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Exploring Valve Archive, part 27. valvearchive.com>archive>Alien Swarm>Art> Although one of their least popular games, Alien Swarm has some of the most interesting concept art of any Valve production. A focus is given on the environments, presented in an almost manga style. The aesthetic is clean and toy-like, with the first artwork above showing a stage of the game as a literal miniature-based tabletop set, akin to Warhammer 40k. There's even a tabletop-like plastic part sheet and a model box visible. Given the concept art's heavy focus on the idea of tabletop sets and manga comics, it's not impossible to imagine that Valve explored the idea of focusing Alien Swarm for the tabletop enthusiast crowd, competing directly with the likes of the Warhammer franchise. This is a personal theory, however, and may be far fetched. The Steam account "Valve Artists" posted all of the above artworks, plus more from Alien Swarm and other Valve titles.