Hey guys,


Just to get this question out of the way, I am not developing a 4 player co-op game. I was just simply wondering, what makes a 4 player co-op game fun to you? And what would you like to see done by one?


To me a 4 player co-op game is always fun because it allows me and my friends to just hangout and play a game together and enjoy it. Also it usually brings replayability to the table.


Castle crashers is a great example of this, what do you guys think and again I ask, if you could ask for a 4 player co-op game, what would it be?

Pretty much the first Left4Dead, for me. Especially on the hardest difficulty.

The main point would be that it made you cooperate with your team-mates, or it'd punish you - Run off, and the director would spawn an incap special onto you.

The tank required teamwork to take down. Surviving hoard rushes required teamwork.

On top of that, communication via VOIP was crucial.

I love playing both L4D and L4D2 because both of those things really brought you into the game. I wouldn't say immersion, but it's something very much like it.

True, I did really like L4D, but did you not have a problem with the repetitive gameplay and lack of features?

The 4 campaigns were not enough to keep me interested and there wasn't really a variety with teh boss'

The game was fun and I did buy it but I felt dissappointed after a few weeks.

go play some 4 player games, come back and let US know.

I didn't think it had a lack of features, honestly. The jaded part of me gives the sequel the stink eye because, I think, it's now got too much.

There's nothing wrong IMO in having lean features, as long as they're really well excecuted, and I think L4D hit that sweet spot for me.

An advancing hoard - Pipebomb. Incoming tank - molotov. Witch - shotgun to the face.

Now, there's like 8 melee weapons where there used to be none. There's new and improved interations of the same weapons. I think a lot of that stuff's un-needed, and a lot of it gives you too much of an edge when the aim of the game is supposed to be survival. The emphasis being on survival, there. I much prefer those rounds where you only just make it to the saferoon, rather than waltz your way into it :P

And no. I didn't get bored of it because I'd play campaign until I knew the levels. Then I'd play versus until I knew all the best places to attack the human team from. The versus really is the shining point in both games, because playing and taunting another human-player team will probably never get boring to me :P

Anyway. I'm rambling a bit ;)

Real co-operating, and the ability to easily communicate are what I like about 4 player co-ops.

The ability to grief your friends.

Thanks glynnsmith,

I feel like your post is very accurate. L4D2 wasn't even fun anymore because it was easy.

What do you think about games like castle crashers or borderlands?

TEAMWORK.

Teamwork is fun as hell. The more scenarios a game has for teamwork to develop and flourish, the more fun the game becomes.

@Master_v12
AMEN! I was playing the new(ish) Aliens vs Predator and its had it flaws that bugged me, but then I had this one session when I was teaming up with one guy as marine and we just clicked, covering each another backs, killing backstabbers and such, it was awesome. I see it all the time when playing TF2, if you have a good team that know their roles and play together, its great.
On the other hand when you have a game like L2D and one people don't stay with the group but keep running ahead, well, you get owned. because of the L2D gameplay.

Originally Posted by hawken

go play some 4 player games, come back and let US know.

Not good enough for you?

"To me a 4 player co-op game is always fun because it allows me and my friends to just hangout and play a game together and enjoy it. Also it usually brings replayability to the table." - Op


I agree with this. It's great fun to play with your friends against the computer. I'm a die hard co-op nerd. A mic is a must because of all the trashtalking and jokes. Aw man... now i gotta go play some l4d.

scrambling violently for loot, bickering, mistrust of your friends, and overwhelming odds.
The kind of game that, despite all of the stupid stupid things that happen because of everyone's incompetence/greed, you still all manage to work together well enough to scrape by.

Because Beer + games = Win.

Getting drunk while playing stuff like guitar hero with your friends is always good.

Coop online is good because it greats a greater sense of immersion in my opinion. Playing with characters who talk back instead of "yes sir" is the reason.

Originally Posted by HonkyPunch

scrambling violently for loot, bickering, mistrust of your friends, and overwhelming odds.
The kind of game that, despite all of the stupid stupid things that happen because of everyone's incompetence/greed, you still all manage to work together well enough to scrape by.

Hey, that sounds like the D&D session I DM'ed last night.

Being able to shoot Rochelle in the face every match for good luck.

I think its a fairly obvious answer, Things are always better together. Even shitty games are made better by co-op. What you need to figure out is what Isn't fun about co-op games, and then avoid that shit all together.

Legend of Zelda the Four Swords Adventure on GC was one of the most fun weekends I ever had with my buddy, We just stayed up for like 3 days straight beating it. There was this awesome mechanic where you could pick each other up, and run around and the other guy wouldnt be able to do anything while you held him except punch you in the arm. and because there were 4 Links and 2 players, we each had 2 Links, and if you picked up the back up link he would join your formation, so we would run around trying to steal each others link, and then pick the other one up so he couldn't do shit. It was hella fun, and stupid as hell. Also we were just cracking jokes the whole time.

To me, its probably that I quite like to be put on a track and watch a great story unfold like in any singleplayer game, however, it gets tedious being the hero, who always gets to pull the shiny lever, or has to shoot the big ugly man alone, while the NPC's are quivering behind boxes. Plus, again, its a way of sharing those awesome moments that a constructed campaign gives you, that those sandbox multiplayer games don't really give you.

I agree with most things said, well without the stupid comments every here and there lol.

So in that case, what do you think makes a co-op game BAD?

Originally Posted by Elhrrah

Hey, that sounds like the D&D session I DM'ed last night.

the sessions I DM usually tend to fall apart due to some people not getting along.
Cthulhud20 was hella fun until that happened.
(in my first campaign someone accidentally killed a child while swinging around a katana, and another player had a panic attack, they decided to stuff the child into a bag of flour and leave it in a warehouse)

you try to burn the bag, roll d20, 7, child's soul is resurrected and zombifies party, nearby warehouse workers run to the safe-house the zombified party of adventures close behind them, roll d20, 3, workers accidentally run into industrial size oven, zombie adventurers feast, lose 10 charisma.

it actually just ended with them framing the owner of the warehouse for the kidnapping/murder because they were dissatisfied with the reward money for (brace yourself) exterminating some rats. Don't ask why there was a child in a warehouse full of rats, or why a katana was being swung around.
Anyway i think there is some derailment occuring here.

What makes co op games fun (whether 2,4,8, etc) is utilizing teamwork. The issue the developer stumbles upon here, however, is when and where to administer teamwork. If you mandate teamwork too much, then the solo player is reliant on AI bots, and thats never fun. In contrast, if you don't make teamwork a priority, then everyone plays the same way: Duke Nukem style, getting as many kills as possible. This quickly develops into competition rather than teamwork (this is why call of duty is bad).

An example of a game with too much teamwork is left 4 dead (in my opinion). If you play with friends, then everything make work out fine, however when playing with strangers you may very well be relying on complete jerks. This is a problem, because almost every aspect of your survival relies on your teammate not having his head up his rear. Half the time one person runs ahead, another stays behind too long to collect every bit of supplies they can, and if you're lucky you'll get a competent ally.

An example of a game on the other end of the spectrum with too little teamwork incorporated in gameplay is Modern warfare (also my opinion). When playing online in team deathmatch, I find myself disappointed that it was a teammate that came running around the corner and not an enemy, because I want someone else to shoot. Far to frequently I hear people whining over the mic about "YOU STOLE MY KILL", and such. This game only has teamwork when you play with a group you've previously communicated with and have formed a plan.

Team fortress 2 and battlefield bad company are examples of games with good teamwork.

In TF2, playing medic may mean you get few kills (unless you're an epic battlemedik), but you gain points through healing and saving allies, as well as just as many dominations as you would've earned in a battle class. When playing other classes, such as pyro or sniper or engineer, people intentionally go out of their way to help allies in distress by dousing the flames when they're burning, building dispensers and teleporters, and providing a safe haven in the area surrounding their sentry gun.

Battlefield provides teamwork in a more selfish manner: "If I heal my ally, I get massive points ". Whatever works, right?

Hope I helped.

Originally Posted by Autocon

The ability to grief your friends.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii, anyone?