L4D2 boycotter "invented" Spitter
But accepts it was probably coincidence.
In an ironic twist to the friction between Valve and its fans over Left 4 Dead 2, a player who's part of the group boycotting the sequel came up with an idea similar to the new Spitter infected months before it was unveiled last week.
In a forum post dated May 31st, Walking_Target detailed a special infected also called The Spitter, with abilities (admittedly only roughly) similar to those announced by Valve at Comic-Con.
Walking_Target is also a leading member of the L4D2 Boycott group, which opposes the release of Left 4 Dead 2's content as a new game rather than updates of the original Left 4 Dead, believing it will split the community.
However, Walking_Target posted an announcement on the boycott group's page acknowledging that his idea matching Valve's was probably a case of coincidence - or "convergence" - rather than theft, as some of the community have interpreted it.
"The first reaction of these folks, including myself, is to think 'Hey, they ripped me off'. This is not really the case though," Walking_Target wrote.
"In reality, when you come right down to it, it is far more likely that there were already similar ideas to this already floating around, these people just happened to be the only ones, or the first ones on that venue to post about it.
"This is most likely the case for the new Special Infected in Left 4 Dead 2. Valve most likely foresaw similar solutions to the ones posted, probably before it was ever mentioned on the forums."
Walking_Target still feels that the new special infected should be used to "fix problems" in the original Left 4 Dead, rather than as new content for Left 4 Dead 2, however.
Plenty more information and controversy on the Left 4 Dead 2 gamepage.