Valve shares a video of an earlier version of Deadlock in which the player battles Half-Life enemies with Left 4 Dead weaponry

Valve officially announced Deadlock last Friday, its new multiplayer shooting game that combines third-person action and a MOBA format. Valve's path to the official reveal of Deadlock was unusual. For several months, Valve pretended that the game didn't even exist, while inviting thousands to play it.

Even though Valve has admitted that the cat has escaped from the bag, weirdness continues. Deadlock's Steam page is still cryptic despite the Internet being flooded by videos of the game. Valve's developer revealed a super-early prototype of Deadlock, a move that is usually reserved for years or even decades after a game has launched.

Gabe Follower noticed the video and posted it on Twitter, stating that Valve dev Yoshi shared early footage of Deadlock gameplay prototype. The video below shows the player accompanied by a squad antlions, the giant insects from Half-Life 2 that hunt by scent. The player is then accosted by a group of enemy antlions. He shoots a few of them, before his insectoid friends catch up and take control of the combat.

The video is not only interesting, but also gives a glimpse into the development of the game. Although it's clearly at an early stage, the basic shape of Deadlock can be seen, with players being accompanied by their own AI minions as they move around the map. It's interesting to note that the antlions in Half-Life 2 are a different color (grey instead of yellow) and that they have a custom particle effect when they die. Deadlock was once set in Half-Life's universe, under the codename Citadel. It's possible that the antlions represent more than just placeholders. We're getting a glimpse at what Deadlock would have looked like if Valve had continued with the Half-Life motif.

This isn't our first look at an older version of Deadlock. A few months ago, footage of Deadlock's previous incarnation was leaked online. In this version, Deadlock was set in a sci-fi world, rather than the fantasy/supernatural setting it currently has. Players ran around as robots while a cyberpunk town loomed in the background.

It's amazing how many iterations Deadlock has gone through, given how early it is in development. It shows how Valve is passionate about its games and how it will change or ditch an idea if it doesn't work.