--- key: mechanic/social-cooperation--t204 type: mechanic id: social-cooperation--t204 lang: en title: Asymmetric roles and abilities summary: >- Different roles receive distinct actions and information, making progress depend on another participant's contribution. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/social-cooperation--t204/' jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/social-cooperation--t204.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/social-cooperation--t204.md aliases: [] tags: - Social relationships and shared play - Mechanics and variants sourceIds: - source-3817d420df0baa92 - source-909400af9fbfca32 sources: - id: source-3817d420df0baa92 title: 'Robert Nystrom: State' url: >- https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown verifiedAt: null - id: source-909400af9fbfca32 title: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/' verifiedAt: null relations: - type: uses direction: outgoing label: Sources in the selection key: resource/state-pattern title: 'State: Game Programming Patterns' url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md' placements: - catalogId: social-cooperation id: t204 title: Social relationships and shared play url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/social-cooperation/#t204' categoryIds: - mechanics supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Asymmetric roles and abilities description: >- Different roles receive distinct actions and information, making progress depend on another participant's contribution. image: src: images/mechanics/adventure-keep-talking-00.webp width: 1440 height: 810 game: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/' originalUrl: >- https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/341800/ss_55f22f9996c327c281d241ed09d43c74337d7e30.1920x1080.jpg?t=1699020889 credit: Steel Crate Games rights: >- Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. caption: The defuser sees modules that must be described to an expert alt: The defuser sees modules that must be described to an expert markers: - x: 51 'y': 50 label: Modules require exchanging precise information tips: - Make dependence mutual and each participant’s contribution visible. examples: - title: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/' endsAt: null provenance: >- Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant. license: CC-BY-4.0 codeLicense: MIT attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors catalogKey: catalog/social-cooperation --- # Asymmetric roles and abilities id: social-cooperation--t204 type: mechanic key: mechanic/social-cooperation--t204 lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/social-cooperation--t204/ Different roles receive distinct actions and information, making progress depend on another participant's contribution. ## At a glance ![The defuser sees modules that must be described to an expert](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-keep-talking-00.webp) [Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes](https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. 1. Modules require exchanging precise information - Make dependence mutual and each participant’s contribution visible. - [Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes](https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/) ## How it works Different roles receive distinct actions and information, making progress depend on another participant's contribution. ## Variants ### Mechanic variants - Operators see maps while agents see obstacles. - A powerful role creates a route for a precise role. - Role swaps teach both viewpoints. - Independent subtasks occupy a waiting participant. ## Design example A dispatcher changes bridges on a map while a pilot reports obstacles invisible to the dispatcher. Prototype check: Test useful activity for both roles at every stage, including when one participant makes an error. ## Context and limits Social mechanics connect participants’ different capabilities through care, trust, coordination and conflicting commitments. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map. ## Connected materials - Sources in the selection: [State: Game Programming Patterns](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern) (key: resource/state-pattern) ## Sources and provenance Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant. - [Robert Nystrom: State](https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown) (id: source-3817d420df0baa92) - [Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes](https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/) (id: source-909400af9fbfca32) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors