Bill

"...Portraying Bill as a once heroic army veteran, who though older and wiser, can still excel at physical combat."

- Ariel Diaz, Valve.

William "Bill" Overbeck is one of the four playable Survivors in Left 4 Dead, a Vietnam veteran who served in the US Army 1st Special Forces Group. His combat skills have helped to keep him alive. He is also the oldest of the group. In official media, he is usually seen wielding the assault rifle, probably to complement his back story. He often has a lit cigarette in his mouth.

Bill, along with the other Left 4 Dead Survivors, may appear in Left 4 Dead 2 in the campaign The Passing as they meet with the Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors, assuming that he is not the survivor who Valve announced dies before the events of the campaign.

Official description
It took two eventful tours in Vietnam, a handful of medals, a knee full of shrapnel, and an honorable discharge before the unthinkable happened: Bill ran out of wars. But now an army of infected has declared war on humanity. After decades of aimless drifting and dead-end jobs, Bill's finally gotten back the only thing he ever wanted: an enemy to fight.

Relationships with other Survivors
Out of the other three Survivors, Bill stands out most prominently as the leader of the group.


 * Francis: Bill appears to have some sort of rivalry with Francis, though the reason for this is unknown. It's possible that Bill and Francis knew each other prior to the outbreak giving them a friendly rivalry. Another cause could be Francis' supposed hatred of the military (since Bill was once a soldier), or simply Francis' gruff personality rubs Bill the wrong way. Alternatively, what is said could simply be friendly teasing between the two.
 * Louis: As far as the Survivors' relationships go, Louis and Bill do not have much evidence hinting towards each other's dispositions. Bill will, however, seem genuinely upset to see Louis die. ("Louis didn't make it... Agh Christ!") Oddly, this is in contrast to how unsympathetic Bill can be when Louis is incapacitated outside of the safe room. ("How well do you really know Louis?") However, he'll usually follow this by saying he was joking.
 * Zoey: The relationship between Bill and Zoey appears to be fairly strong. Bill is openly sorrowful when Zoey is killed. ("Aghh.. not [tearing up] Zoey.") When Zoey is incapacitated on the other side of the safe room ("I can't leave Zoey out there!"), Bill verbally refuses to leave her behind. ("Zoey can't stay out there! We have to help her."). Perhaps Bill looks at her as a sort of daughter or grand-daughter, given her youth. When Zoey dies Bill will sometimes call her princess.

Quotes and Captions
"See: Bill/Quotes and Captions"