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TIGSource ForumsCommunityDevLogsOVERCOOKED! - Couch Co-op Cook 'em up
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Author Topic: OVERCOOKED! - Couch Co-op Cook 'em up  (Read 49761 times)
ThilDuncan
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« on: March 16, 2015, 07:00:18 AM »


Hello! My name’s Phil, I used to work as a designer for Frontier Developments but I’ve recently decided to take the plunge and start an indie studio with my friend Oli

Our first game is called Overcooked! It’s a 4 player cooking game with an emphasis on co-operation which we're hoping to release this year and... well we hope you like it!! : )

Here's a link to our Steam page:

and our announce trailer:




Overview
We love local multiplayer, we were raised on games like Golden Axe, Chu-chu rocket, Lylat Wars, Micro machines and of course Mario Kart. Nothing compares to the joy of you and three friends crowded round the same screen screaming at each other and generally laughing your heads off.

While most multiplayer games focus on competition, Overcooked is all about co-operation. The basic idea is that you are 4 chefs working in various different kitchens, working together to deliver recipes which come in from the hungry customers hordes in the restaurant beyond.

       

Gameplay
Orders come in which describe the ingredients and the preparation steps required to deliver them. All players must then work together to fulfill these required steps and deliver the meal before the customers storm out in a huff. Sounds simple right? Not quite...

The beauty of the game comes from the co-ordination required by the team playing. As more and more orders pile in, players must communicate quickly and clearly to decide which pots need what ingredients, who will chop up the ingredients, who will wash the dishes, who will deliver the freshly plated-up meal etc. etc. on top of this the chefs will need to compete with a barrage of obstacles which seeks to disrupt their endeavours: rats stealing food, fires spreading across counter tops, earthquakes tearing apart your kitchen and much more!

Each level will introduce a brand-new layouts and new mechanics which require players to rethink their strategies. We’re really keen to explore the different ways that players co-operate, forcing them to communicate outside of the game, either politely or more-often-than-not by screaming at one another!

That's just a basic overview, we'll have more of the nitty gritty details to follow shortly. We’re building the game in Unity, art and animation is being created in Maya and we're currently using Typhoo teabags in our brews!

« Last Edit: October 27, 2016, 01:58:48 AM by ThilDuncan » Logged

oldblood
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« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2015, 07:04:34 AM »

I enjoy the muppet-like quality of the characters. Looking forward to seeing this all in action.
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Fenrir
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« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2015, 07:20:59 AM »

I really like the concept, it's full of potential!

No plan at all for a competitive mode? Something for instance online with 2 teams of 4 players? Or even local with a 2vs2?
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ThilDuncan
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« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2015, 07:36:50 AM »

@oldblood - Thanks, can't wait to show more :-)

@Fenrir - We are trying out a number of competitive multiplayer modes, and will definitely include them if we find something that works :-)
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Mya
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« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2015, 03:24:06 AM »

YES.

p.s. needs more roller-coasters.
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Osteel
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« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2015, 05:09:55 AM »

This is such an awesome idea. I immediately texted my wife (who is also a chef) to tell her about this. Can't wait to see where this goes!
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OliDe-Vine
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« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2015, 05:54:12 AM »

Thanks! Good to hear people are interested Smiley

We'll both post our more dev-facing updates here and if you're interested in connecting with us on the wider web you can also follow us on twitter or follow our facebook
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ryansumo
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« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2015, 06:54:09 AM »

This definitely looks charming, and the art is promising!  Are you bringing this to mobile?  I remember thinking theres a lack of solid multiplayer games on mobile due to the nature of the F2P market.  "King of Opera" was the only one that I really liked.  It's not really the same kind of game, but maybe you can check it out for ideas.
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OliDe-Vine
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« Reply #8 on: March 17, 2015, 08:59:12 AM »

@ryansumo at the moment we're building on pc, but we're open to other platforms.

I definitely agree that there aren't enough good coop experiences on mobile (though big shout out to space team, space team is awesome). I'd not heard of King of Opera though, looks like it's an interesting reference for us  if we were to try and make a mobile\touchscreen title (thanks for that!).
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Ishi
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« Reply #9 on: March 17, 2015, 11:57:04 AM »

Bagsy the top-right girly chef!
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ephoete
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« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2015, 10:15:48 AM »

Good chara-design and concept, kinda reinventing the genre that's interesting. When would be the first footage available? demo?
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ThilDuncan
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« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2015, 07:11:56 AM »

We touched on the cooperative elements of the game in the past. There is one particular trapping we were keen to avoid which many coop games fall foul of:

I'm going to call it: First to fun- Most people will have played a 4p RPG where all characters are racing through each level because the first player to encounter an enemy is the most likely to soup up the loot/XP. Or a 4p FPS where players are storming to find the next enemy/encounter because, well that's where the fun is!

We want to make a game where it isn't the fastest player or even the most skilled player who drives the gameplay. The team has to truly work together or they simply won't be able to succeed.

Here's a really simple example to explain one of the key principles at work:

Players receive an order which requires them to take 2 onions, chop them up, put them on a plate then deliver them at the pass (For simplicities sake I've skipped any cooking steps)

The time it would take 1 player to perform all these actions is longer than the time limit we give them to deliver the meal and therefore players need to divide up the tasks between themselves to deliver the meal in the most optimal way possible.
(2 players can pick up and chop the 2 onions at the same time while a third brings the plate to them so they can plate up as soon as they've finished chopping)


As more orders come in and timers overlap players will need to dovetail their tasks to stay on top of the work load.
(While the 3rd player is delivering the plate, the other two can be prepping tomatoes for the next order, while a fourth cleans a returned plate in the sink Ready for the next order etc.)

Environment also plays apart in how we guide players towards cooperation. 1 player may need to take a circuitous route to deliver a plate, where 2 players could more than half the travel time by simply passing the plate over the work top:


These very basic principles allow us to create all manner of different scenarios which players must react to and cooperate in different ways to overcome.

That's it, just wanted to touch on some of the basics at work so u can all get an idea of what we're building on :-)
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ThilDuncan
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« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2015, 12:12:48 PM »

Also, here are some of our experiments for when food catches fire. We're going for something a bit more painterly than photo-realistic. Not sure which one's I'm favouring at the moment... maybe the far left...what do you think?

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Ishi
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« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2015, 12:13:12 PM »

Is there a finite number of plates stacked somewhere that makes cleaning them a necessity? Or is doing dishes mostly required just to prevent the dirty plates from building up?
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ThilDuncan
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« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2015, 12:23:06 PM »

@Ishi There are a finite number of plates. After you serve up a meal you get a dirty plate delivered back to the kitchen which you then need to clean in order to serve up another meal on it. It's just one more way that we keep the player on their toes and make sure there's plenty of different tasks for them to divide up between themselves ;-)
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ThilDuncan
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« Reply #15 on: April 16, 2015, 01:03:12 AM »

Apologies for the radio silence we were busy putting together a build for the Norwich Games Festival last week.
Here's a run down of some of the cool new features which have gone in:

Converted the game to using Unity's new(ish) GUI system. Bit of a headache moving it all across but we now have a system which allows us to communicate more complicated recipes:


In this example the player has to 1. Add the onion, tomato and mushroom to a pot before serving and 2. Fry the burger patty before combining it with the bun, lettuce, cheese and tomato to serve. We're still playing with how complicated we want to make the recipes but this new system allows us a lot more flexibility.

What else...Pans can now burst into flames if left on the hob for too long! (and we have a handy dandy fire extinguisher at the ready for when they do!):


We've replaced our generic food items with new models to reflect what the player is actually creating. For all our vegetarian players there is now a salad option!:


We also made lots of other cosmetic changes and have started work on some of the more exotic locations.. more on those later. This week we've been looking at new gameplay elements which will make the levels more diverse as the players progress [Spoilers: we're currently working on Yo-Sushi style conveyor belts!]

Oli will fill you guys in on our experience at our first expo soon! Let us know what you all think! I'm going to go eat some cheese!

P.
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Fenrir
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« Reply #16 on: April 16, 2015, 01:11:29 AM »

Oh yeah make a food truck guys (moving between orders)! Smiley Or other environmental disturbances on some levels like in a boat for instance!
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ThilDuncan
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« Reply #17 on: April 16, 2015, 01:52:59 AM »

@Fenrir - Definitely Smiley We've been obsessed with Food Trucks for ages, thinking about getting some kind of cross country journey in there al? Chef 

Boats would also be great, we're torn between a pirate ship, a trawler or a fancy cruise ship. Or maybe all 3?!?!
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oldblood
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« Reply #18 on: April 16, 2015, 05:04:01 AM »

You guys have made it a long way in the last month. Glad to see youre still posting updates here.
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« Reply #19 on: April 16, 2015, 05:25:47 AM »

Very cool looking.  Love the theme and art style.
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