Traveling along the bend of the Boston Indie Showcase, I happened upon Andy Schatz of Pocketwatch Games and witnessed him display the long developed Monaco for play. As I stood and played a game with the stoic indie developer, I had some burning questions to ask that only he could answer to learn more about Monaco.
GeorgieBoysAXE: I’m currently standing in front of the Pocketwatch Games booth at the Boston Indie Showcase for PAX East 2012. With me, I have Andy Schatz, and we’re going to talk about Monaco.
Andy: That’s right!
GeorgieBoysAXE: So I want you to come at me with Monaco, and pretend I know absolutely nothing about it. What’s the first thing to know about Monaco?
Andy: So Monaco is a 1-4 player cooperative heist game played from a top-down perspective. I guess I could say its Ocean’s Eleven meets Gauntlet, or another good way to describe it would be Pac-Man meets Hitman.
You’re sneaking around in a top-down environment -- either on your own or with up to three other friends -- trying to steal all of the loot within the stage without being caught. It definitely has a real stealth vibe to it, but can change to an action mechanic of a chase that’s very relative to Pac-Man. The game can change in seconds depending on your actions, and it keeps it really refreshing.
GeorgieBoysAXE: I definitely noticed how the game allows for error and then gives you the tension of trying to recover from your fumble during an attempted heist.
So as far as character choice goes, Monaco provides a selection of character classes to choose from, like I was a Lookout who was able to see items on the map -- even in the dark -- to keep recon available for our team while you played as a Locksmith, who was able to get access to doors or security panels that no one else had access to. With that gameplay mechanic set, does the stage dynamically change to reflect the chosen character class of players in order to fully utilize the talents brought to the table, or are we working with some set stages that are much more expansive than meets the eye?
Andy: Well no matter the class, all the loot is up for grabs because there’s more than one way we get to it that is centric to the different methods and talents of the character classes as you, as the player, are responsible for determining which route would be best for which loot to grab first based on which strategy plays the best for your particular team of players which allows for numerous opportunities of replayabillity.
There are different missions for the same stage as well, which encourage emphasis on certain classes. There could be one for the hacker class, which specializes in rerouting electrical currents away from certain devices or machinery in order to progress, or can even reprogram security cameras to work for your benefit for the sake of recon. These missions vary with each stage and make different playthroughs on the same stage actually feel completely different than the previous one.
The stage also accommodates local play where you’ll have four players on the screen at the same time, or you can have online play, so we’ve put a lot of pain staking effort in to making the same stage layout feel like a completely different experience when you play through it again. There are a total of eight different classes for you to choose from, and the success of particular missions completely depends on the choice of class you and team mates choose, and they all own numerous abilities. The Pickpocket has a monkey that travels with him, which he can send out squeeze through smaller areas and collect items and loot without being seen by guards while the Pickpocket can hide in the shadows. The Gentleman can disguise himself when he’s not hidden so that the guards won’t know the difference while he’s in disguise.
GeorgieBoysAXE: In regards to the multiplayer aspect, is Monaco completely cooperative or are there any competitive aspects amongst you and your team?
Andy: A big part of the game is definitely who gets most of the loot at the end of the mission. As far the game flow, there’s a main piece of loot to obtain, but there’s a bunch of smaller loot to nab on the way to be collected and counted in the end for score chasing. Now there is a PVP campaign that you play in with set arenas, which actually plays like an older game for the Xbox that I worked on called Whacked! in where you’re dropped into the area and you’re trying to collect as much loot as possible while shooting back at the other thieves competing to do the same thing.
GeorgieBoysAXE: So is the loot just centered around the central for score chasing or bragging rights on Leaderboards, or will it play a bigger role like a market system in where you can purchase new talents for classes to gain upgrades or items which provide boosts and perks during mission runs?
Andy: We have lots planned for after launch, but I can’t really discuss too much of that.
GeorgieBoysAXE: Ah, I hit a nerve.
Andy: (Laughs) Well, I can safely say yes, the loot does play a bigger role than just score chasing. So the loot you pick up is worth a certain amount of coins, and by using your talents, you’re spending the coins and loot you pick up, so you can’t use it infinitely.
For example, a shotgun shot is worth ten coins or a smoke grenade will cost you another ten coins, which provides this risk-reward system to determine your actions on how wisely you use your actions, which falls back on just how good you are with stealth. There could be a safe that’s filled with tons of loot, which will not only allow me ample ammo for talent use, but will also contain gear providing me access to even more talents available but it’s heavily guarded. The question of just how many smoke grenades or shotgun blasts I might use in order to reach this safe will determine my odds of success when all is said and done with whatever choice I make.
GeorgieBoysAXE: I also noticed that performing in-game achievements for skill moves, like being undetected or the speed involved with completion, will also add to your total loot score at the end of the stage. Does this carry over into the next stage or mission?
Andy: So the loot actually doesn’t carry over. As far as the in-game achievements, there are three mega trophies you collect that will demand the following conditions be met: completing the mission without any deaths, completing the mission while getting 100% of the loot, and completing the stage under a certain time limit set to qualify for the last trophy. The speed run is modified, however, to where the amount of time you take can be subtracted from the loot you gather. For example, each coin is worth two seconds off of the clock, and either way you’ll have to finish the mission without the clock running out. So not only do you have to try and do it fast, but you’ll have to be conscious of loot on the way and still try to grab it to affect your time performance as opposed to just skipping past it for the sake of speed.
GeorgieBoysAXE: So that sounds like another layer of replayabillity, as not only are there different missions for each stage map, but you’ll have better luck focusing on one of the mega trophies once attempt at a time and, again, the choice of classes involved will determine the odds of success towards completing your objective.
Andy: Absolutely. I think that even the most skilled player can get all three trophies in one run in just the first two missions of the first stage. After that, it’s practically impossible without doing another replay.
GeorgieBoysAXE: My last question was something I came up with as I finished my playthrough of Monaco with you, Andy. There’s lots of focus on community elements in order to succeed in Monaco, at least in terms of decision making and in-game play rapport. That being said, I can completely see a level sharing or level creation mode within the same community that can be played by the same group of friends who want to get the most out of Monaco. Is there anything like currently in the works? Maybe even being possible DLC?
Andy: We’re way ahead of you. We’re currently in the middle of deciding on whether or not we ship the level editor mode with the game, or focus on getting it certified for completion and just providing it later as DLC, but the PC version of Monaco will have the level editor day one for sure, so you’ll definitely be able to get in on some level sharing action.
GeorgieBoysAXE: Thanks again Andy. We look forward to seeing more out of Monaco soon and maybe even a solid release date in the future.