Shortly after the release of the original mod, Wreden was contacted by William Pugh, a player who had experience in creating environments within the Source engine and had previously won a Saxxy Award for this work; Pugh offered to work with Wreden to work on more material together.[6][4] Though initially Wreden wanted to recreate the original game "beat for beat", his discussions with Pugh led to them deciding to alter existing material and add more, an "interpolation" of the original game, and creating a stand-alone title.[4] The game includes the six endings from the original, but provided in a new light of larger changes made to the remake.[4] Brighting remains the voice of the narrator in the remaster, as Wreden considers his voice "half the reason this game has been successful".