My respect for the very talented folks at Valve grows ever more with “Expiration Date”, an animated short based on the characters from the Team Fortress game. The short was created as a tie-in with Valve’s latest update for the free-to-play Team Fortress 2, the Love and War Update.

Check out some screencaps and enjoy the short (in HD !) further below :

There is so much I love about the short – the impressionable character designs, highly influenced by the art of the American artist J.C Leyendecker., the snappy animation style, which reminds of Brad Bird’s The Incredibles and Warner Bros’ Batman : The Animated Series.

I also enjoy Valve’s Portal and Portal 2 games immensely, both of which besides the incredibly immersive gameplay also feature some amazing art work and stage designs.

If I have to pick a game company to work for, Valve would be at the very top of my list.