How Overcooked’s Kitchens Force You to Communicate

[@almondpotato9483]

I never understood why Gordon Ramsey was always yelling in the kitchen... until I played Overcooked.

[@cool-dx3df]

I want him to play this game

[@salsa9552]

WHERE IS THE LAMB SOUCE

[@paravalent7974]

PUT IT ON THE F**KING CONVEYOR

[@Shoe_e]

Dude, same.

[@Shoe_e]

cool 1 that would be so good

[@Igorcastrochucre]

Mark could you talk about the paradox most if not all game go through: "I got something good and useful and should save it, therefore it's never used."

[@Mathignihilcehk]

I think that has to do more with the player’s perspective than the game itself. It can happen in every game that features scarcity and consumable resources. In that environment players are prone to assume there will be a difficulty spike later, and thus they should store up consumables for then... If the consumables expire; on the other hand, that would force the player to change their perspective again. Now each consumable is losing its value the more you don’t use it.

[@Nazareadain]

That's what happens when you have a finite, non-regenerative resource. If you establish a clear pattern to acquiring more, it stops being an issue. Otherwise you have to communicate what's actually the end, when those games also have multi-form end-bosses. Dark souls made me completely paranoid since you can consume firekeeper souls for humanity, when the intended use is upgrading estus. Doesn't make you want to use anything when you have no idea there's a finite amount each playthrough, and they let you deny yourself permanent upgrades.

[@dopaminecloud]

what works in my opinion is making these resources not plentiful, and taking them away at clearly defined parts meaning you have to regather the first is obviously useful because if they are necessary to win you're gonna use them the second is useful because it greatly reduces the idea that you'll need them in a dangerous spot later this idea is a rip off from doom pistol starting where there's no longer a point in saving up bfg shots because you lose all weapons at each new level

[@FrostedSapling]

Too-Good-to-Use Syndrome

[@mjc0961]

Dopamine Cloud Your idea is pretty horrible for one reason: people won't know _when_ their stuff is going to be taken away the first time they play, and thus they'll _hate_ the game for taking away all those resources they saved up. Also, you do not lose all your weapons at each new level in Doom. You only lose them if you die. And let's be honest, most people are going to reload a save.

[@bdk336]

There's another small thing I've noticed in the level design. Pretty much every Overcooked level is unbalanced in terms of the distribution of work. One side of the kitchen almost always seems to have a bit more to do than the other side while the other side will often have the sink to wash dishes. So people tend to divert from their assigned areas trying to help others or get complacent and have dishes or lack of ingredients sneak up on them.

[@sk8erbyern]

that's an important and good observation. Game encourages you to abandon your post and help out your friend but that time windown between two sides of the level is way too specifically fine tuned. The amount of idle time on the light-load side of the level is barely below the window you need to help out the other side. You wanted to chop up some tomatoes while the burgers are cooking? Too bad burgers cook in 26 seconds and you need 30 secs to go chop up a tomato. This way game uses the risk factor to increase chaos and thus the need for communication.

[@bdk336]

Exactly what I was getting at. :)

[@popkiller5705]

Hahhahahaha its definitely not like this in real life ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ

[@alexalotl194]

communication? more like a massive shouting match lol

[@TerrorLTZ]

tom you cut jim you cook me and marcus deliver stuff from this point everyone ended screaming at each other after the 1st order

[@lucasrosario3395]

Like a true kitchen

[@Kwotzi]

"Okay, let's coordinate this now. We've got the salad, meat, tomatoes, and buns. I'll deliver and wash you'll do the meats, and you two will get the salad and tomatoes prepared. Let's go." _5 Minutes Later_ "WHAT THE FUCK ARE DOING" "NO, NOT THERE" "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO ALL THE PLATES"

[@ridhosamudro2199]

"There's a Gordon Ramsay in all of us."

[@Kntrytnt]

I can't even tell you how many times I yelled "Would *SOMEONE* chop these damn onions!"

[@latestnostalgia]

Amazing video as always, Mark. I work as a chef and though real life isn’t as hectic as a pirate ship, the level of communication needed in Overcooked is accurate. I’ve played it with both chefs and non-chefs and with my fellow chefs, we’re always more successful. We’re already used to acting within roles but also seeing what else there is to do and actually going back to what you were doing previously. Nothing ever prepares anyone for the rats though. Fuck the rats.

[@jcoliveira93]

I know, right?? F-ing rats cooking meals through human puppets just ruin the work relations

[@danielwareking]

Overcooked is so much fun in co op, it's absolutely brilliant. BUT The game gets absolutely batshit INSANE in singleplayer. I have never, EVER played a game that demanded this kind of mental multi-tasking. You get two chefs and you switch between them on the fly with the shoulder button. This means that if you're going to score well on the level, you have to do this as efficiently as humanly possible. So when you switch from one chef to the other, you have to ALWAYS make sure that your previous chef is left doing something--washing dishes, chopping, etc... The act of juggling all of this in your brain feels utterly impossible for the first couple hours but then you learn how to do it and it's just the craziest thing.

[@porkeyminch8044]

Sounds kinda like Portal 2 one player co-op speedruns. One player switching control between two characters. It's insane.

[@NinjarioPicmin]

Yes and i love it :D Since OC1 didnt have online mutliplayer i had to play it by myself and completing the game with every level having 3 stars was the hardest thing ever especially since some levels you literally had to be almost frame perfect

[@HomeofLawboy]

You tell me, sometimes when I play alone I can only succeed when I get in a kind of trans of some sort. The last game I played that could get me like that is literally called "Multitask".

[@Stratelier]

Try playing the PS2 game "The Adventures of Cookie & Cream" sometime. If you're playing solo, you still have to control two characters, but *simultaneously* (no swapping): Left stick moves left character, right stick moves right character, and so on. The mental gymnastics are real.

[@HairyAlpaca07]

@@Stratelier I've only played overcooked one, but you can setup the controls like that. I think it's intended for two people to use one controller but you could try doing it on your own.

[@onedeadsaint]

overcooked is a fantastic litmus test for relationships! you'll find out very quickly how each person handles stress and how well they communicate.

[@DatSn0w]

Good idea. I'm afraid me and my GF wont score that good... :D

[@afternoonkittea]

DatSn0w Me and my girlfriend love playing Overcoocked together but no matter how much we plan things out we will eventually descend into madness lol

[@onedeadsaint]

@@afternoonkittea sounds about right

[@onedeadsaint]

@@DatSn0w as long as you two have fun, that's what matters

[@calebmauer1751]

Yeah, sometimes it's not pretty. Playing three player with my friend and his girlfriend and they ended up designating me as the person in charge of doing all the coordinating because if they talked to each other they started shouting. And I've found out another friend can't handle stress at all and is terrible at training new people. After a while it's like dude just calm down or [other friend] is going to stop playing.

[@DarylTalksGames]

I think this is why I've always preferred the 2v2 and 3v1 mini-games in Mario Party. The "every man for himself" mentality is fun when its a 4-way, but the idea of having to coordinate with others to dethrone the guy with the highest score is a lot more interesting. Nice to see some multiplayer be covered on GMTK!

[@smitias_8474]

As a board games player, who quite often the one to get top score in all-for-themselves kinda games, such "dethroning" coalitions annoys me. Yet I understand their appeal - defeating someone collectively can be much more fun than winning individually.

[@KevinCow]

Another great recent example of this is Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. All the players work together to control a single spaceship, but that spaceship has more stations than there are players, so you can't have someone on all of them at once. The standard ship has guns pointed in each of the four main directions, a shield that can be pointed in any direction, a thruster to move the ship, and a super weapon that's always slowly rotating around the ship and can't be manually aimed, but if you activate it at the right time it can do tons of damage. So you all have to work together and communicate what you think the best layout for the current situation is and what you're going to do - otherwise you wind up with two people running for the same gun and nobody on the shield, or multiple people leaving their station to activate the super weapon. And this all goes extra when you don't have a full 4-player crew, because then you have to make harder decisions about who goes to which station, and everyone has to multitask. You might have to jump off the thrusters and run to the shield to point it towards a new threat, then run to a turret to take out another one, then go back to the thrusters, while your partner is running back and forth between two turrets and occasionally stopping by the super weapon. And on top of this, you pick up gems as you progress that change how your stations work. So if you get a Power Gem, you can use it on one turret to make it more powerful, or on the engines to move faster, or on the shield to give it more coverage. The gems aren't common, and they're randomized, so it's almost like playing a roguelike where you have to consult with other people on whether you should trade your weapon for the one that just dropped, or where you should allocate skill points. Plus it's just an utterly adorable game.

[@NagashSagan]

I was going to name Lovers... also, as those are my two favourite co-op games to play with my daughter-in-law

[@MenicaFolden]

Playing this with my boyfriend currently. It definitely has an Overcooked vibe.

[@ClaytonSayer]

We Need to go Deeper seems very similar to Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. You have a submarine that has more stations than there are players so you have very dynamic roles as the game progresses.

[@XCM666]

I agree, that is also a great lightweight co-op game. I played it with just two players and I have to say, I think it is more repetitive than Overcooked. There is not as much variety from level to level. The boss fights were nice though (and challenging). Also, I found it useful at most times for one player to simply remain at the shield, as there can be projectiles coming at you from all directions which you won't have time to react to if you're not already at the shield.

[@originalulix]

It's a bit older, but I also really liked Lara Croft & The Guardian of the light because you had to work and think together, with it's asymetrical moves. HaveNt played the sequel though. At it's time I regarded it as the best coop game.

[@thefatone4378]

0:37 Wrong, the biggest challenge is having friends.

[@0ctopusComp1etely]

I think you burned yourself so bad you might be... Overcooked. I'm not sorry.

[@nepunepu5894]

you should

[@halonick]

It's true T-T , I rarely have friends who are free to play multiplayer with. I'm not an anti-social creature, but most of my friends now are in uni and/or working adults. So the only time we can ever get together and play is during their summer breaks or during a weekend when everyone is free, which is like only once or twice every few months.. I resorted to playing solo just because I get fed up waiting for my friends to be free. Sad, I know :'(

[@Enigmalake]

Overcooked 2 has online co-op no?

[@felixroux]

you mean 0:30

[@CellVoid]

I'm a chef by trade, played this game with my line cook buddies, and everything fell apart every time. don't see how this is different from any normal day at work. 0/10, feels like my job

[@firebal6129]

XD

[@Lavitz2011]

Lol, best compliment this game could get :)

[@generalkitten2100]

i played overcooked 2 getting 3 or 4 stars on every level, then i became a chef and i was like "huh, this is literally just overcooked but in real life"

[@thegameneededme5]

Journey is the antithesis of this, since there's literally no in-game direct communication, but I loved how that game organically encouraged teamwork or a feeling of camaraderie regardless. Literally every time I played that game, anyone I ran into out in the world would stick around closeby or signal me over to a hidden collectible. Players wouldn't just venture off on their own, they wanted to work together. Maybe it comes down to the fact that people who'd normally grief other players aren't the demographic who'd buy a game where you wander around as a carpet, but I think there's credit to the design of the game, somehow, that players are encouraged to develop a bond to those they run into out in the world.

[@raymondv.m4230]

Sorry but journey has ZERO coop mechanics. While sharing experiences with other players is a core mechanic of the story. It does literally nothing to gameplay. They can't carry you, there's no progression system, and you can't directly help any players you meet. It's all just for fun and serves absolutely no purpose to the core mechanics. Also, I'm pretty sure it's impossible to grief people in Journey. What can you do? Yell beautiful song notes at them? Not activate bridges? You can't trap players, kill them, or stop their progression in anyway. You can't interact or manipulate others, all you can do is be playful; that's literally your only power. I doubt the most toxic gamer in the world could find a way to grief players in this game. In the worst event possible you just walk away and you'll be disconnected from them anyway.

[@thegameneededme5]

I never said you could grief people. I was saying that the audience playing it seems more inclined to want to try to communicate in the ways the game allows and stay together, rather than go off on their own and that people who'd be opposed to trying to help someone don't seem like the target demographic. And I disagree with you completely on it not affecting gameplay at all. I think that's empirically wrong. Other players can signal you over to one of the hidden orb/glowey bits, which after collecting allows you to fly longer...which literally affects one of the core game mechanics. This happened to me in every instance I played the game. Either I signaled someone over to something they were missing and they came back and got it, or vice versa.

[@zig-o-matic]

Hey Mark! Nice video as always. One more thing that Overcooked does super well is actually allowing a 5th player to join the game without even needing a controller. My friends and I often like to have one player contribute to the game by being "the manager" and helping players figure out what they should do. I think that's a very unique aspect of the game. Cheers!

[@Long1Shot]

Jean-François Caissie Oh wow I never thought of that! That’s actually a really good idea, I’m gonna use this next time

[@alangregoryvitek]

This is a fascinating observation. Have you ever noticed when playing games with people that it's often easier to see solutions when you AREN'T the one playing? It's like the player gets so focused on the micro that they can't always see the macro. I've never tried Overcooked with a 5th player, but now I really want to! Great insight!

[@Ceb773]

I've never yelled more at my friends than when playing this game Protip: play 2 player mode and have a third friend there shouting what orders need to be made next and how many of each ingredient you need.

[@ffarchduke]

"Recently" *shows mario galaxy*

[@GMTK]

I forget how time works sometimes

[@jimmymullen6253]

Let's be fair, 2P Cappy in Mario Odyssey is not dissimilar (Though, admittedly, not as good.)

[@Nazareadain]

nintendo is a few decades old, and everything's relative.

[@mightyNosewings]

Strictly speaking, Nintendo has been around since the late 1800s.

[@henryrichard7619]

Realizing how old that game is makes me cry.

[@Yuhara_rev]

But mark, I really cant say all my friends suddenly becoming gordon ramsay is "communication"

[@Oridan1]

Played It with 5 people: 4 players and 1 coach. Super fun game but can also be really stessful at times

[@ZincAddict]

Oridan1 That sounds amazing... and as you said, stressful as heck

[@doremiancleff1508]

Aka Gordon Ramsay and foken donkeys.

[@BudgieInWA]

Like the tabletop game Space Cadets: Dice Duels, if you have enough players for 4 per team, the fourth player is the "Captain" who has no role other than watching and talking.

[@NinjarioPicmin]

oh my gosh in my group i am kind of like the "coach" i would say but i am also playing i think i would get 1337 heart attacks if i only coached and couldnt do anything myself xD

[@TheWolfgangGrimmer]

My 4-man team just had one the best player be the coach... well, it wasn't really a decision, it just happened. Turns out his strategizing skills are far superior to what I figured.

[@superlol178]

Dear Mark Brown, great video as always... I know you probably already have millions of other topics that you want to talk about in your videos, but I still would like to suggest this one because I really think it is a topic worth discussing. In the game Marvel’s Spider-man when you complete 100% of it, you have nothing better to do besides playing the same missions, stopping random crimes and trying to beat your own high scores(at least until DLC comes out). And that got me thinking…this was problem I had with Spider-man 2 more than 10 years ago, I still wanted to keep playing the game but I had no interesting reasons to stick around . So asked myself…Can Single Player games do better to keep the players around after they finished the game?? Since some people often complain about Single Player games not being worth as much as Multiplayer games, I think it is important to discuss some ideas that other games uses to keep the players around for longer and also more reasons for them to come back later. Some ideas I’ve found so far: -Rayman Legend’s challenge mode that keeps changing daily, weekly and monthly. -Bloodborn’s randomized chalice dungeons. -Mario Odyssey’s balloon mode that lets players create their own challenges for each other.(which I think is something that Marvel’s Spider-man could really use(not just because of Spider-man being used to getting balloons)) -Arkham Knight’s letting the Man-bat loose on every Halloween day, while not a big deal it opens the door for extra story events related to real date events. -Many indie games that uses story and mysteries to keep the community guessing and discussing until their next game comes out. And some other stuff like High Scores, infinite new game + with extra content, and even trophies and achievements. I don't know, I think this is a fun topic that can help developers of single player games everywhere to improve their games a little.

[@thackeryscroggins9947]

Hue Hue id love to see some discussion on this as well

[@drGeppo]

And of course roguelikes.. I bought Enter the Gungeon more than one year ago, and yet it's the one game I keep playing almost every day

[@Rogther]

You can always speed run the game if you want more out of it

[@ihatealexander]

Seems like you put a lot of thought into this. Why not make the video yourself?

[@superlol178]

drgeppo Yeah, I love rouguelikes, and that why I suggested Bloodborn’s randomized chalice dungeons...while the game itself is basically the same even on new game +, the chalice dungeons ofers a different kind of challenges every time.

[@cheesecakelasagna]

My utmost respect for those dedicated chefs even amidst difficult ungodly kitchens. They deserve more pay.

[@SAHanson]

This is one of those topics where video games seem to have started learning from board games as this is something that has been very prominent in cardboard games for quite some time. If you play something like Dead of Winter or Pandemic everybody will always be talking about what to do and how to do it during every turn. It doesn't just slip into routine (in a good game) and has people agonising over decisions. I think part of the reason this hasn't been a huge thing in video games before is that devs have tended to view the problem as "How can multiple players make the game better?" rather than "How can a multiplayer mode help friends interact?" when the latter is really what somebody wants when they play a co-op game. They want to find a better way to spend time with somebody with whom they already have a good time with, and shooting a load of aliens quietly together really isn't that.

[@meganr9102]

Well said; my family loves both overcooked and pandemic, but somehow I missed that we liked them for the same reasons!

[@Kithara1117]

One of my experiences with Pandemic, though, is that one or two players often become the leader. That's fine, but with a board game, it's almost as if that is the only person playing at all if they are dictating everything. This doesn't happen with overcooked, because even if someone is clearly the leader calling the shots, they rely on others for execution.

[@SAHanson]

Yeah, table captains are a problem and making things real-time and hectic a la Overcooked is a good solution to that. The other main solution I've seen is adding in some small asymmetry with private goals so that people not only want to do what's good for the table but also what's good for themselves which might be in opposition to what's good for the table. Private information is also good for this like in Hanabi so that nobody knows if anybody else is playing optimally because nobody has all the information.

[@Kithara1117]

Stephanie Annemie Hanson Yes, that works really well! I do that in RPGs I GM for all the time and it helps a lot. I've definitely been guilty of being a table captain myself so I understand the tendency, and so I've always tried to make games I run have distinct goals for every player.

[@timothymclean]

I'd argue that the reason most co-op games don't require teamwork isn't that they're symmetrical. I'd argue instead that those games were designed as single-player games first, with co-op mechanics being superficially inserted. Teamwork wasn't built into the game, ergo it's unneeded. RER2, KTaNE, and Overcooked have teamwork built into their core gameplay loops; RE5, Super Mario Galaxy, and Contra do not. That's why both symmetrical RE5 and asymmetrical SMG work in single-player (and don't change much in co-op), while both symmetrical Overcooked and asymmetrical KTaNE are great in co-op but don't really work in single-player.

[@munfurai8083]

What's RER2 and KTaNE?

[@alifoton]

i guess resident evil revelations 2 and keep talking and nobody explode

[@thpion]

But how do games like Overcooked build teamwork into their core gameplay loop? By making the game asymetric in some way.

[@alwaysfallingshort]

I just gotta say, as a disabled person, it's super cool to see wheelchairs! That stuff means more than people want to believe. I never saw myself in videogames growing up.

[@otterpus]

I think that's one of those things where people just need to be exposed to the idea, and internalize how important representation is. Unfortunately some people fall through the cracks, but when it makes sense to implement diversity in games it should absolutely be pushed to the limit of what the developers can handle - after all, games are for everybody. My goal is to make indie games that are as inclusive as possible - I worry I might miss stuff like this, because I merely do not interact with many people who use wheelchairs, so it's not on my mind. Thank you for posting and making yourself visible.

[@Jamato-sUn]

You start one of Wolfensteins by fighting nazis in a wheelchair. It is amazing badass.

[@ClannadLastStory]

Sadly the only game so far that I played with a character in a wheelchair was FFTA. It would be nice to see other representations of differents situations like that.

[@ShaunDreclin]

On a related note (to diversity in player characters), I love when games have furry/animal characters as an option. I've played through some mediocre games just because they had animal protagonists! Haters gonna hate ofc, but it's something to consider if you're really committed to "games are for everyone" as a philosophy.

[@allan8586]

@@ShaunDreclin Not at all the same thing. Stop coopting real social issues so that you can "play pretend" as a disenfranchised group.

[@ltcmdrtobyfox3969]

As someone who works in the hospitality industry, this game is the most accurate depiction of what it feels like to work in a kitchen.

[@avereynakama9854]

My partner and I love the Overcooked games. The first was utter chaos, but we got through the second with more ease. Another game we liked was the Wii U game, Affordable Space Adventures where you pilot a little space ship through a hostile alien planet. Technically, you can do it all with one player, but he preferred watching the Wii U pad to adjust the ship's functions (switching from smooth electric power to rickety gas power, watching how much noise we made, etc.) while I steered the ship and solved the puzzles. Gave me a ton of anxiety going through, but glad we played.

[@starsystemerror]

affordable space adventures is SO good for co-op. i really bonded with my sister a lot with her as the gamepad and me navigating through the levels. we had to always be talking about what each other needed to do, and it was a really neat experience.

[@NinjarioPicmin]

is that game only for wii U ? it sounds really interesting and like a game i would like

[@noodian3268]

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is such a great game! I've played it with a friend for the last two weeks or so, and it really makes you feel like you're some professionals defusing a bomb. Oh, and only one player really needs a copy of the game, which is a nice touch too.

[@Stratelier]

It's also a surprise to see it get a non-VR console release, but it fits rather well on the Switch (since it's played in handheld mode).

[@DisKorruptd]

I will say that he made a good point with how eventually you stop needing the communication, I eventually learned the simon says stuff to the point that I completed that while telling the people with the manuals about other parts of the bomb, same with certain buttons,

[@LeonardGMN]

For me, this is THE best co-op game I know. Its always fun, its always a chaotic mess in the end and I think its the best game to play with youre non-gamer (maybe future) girlfriend, since the game is much more focused on communitation instead of skill level. In most co-op games my girlfriend feels discouraged because trough my experience in gaming I do 90% of the work while she is struggeling most of the time. Not with Overcooked. In Overcooked she feels much more even to me, and thats much more fun for both of us.

[@XCM666]

Another thing to love about Overcooked is its simplicity. It's the perfect game for me to play with my girlfriend, who is not really into gaming. She struggles with games that have more challenging controls, but this one is basically one control stick and two buttons (I honestly discovered the dash at about 90% completion). We need more family friendly lightweight co-op games like this, that build upon communication.

[@ThePCguy17]

STOP DRIVING THE BUS TO THE EDGE OF THE MAP, DAMNIT!

[@Fox_RZK]

Another thing Overcooked offers is allowing extra players to join in during sessions as a "Backseat Gamer" in order to increase the amount of communication in a dynamic way during gameplay. In order to finish the stage, players would have to reach an agreement on things like "Who should cut the tomatoes", "Why are you making your little brother wash the dishes", "Why can't James ever get his fat ass out of the way" and "You still owe me 5 dollars that one time at Chick-fil-A", allowing players to further adjust the difficulty of the game.

[@gamedirection_us]

Having been a cook throughout early college and high school I learned how difficult it is to keep on your tickets during rush hour. So I find this game a PTSD of my restaurant years lol. It is so accurate to the kitchen communication that goes on with 3 other cooks its gives me chills. This is truly a Cook Communication Simulator... and I think every team of cooks should play this to learn how to communicate and the importance of doing so.

[@themagicpencilanimations192]

One thing I’ve found makes good coop is having the two players control one thing. In octodad, you don’t control two octopuses, you each control part of one. So one person is the legs while the other is the arms. This means to complete complex actions you have to communicate and work together. Another example would be regular human basketball. Each player is assigned to a team, and each team works together to operate a basketball robot. One person might move the arm while another drives, and a third managed shooting or the thruster. what’s especially fun is you’re not confined to your robot. So you can jump out and get in the other teams robot, use their controls to sabotage them, and they have to use a special item to kick you out. It’s great.

[@AntonioRandolfi]

I want another video where you talk about co-op games, i absolutely love them

[@otakufreak40]

Communicating? As in with other people? That sounds *horrifying*

[@tibethatguy]

Millenials...

[@thekingoffailure9967]

You communicate... for FUN?????

[@YohnTheViking]

Interestingly there is also a pretty good board game version of this concept: Kitchen Rush. It is a real-time board game where the main mechanic is worker placement. For those of you not in the board game sphere a worker placement game means your playing pieces are worker that do something at whatever location you put them down on. Now, normally placing that worker down is static until the end of the round, blocking that action for other players, but in Kitchen Rush your workers are sand timers. The game is played over three timed rounds, where the goal is to get a certain amount of money, points, and meals served after the final round. Every player has two sand timers, and there are up to two extra sand timers that can be used by anyone. You put a sand timer down and do the action on the space, but you are not allowed to remove it until the sand runs out. The timer is roughly 30 seconds, but none of them are uniform as a deliberate design choice to force you to intuit through play roughly how long your current sand timers take. The game is full of rather clever details that forces you to discuss plans in-between rounds, only to see that you forgot about this one little thing meaning everyone is yelling for someone to do the dishes, be done with the damned spice bag already, and get to the store for the pasta...no not in that storage that means I have to go into the other one as well. Oh, and we shouldn't forget to buy those upgrades to the kitchen. What do you mean we don't have enough money to pay all the workers and are down a couple of hourglasses for the next round? A downside is that the rules explanation is rather critical, as a rules question in the middle of a timed round is going to mess things up badly. And the sand timers working properly is kinda crucial, but I had two broken ones that quickly were replaced by the games publisher so they were cool about that.

[@SirMalorak]

I played Overcooked for the first time 2 days ago. It was the most fun, most stressful game I've played in a while heh.

[@munfurai8083]

We need more co-op games like Overcooked that forces both players to pull their weight and communicate to do so

[@FloatingSunfish]

It's pretty funny to think that one of the best co-op games is one where cooperating is the challenge. 😅

[@IntoxicatedPig]

I truly enjoy this series! Not only does it provide amazing points on game design, but it introduces me to games I never would have thought of picking up without being made aware of the articulate design put into each of them.

[@sineadthomas2024]

‘No one is the designated dish washer’ 1. Sometimes there is 2. When there is, it’s the best role because it’s easy, and no ones shouting at you

[@satunbreeze]

Imagine if an update made the food fall off the plate when you run/turn quickly

[@weesalikesmilktea4829]

This is why one of the best ways to tell how good a relationship with someone is is to play a co-op game together

[@The420033]

Judging by this i am destined to die alone

[@nodmusic7293]

Another example i used to love was the lantern run mode in insanely twisted shadow planet. It starts off more symmetrical as you all have to hold and look after your own lantern through the world; but as the challenges ramp up you have to work together to make sure you save the lanterns and pick ups will change the dynamic of your roles. Then (almost) inevitably you start to love lanterns so you end up protecting just one and working as hard as you can to keep it safe.

[@xystem4701]

Damn do I love Overcooked. The majority of my gaming library is made of party games, which supplies my small group of friends with fun whenever we meet up. It’s great watching such amazing commentary on that type of game, which I feel is often way too overlooked! From Duck Game and Towerfall to Invisigun Heroes and Ultimate Chicken Horse, party games are a beautiful beast all of their own.

[@MorphcatGames]

Thank you so much for recommending our NES homebrew "making of" video. That was a sweet surprise. We love your channel!

[@matthewthompson555]

Overcooked has been the most rewarding AND frustrating gaming experience. I love it to death.

[@tay590]

Truly one of the most viscerally enjoyable games that I've played in YEARS. And the best part is that I've played it with so many different types of gamers, and they all love it! Great video!

[@sub7se7en]

A friend and I were able to play overcooked without too much verbal communication. we'd say a few words in the beginning or if we were shifting a plan when retrying, but we were able to adapt and adjust to level layout changes and new demands without much, if any, talking. Someone usually takes initiative to do something and that informs the other of what they need to do.

[@brancosousa87]

Mark you should do a video on "Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine" love that game great co-op!

[@Sir_Duckyweather]

Hear, hear!

[@yoshimajestic1666]

The local multiplayer genre is really good to look at when it comes to innovation. For example you have ScreenCheat which is a split screen shooter where everyone is invisible so you have to "screen cheat" to locate and kill other players. Or Crawl which is a dungeon crawler where players either play as the hero trying to escape the dungeon or the ghosts and monsters trying to kill the hero. The player who makes the killing blow on the hero becomes the hero and the cycle continues (at the end of the game the 3 players who aren't the hero control the boss character at the same time which is really fun). Extreme Exorcism is another great one which is a little hard to explain but I recommend looking it up. I think the local multiplayer genre has potential for a GMTK episode.

[@Tekar0]

When you described ScreenCheat I had to think of Invisigun Heroes. Also a shooter where everyone is invisible, but it is top down with only one view and players reveal their location when they shoot or bump into stuff (remember, you can also not see yourself). I recommend you check it it.

[@mario101395]

I am super glad that you talked about Overcooked! I think it is easily one of the best designed games I have played in a long time. My mom and I have been playing them and right now we are on new game+ for overcooked 2, getting the 4 stars on each level is super rewarding due to how much communication is needed.

[@wraithg8898]

Great Video! I love how these encourage me to to analyze games in different ways. Another example of a co-op shooter occurs in Destiny 2s endgame raids. They can't be beaten without good communication and delineation of roles across 6 players.

[@SuperAwsomNinjaSquad]

When my friends and I play overcooked we turn it into a 5 player co-op game. Four cooks and the fifth player keeps tracks of order shouts them out and keeps the cooks operating in their rolls. its super fun. we even come up with fun nicknames for different dishes based on the ingredients.

[@aidanwansbrough7495]

Really interesting! It's always interesting to see how much detail goes into every little bit of games, love your videos!!

[@hjghjgjhhjkhklk2683]

my little brother showed me this video last year, which led me to buy the game on my birthday. it was the best choice ever :) just today me and my siblings finished the final level of overcooked 2, and it was such great fun. thank you for making these videos!

[@RonWolfHowl]

Dude. You, like, single-handedly inform my purchasing decisions. WTF, why are you so good at making video games seem appealing!?

[@alexanders4293]

overcooked is a game my family has played together for a while and it honestly made our communication with each other better.

[@MeFromthePastNow]

I totally agree on Overcooked! Ive watched quite a bit of it on Twitch and it's so fun to see the roles disrupted by chaos when groups of ppl play

[@turkturkleton8893]

"Every game is improved with the addition of a friend". Have you heard of Battletoads ?

[@DOSRetroGamer]

Thank you so much. This video helped me design one of the key original features (actually the only original feature so far, lol) of my coop mech game.

[@TheSweBoo]

First time watcing you, fantastic video. Overcooked 1 and 2 are two of the most well made couch co-op games ever made

[@empty5013]

Helldivers has some outstanding mechanics that do a lot of these things you're talking about. For example, some enemies require anti-tank equipment to damage, meaning you need specialised anti-tank soldiers in your squad, but then those soldiers can't carry other useful tools like minesweepers or medical gear. A soldier can pilot a large mech in order to deal loads of damage and be a great damage sponge, but he requires supports from the more mobile remainder of the squad as he can no longer perform objectives, turn to face enemies behind him quickly, and he has to worry about stepping on his friends. Alternatively you can use support abilities like calling in anti-tank weapons on the fly that anyone uses, or even using heavy weapons where it's 10x faster to reload with a friend helping you than it is to perform the reload alone, and lets not even get into the genius calldown system. Lots of genius mechanics in that game that highly encourage teamplay and communication, but also give you lots of ways to mess up and recover, leading to really interesting and teamwork heavy gameplay. I'd like to see you cover it at some point.

[@SuperRitz44]

A great example of a coordinated and also competetive multiplayer couch game is Crawl. I play it often with my friends alongside Overcooked

[@Matsokune]

Man oh man Mark, I love seeing this talked about. Perhaps there could be a sort of mini-series at some point about the nuances of good and bad multiplayer?

[@2020_Gaming]

YO new GMTK! Love these videos Mark, hope there's many more to come!

[@Daniel-Rosa.]

Oh gosh, it was so well illustraded that you taught me about *teamwork itself,* Mark!

[@ThunderRazorYT]

So I actually play this game as 5 players. 4 people on controls and 1 person playing as the line chef announcing orders and directing the kitchen staff. It really shows how brilliant this game is that someone can play the game with no controller whatsoever. Love it!

[@ShizukanaEntertainment]

Don't forget PixelJunk Monsters; one player picks what kind of turret the tree shall be and the other player upgrades/dances around the tower/tree. Great game, but also great video right there!

[@JairusC]

Unlisted but I made it through. JUST WANTED TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOU YOUR WORK IS PHENOMENAL AND I LOVE IT IMMENSELY

[@ThatVlogGuy]

absolutely one of my favourite games ive played, so much chaos and shouting

[@Kitsune_Dev]

It’s the worst, communicating with another Human

[@beefkat5370]

Absolutely love Overcooked. Me and my wife have spent many a night playing the two games. And this video nails why it's so good. For a similar game, I recommend "Lovers in a Dangerous Space-Time" It falls into the "find your role and stay there" trappings, but there are times where needing to run around and diversify is necessary and lots of chaotic fun. I just wish it was more demanding of it, like Overcooked.

[@Tekar0]

It's the washing up, definitely. Every time we hatch a plan and try to stick to it, it is the washing up that makes it all go awry. This is because, as you mentioned but in other words, this activity is 'out of phase' with the other activities. It makes it so you can never get into repeating loops.

[@gennarw1]

Great video as always. FYI aside from the specific levels referenced I believe the majority of the footage is of Overcooked 2 rather than the game in question.

[@HumbleBovine]

Mark Brown is a fan of Lindsay Ellis. I can die happy now. Also, I just bought Overcooked last month and it's been an absolute joy to play with my friends. I'm especially glad I got it on the Switch so I can just prop up the screen and play with a buddy anywhere.

[@EqualityEarth]

This is one if those channels which tells me about games I've never heard of but should totally add to my playlist. What a wonderful looking multiplayer game :D It reminds me of Mario Party mini-games. This channel is how I heard about the Team Ico series, for which I'm indebted.

[@deandix5654]

overcooked (and the sequel) have long been one of my favorite games to bust out when i'm hanging out with friends if i want the night to devolve into culinary chaos and frantic fun. a great addition to any game library, but especially on the switch!

[@TheEastCheese]

I would like to see more multiplayer stuff talked about Mark :) really like this one.

[@genghiskhan8782]

*Analyzing a game about failing to cook and screaming at your friends*

[@tomfillot5453]

I'd like to mention the Archon mode in StarCraft, another form of cooperation. The two players share the control of the same population, which is a very symetrical cooperation, but also serve as a good way to have a player with lower skill to still have loads of fun with the game.

[@lightyagami77777]

When my niece and I played Overcooked 2, there was a level that taught you to make hotdogs, so the level timer didn't start until you delivered the tutorial order. We realized that there was nothing stopping us from making a dumb number of hotdogs ahead of time, so we absolutely wrecked the entire kitchen with hotdogs. We filled it so full that it was difficult to move around. We didn't just cover the entire counter, we started covering the floor with them too. It was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever done in a game, and it worked. Once we delivered that first order, we didn't have to cook anything the entire time. We got that level first try. I will never forget that day.

[@cloudbroken]

My wife and I loved RE Revelations 2 for the asymmetric co-op and played it through together non-stop. After seeing it in this video I kept an eye out for Overcooked, then finally picked it up last week on sale for $5 with DLC. My wife loves it and we've been 3 starring every level as we went! Definitely looks like Overcooked 2 is going to be a near future purchase.

[@CucumbersSC]

Makes me think of the steam game Storage Inc. It's a weird little indie game about driving forklifts in a warehouse, with exactly this type of level design driven co-op for symmetrical players. It's a very simple game but there are some simple details that just makes it wonderful as a co-op game! Warmly recommend it if you and one to three friends want to be very stressed about boxes.

[@parkour_tnt1331]

6:40 Game Maker's Toolkit: "No one is the dedicated plate washer" Me: I wish that was true... Just tomorrow I played a few levels with my brothers, some of the levels I was the one who took care of the plates (not always though). There was a level where I was only focusing on washing the plates and delivering the meals too.

[@talkinggibberish]

What I like about the dishes is that its something that can usually be put off, for a while. The first 4 or so dishes can be served without needing to wash any dishes, so it will often be forgotten about until suddenly you realize that nobody started washing them.

[@travishayes6037]

I bought overcooked! 2 after watching this video about 2 weeks ago. Love the game.

[@stanettiels7367]

OC is an amazing game. My girlfriend, who’s not really into games, loved playing co-op on this with me. So much fun and chaos.

[@ryke-raptor]

Hey Mark! Super video! Thinking of co-op in terms of 'patterns' helps parse why so many fail to stay exciting in the long term. A lot of your videos come from positive perspectives. Speaking of patterns, have you considered about approaching games from a negative perspective? Asking 'what failed' in games that have strong components but don't "feel right" would be pretty informative. I'd like to offer Twin Sector as an example of such a game!

[@Kelsdoggy]

Wow! What a great summary and analysis. Brilliant video. Keep them up.

[@arandomperson3040]

Honestly this is why I love overcooked, Yes it can get very very frustrating, single player, playing with friends, very very frustrating, But before I played overcooked I used to be a a**hole 12 year old full of just rage and anger, (it wasn’t good on my blood pressure ;-;) That never interacted with others, but my cousins, introduced me to overcooked, I learned to communicate I finally learned that staying calm helps a lot and I learned how to understand and interact with others, (It took around a month or half for me to finally learn to control my anger 💀) So not only is overcooked a fun challenge sometimes stressful, but I learned to interact with others, (Thx to the creators of overcooked for the amazing game :] )

[@Divus90]

Huge props for "Mark recommends" at the end of your videos. And this is from perspective of someone who's only a consumer of this content ;)

[@mrbastos]

I adore this game, my wife and I had a blast playing it and it is simple enough where she wasn't intimidated to try it out but tough enough for both of us that is was challenging. We had to think of new strategies and it was lots of fun.

[@jamic6107]

Another great example of asymetric coop is Rayman Legends on Wii U, where one player uses classic controls for Rayman on the TV while the other helps the first player by using the gamepad tactile screen to interact with the game's world.

[@PyromanicNytemair]

"Because no one is the dedicated plate washer" am i some sort of joke to you

[@aye-siwmae6546]

I wonder what you would have tought of The Gorge event from Don't Starve Together... It's gone now, as it was a temporary event, but would have been fun to see you dissect it. It was VERY similar to this game, buth a much larger map.

[@cagevick]

Aye-Siwmae thing is with the Gorge, once it was dissected, a formula could be made to complete runs flawlessly tbh. It was still really fun tho

[@qassimuk]

Portal 2's asymmetrical co-op was always quite interesting, I think. The tools they provide you to be able to communicate even if you can't do it via voice or text were quite effective, I found.

[@DylBro101]

You should talk about lovers in a space time or whatever it was called because that’s also a big thing of talking things through for roles. Best played 2 or 3 players so people have to switch it up just enough

[@Sir_Duckyweather]

For more asymmetrical co-op games, check out Clandestine and Blind Faith. In Clandestine, one player is a spy doing spy things, while the other is a hacker providing assistance with surveillance and other tech-based abilities. Blind Faith, while more of a short proof-of-concept than a full-fledged game, plays out with a blind oracle and a deaf soldier as the players. The handicaps in Blind Faith force you to rely on each other to overcome obstacles.

[@Seinkal]

We were here too is an awesome (but a little short) game where you have to comunicate with your partner :D awesome video as always!!

[@tarquinnff3]

Looks awesome. Thanks for bringing this game to my attention.

[@Caliboyjosh10]

thank you for explaining why this game is and keep talking nobody explodes are true co op games and other's feel just adding another player to tag along is "co op"