for a good scenario, finally something a little different from either undead (rotting) zombies and virus induced zombies.

 

[FISHY CRACKERS]

You mean that in a good or bad way?

In my eyes, it would make for a good scenario, finally something a little different from either undead (rotting) zombies and virus induced zombies.

Agreed

God i HAVE been typing "agreed" alot lately, haven't i...

 

[chimpmunk]

I don't understand the question.

 

[Eejit]

Seriously....you guys are still arguing with him? Just let his ideas go

Chipmunk just enjoys insulting me without provocation I guess. I post anything and I get "you think you're smarter than me, meanie! You suck!" from a few people here (btw thanks for not being like them toaster, you're a good man).

Personally I think the whole 'the military did it' idea is a bit too cliche for Valve. That's Resident Evil quality plotting.

Also if that was the case why would Valve have specified that it was a mutated form of rabies, a virus that makes infected animals almost universally aggressive, if it was some engineered virus that in fact made infected people behave very differently, with only superficial similarities? It could have been any virus if it was so different. In fact basing it on the rabies virus would be counter-intuitive as the 'military' would have had to completely reengineer how it effects the infected, probably harder than starting from scratch.

 

[Rizzo]

I don't understand the question.

Headcrabs?

Anyway we know that it's form of rabies.

And for the main issue,

Boss senses: Gameplay issue. When playing as a boss, it whould suck if you didn't know where the survivors where. Same as with a HUD and ammo count for survivors IMO.

Reason for infected mutation: Cujo.

 

[Kula Meenur]

Reasons for infected mutation? STD's spread by rampant gay orgies in every nation on earth.


Yup that's it.


That's definitely it.


Totally.


Prove me wrong.


Bitch.

 

[G(ordon)-man]

I'm thinking about dance fever. Spread by fake-Elvises.

 

[chimpmunk]

I'm intentionally ignoring one point here, though, and I have about three minutes before I have to leave so I'll touch on it just briefly: how do the infected differentiate between infected and uninfected individuals? My first guess would be that somehow, the virus has evolved to give the infected a distinct scent; if I recall correctly from the intro video, they do have some sort of scent?

That's what I would belive.

 

[Eejit]

In terms of survival, if we have a group of infected who have a more traditional form of rabies which causes them to attack everything, and a group who only attack uninfected individuals, does the latter have any clear advantage in propagating the virus? Arguably so, as they may be more likely seek out uninfected individuals rather than fighting among themselves and killing one another.

You have two different strains in that scenario, so in fact the strain that attacks both uninfected and people infected with the other strain has the advantage in spreading.

Be careful not to anthopomorhpize either the virus or evolution too much.



As for why infected rarely fight each other the answer I was looking for was: it's clearly sound light and movement that set off their aggressive responses for all of them, not just the witch. The normal infected are generally pretty quiet and don't move much on their own accord - and when they do they move slowly.

Of course the Hunter's screams are a problem here, but since they don't even set off the witch it's just another thing to add to the 'gameplaylol' list.

 

[chimpmunk]

Did Eejit just make a constructive post while trying to apply logic to a game?

 

[Rizzo]

****ing drop it.

Also take the pipebomb into consideration. They hate that thing wtih a fury.

 

[FISHY CRACKERS]

Did Eejit just make a constructive post while trying to apply logic to a game?

This whole thread is about trying to add logic to a videogame...

 

[chimpmunk]

I know. That was the joke.

 

[chimpmunk]

Also take the pipebomb into consideration. They hate that thing wtih a fury.

And car alarms. So they get "angry" or at least "woken up" by continuous and regular sounds and sights.

I'm guessing a mob of non infected running in panic and screaming would have the same effect... must be devastating.

 

[morgs]

I think the sound just attracts them

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Case closed.

 

[Eejit]

Did Eejit just make a constructive post while trying to apply logic to a game?

Now if you observe carefully you might even recognise the differences between what I posted and your "It's probably smell" crud. Go on, give it a try.

 

[chimpmunk]

Now if you observe carefully you might even recognise the differences between what I posted and your "It's probably smell" crud. Go on, give it a try.

Here you go again.

So you basically trolled the whole thread for pages, now you decide to discover (gosh!) "suspention of disbelief" but your theorizing is always valid, while mine is invalid because of what? Oh yeah, because you know about biology (how so exactly? All you do is say you know about biology, you don't back this statement in any way).

Smell letting you see through walls is something silly in real world, but in a zombie fighting game where bandages remove all kinds of injuries, it does make sense and is consistent with the fictional setting of Left4Dead. Something you still can't understand.

I'm fed up with trying to dialogue with you, you're not here to have fun or be part of a constructive thread. You're a troll at best or a sincere insecure prick at worst.

F*ck you.

 

[Eejit]

Actually I was being quite constructive and indeed having fun until you started being sarky at me. Again. Who's really the troll? Maybe it's the person constantly resorting to personal attacks?

I guess trying was too much effort.

There are theories that are invented, then the author cherry-picks pieces of ingame evidence and science that supports it, ignoring the rest. These are the intellectually dishonest theories. They make a farce of the intellectual exercise that is theorising.
Then there are ones that try to fit observable evidence and any relevant science. These are usually more generalised for obvious reasons.

You say you object to me bringing real science into it, that doesn't belong in a fictional game! Yet if someone brought up some science you were unaware of that happened to support a pet theory I bet you wouldn't be complaining.
I also enjoy the double standards you have with regard to 'it's only a game'. Whenever I say it then it's completely unreasonable and I'm being an ass, yet you're happy to use it out to cover up holes in your flawed explanations.
The difference is I was trying to show that one doesn't need to invent a ridiculous theory when there is a valid God of the Gaps (in the shape of Valve), whereas you've simply tried to use it to defend silly ideas.




By the way it's probably both the sound and the light on the pipebomb that attracts them guys. Both can be independent triggers for Infected and Witch aggression under other circumstances too.

 

[Rizzo]

Really, saying that it's the smell that let's you spot the survivors is not logical.
I'd say it's for gameplay purposes. It adds suspense for the survivor not knowing where the bosses are, while they can set up ambushes etc.

 

[marksiwel]

Didnt everyone see the Dark Knight? Zombies can see through walls because they have Batman-Radar. Damn you Wayne Tech! How many have to die?

Jeez you guys called me a geek for pointing out an error in identifying a part of tool. yet here you are calling each other pricks and trolling each other about Zombie senses

Cant we all just get along. When we fight the Zombies win

 

[Rizzo]

Then the survivors must have batman-radar too, and it only works on humans. Unless your a zombie boss. Then it also works on other zombie bosses. But not the normal zombies.

Spoiler

(I know you wheren't serious and neither was I)