Overview
DO YOUR LEVELS SUCK? CANT GET PEOPLE TO PLAY THEM? THEN YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. IN THIS TUTORIAL I WILL BE TEACHING YOU ALL OF THE TIPS AND TRICKS TO MAKING AN EXCELENT LEVEL IN THE MONACO: WHATS YOURS IS MINE LEVEL EDITOR!
OVERVIEW
SO YOUR LEVELS ARE HORRIBLE, EH? DONT SWEAT IT, YOU’LL GET THERE EVENTUALLY WITH MY HELP! IN THIS GUIDE, WE WILL BE COVERING ALL SORTS OF USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT THE LEVEL EDITOR, AND HOW TO CREATE A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR PLAYERS!
BASIC PLANNING
THE FIRST STEP OF MAKING A LEVEL IS DECIDING WHAT YOU WANT TO CREATE. FIRST, THINK UP A THEME. IF YOU CANT THINK OF ONE, TRY HARDER. AFTER YOU HAVE YOUR THEME DOWN, YOU NEED TO PLAN OUT YOUR LEVEL. I RECCOMEND STATE-OF-THE-ART PHOTO TECHNOLOGY LIKE MSPAINT TO GET A BASIC FEEL FOR WHAT YOUR LEVEL WILL BECOME. REMEMBER THAT MONACO IS A TOP-DOWN GAME, SO YOUR LEVELS WILL ALSO BE TOP DOWN.
PRO TIP: YOU SHOULD ONLY PUT ONE ENTRANCE IN YOUR BUILDING, OTHERWISE PLAYERS WILL FEEL OVERWHELMED BY ALL OF THE CHOICES PRESENTED TO THEM.
ENEMY AND SECURITY PLACEMENT
AFTER YOU HAVE YOUR BASIC STRUCTURE, THINK ABOUT ENEMY AND SECURITY PLACEMENT. PLAYERS LIKE A CHALLENGE, WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD EXCLUSIVELY USE SWAT GUARDS, AND PUT LAZERS EVERYWHERE. I RECCOMEND PUTTING STATIONARY LAZERS WITH ONLY ONE OR TWO COMPUTERS. MAKE SURE TO CONNECT THEM ALL TO TURRETS, PREFERRABLY SHOTGUN ONES. ITS A GOOD IDEA TO MAKE DEAD-END ROOMS WITH ELECTRONICS GUARDING THE EXIT, SO THAT PLAYERS MUST ACT QUICKLY, AND STAY VIGILANT. ALSO, MAKE SURE TO PUT INSTANT-DEATH SCENARIOS ALL AROUND YOUR LEVEL, AS IT WILL KEEP THE PLAYER ON EDGE, AND PROVIDE A GREATER CHALLENGE.
PRO TIP: FOR THE FIRST FEW FLOORS, DONT CONNECT YOUR SECURITY TO ANYTHING. THIS WILL LULL THE PLAYER INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY, AND RIGHT AS THEY ENTER THE SECOND OR THIRD FLOOR, BAM, UNAVOIDABLE LAZER WITH THREE SHOTGUN TURRETS ATTACHED. NOW THAT’S LEVEL DESIGN.
BONUS PRO TIP: PLACING CIVILIANS ON CHAIRS, THOUGH MAKING THEM COMPLETELY ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ OBSOLETE, LOOKS PRETTY. SO DO IT.
TOOLS AND GUNS
PLAYERS LIKE DIVERSITY IN THEIR ITEM CHOICES, SO GIVE THE PLAYER FOUR OF EACH ITEM WHEN THE LEVEL STARTS. IF YOU ARE GOING FOR AN ACTION LEVEL, MAKE SURE TO PUT SHOTGUNS WITH 10-15 SAFES SURROUNDING THEM. OR, ALTERNATIVELY, DO NOT GIVE ANY ITEMS AT ALL. GOOD AND CHALLENGING LEVELS HAVE NO ITEMS IN THEM, AND MAKE THE PLAYER USE THEIR WIT, AND NOT THEIR TOOLS.
PRO TIP: THOUGH ROCKET LAUNCHERS SEEM LIKE THEY WOULD BE OVERPOWERED, THEY ACTUALLY SUCK. DONT USE THEM. LIKE, SERIOUSLY. DONT.
LOOT PLACEMENT
NOW THAT YOU HAVE A LAYOUT, SECURITY, AND ITEMS, ITS TIME FOR THE LOOT! LOOT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MONACO, SO MAKE SURE TO PUT IT ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ EVERYWHERE. MAKE EVERY FLOOR TILE HAVE LOOT ON IT, AND SPAM SAFES ON EVERY SHELF. ALTERNATIVELY,YOU CAN PUT ALL OF THE LOOT IN ONE ROOM, AND HEAVILY GUARD IT. NOT ONLY DOES THIS PROVIDE A THOUGHT-PROVOKING CHALLENGE, BUT IT ALSO REWARDS THE PLAYER MORE FOR OVERCOMING IT. PLAYERS DONT LIKE TO CLEAN OUT MISSIONS, AND FEEL IT IS UNECISARY, SO LOOT SPAWNERS ON HEIST MISSIONS ARE A-OK.
PRO TIP: PUT SOME OF THE LOOT INSIDE WALLS. THIS WILL ENSURE ITS ONLY OBTAINABLE BY THE MOLE, AND PROVIDE THE PLAYER A GREATER NEED FOR TEAMWORK.
CHARACTERS AND SPAWNS
SO NOW THAT YOU HAVE EVERYTHING IN YOUR LEVEL, ITS TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHERE TO SPAWN THE PLAYER IN. IF YOU ARE A PRO LEVEL DESIGNER, LIKE ME, YOU WILL HAVE ALREADY PUT A DESIGNATED SPAWN ZONE. IF NOT, YOU’RE DUMB. AFTER YOU HAVE MADE YOUR SPAWN ZONE, DECIDE WHICH CHARACTERS ARE GOING TO BE IN YOUR LEVEL. MAKE SURE NOT TO INCLUDE EVERY CLASS. THIS WILL MAKE PLAYERS HAVE MORE DIVERSITY IN THEIR GAMEPLAY STYLE, AND PUSH THEM OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE. IF YOU WANT EVEN MORE DIVERSITY, ONLY USE YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER.
PRO TIP: IF YOU WANT TO, USING THE IDENTITY CHARACTERS ALONGSIDE THE REGULAR ONES IS A GOOD IDEA.
PUBLISHING YOUR LEVEL
NOW THAT YOUR LEVEL IS FINISHED, ITS TIME TO PUBLISH IT. GIVE A GOOD DESCRIPTIVE NAME, LIKE ‘EEEEEEEEEEEE’ OR ‘MY FIRST LEVEL’. THESE TYPES OF NAMES REEL PLAYERS IN, AND MAKE THE LEVEL MORE ENGAGING. AFTER YOU’VE NAMED THE LEVEL, NAME THE FLOORS. NAMES LIKE ‘FIRST FLOOR’ ‘SECOND FLOOR’ AND ‘BASEMENT’ ARENT DESCRIPTIVE OR MEMORABLE ENOUGH. YOU SHOULD GO WITH FLOOR NAMES SUCH AS ‘♥♥♥♥♥’ OR ‘FAAF’. AFTER ALL THIS IS DONE, GO TO THE PAUSE MENU AND HIT “PUBLISH TO WORKSHOP”.
CLOSING
TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION ALL OF THESE TIPS AND TRICKS, AND YOU CAN MAKE YOUR VERY OWN 5-STAR MONACO LEVEL. SEE YOU ON THE FRONT PAGE.
A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A LEVEL: