Game design analysis of the rat level

[Omegathorion]

I did not really like the rat level very much. Here's why: http://digm.drexel.edu/research/2017/01/19/kenneth-on-games-disruptions-in-overcooked/

BTW devs, even though I wrote this critically, I still very much enjoyed the game as a whole, and I would love to hear your counterarguments or the reasoning behind the decisions I attacked in the article.

[76561198339493656]

Thanks for your feedback Omegathorion, this was a nice little read! We always appreciate any feedback from our players, thank you for going so in depth, and thank you for your support! :)

[Terotrous]

The rats definitely show up more than once. I could have sworn their first appearance was in one of the dark levels, but in any case they also definitely show up in the DLC because I played through it a few days ago.

Also, the rats do have a specific way they work. They only steal ingredients that are left out in the open. If the ingredients are on a plate they won't steal it. It's basically there to discourage you from throwing a bunch of ingredients on the floor for later use. This also means that if you play a level in a specific way you might rarely or never see the rats even if they're present.

The idea of letting the rats carry food from one location to another is interesting. Who knows, maybe that'll show up in another DLC level down the line.

[SuperChutney]

I understand that the rats discourage 'overpreparation' of ingredients, but we still found them frustrating and not fun to play with (comparing it to other disruptions like the conveyer belts and the moving trucks which we found made for more interesting and enjoyable levels, with the caveat that these evalutions are entirely subjective).

In part perhaps because the rats themselves are hard to hit? It's frustrating spending the time chasing a rat while mashing the action button only to have it get away due to finicky 'hit-detection' (for lack of a better phase). This was more of an issue in the first level they appeared in due to the short distance that rats could be chased compared to the DLC level.

Great article, though, thanks for sharing. (Edit to add: level 6-2 is significantly more interesting if you're playing it with four players, as you get two extra conveyers added in to block everyone off!)

[Gentle Hugs]

For the rat level, my wife and I just put the pots accessible to the player doing the cutting. Get the vegetable, cut away, put in the pot, while the player on the outside moves it to the stove once it was filled.

After raging at the rats, we found a way to make it work well enough for us. So it did feel like we were getting better by finding ways to just avoid making the distraction impact us.

[@greg_gamer]

Speaking from a player perspective, I have to disagree with you, OP. While there may be some technical issues with the rats (like hit-boxes) and others in the game (like unclear area when you can grab a produce from the ground, for instance), the rats do present a new obstacle that forces player to learn something. They don't immediately, and obviously, show this to you but you need to realize it yourself in other to proceed. The rats teach you organization, planning, strategy and cooperation. The more items you have on the counter, the more the rats will appear. If you want to chop lots of things at once and then put them in the pot, you'll have a hard time with all the rats. So they force you to think ahead, act smartly, chop what you need and work with your co-op partner (if that's the case) in order to succeed. I haven't played this level by myself, so that could definitely change my opinion.

[Omegathorion]

Originally posted by @greg_gamer:

Speaking from a player perspective, I have to disagree with you, OP. While there may be some technical issues with the rats (like hit-boxes) and others in the game (like unclear area when you can grab a produce from the ground, for instance), the rats do present a new obstacle that forces player to learn something. They don't immediately, and obviously, show this to you but you need to realize it yourself in other to proceed. The rats teach you organization, planning, strategy and cooperation. The more items you have on the counter, the more the rats will appear. If you want to chop lots of things at once and then put them in the pot, you'll have a hard time with all the rats. So they force you to think ahead, act smartly, chop what you need and work with your co-op partner (if that's the case) in order to succeed. I haven't played this level by myself, so that could definitely change my opinion.

I didn't actually notice people were still relying to this, but I think you're bringing up some interesting points. The way I see it is that pretty much all disruptions teach you organization, planning, strategy, cooperationm thinking ahead, acting smartly, etc. Every disruption does that. But some disruptions go above and beyond to teach you new ways to play the game.

To put it another way, you are never able to get good at using rats. You are only able to minimize their damage. On the other hand, you ARE able to get good at using conveyor belts. First you learn to minimize the damage dealt by conveyor belts, then there's another dimension where you can actually use them skillfully. Rats do not have a skill aspect, they are purely there as an inconvenience.