Submitted By:
Pocketwatch Games
Watch Their Video
Game Type:
Core
Game Platform:
Windows
Class:
Professional
Credits:
Andy Schatz

team leader

Tierney Schatz

producer

Game Title:
Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine
Game Description:

Monaco is a cooperative heist game in which 1 to 4 shady players combine their powers of thievery to get rich and live free on the coast of the Mediterranean. Each character has a unique skill set – The Locksmith can open doors and safes quickly, The Cleaner can knock out guards with chloroform, The Redhead can distract and seduce enemies – which they must use to explore each famous landmark of Monaco, find the loot, and get away silently. Controls are super-simple, the game can be played with up to four players on the same screen or over the internet, and players can make their own levels to share with friends.



What was your inspiration for making the game?

Monaco is Pacman meets Hitman. It’s inspired by the classic stealth games with one major difference: it’s fun. The design is obviously heavily influenced by heist movies like Ocean’s 11, The Italian Job, Rififi and TV shows like Mission: Impossible and Leverage.



How is your game unique from others out there?

There’s never been a game like Monaco. It combines old-school top-down gameplay like Pacman with character-based co-op games like Team Fortress, and mixes in some beautiful line-of-sight technology from indie rogue-likes. This is a game that should have existed years ago, but for some reason, has never been made until now.



How long did it take you to make your game?

While I originally made the paper design for the game in 2003, I’ve been working on the game since October, 2009.



What was the hardest part about making it?

Working alone is both rewarding and challenging. It’s been important for me to get as much feedback from others as I possibly can.



Any other unique or interesting facts about your game we should know about?

All of the environments are based on actual locations in Monaco. And many of the characters and storylines in the game are drawn from actual famous thieves, some still active today.



How did you pick the name of your game?  Did you have any others in mind?

I’ve pitched this game a few times over the past 6 years under the names Heist and Loaded. But Monaco was the original name.



Questions for the Team Leader
Hometown?

San Diego, CA



College?

Amherst College



What is your gaming background?

I’ve been playing games since I was 5 on my commodore 64, been making them since I was 7. I spent 5 years working in the AAA console world before going indie in 2005.



How long have you and your teammates known each other?  What’s the story behind how your team got together?

I am the only person working on the game at the moment!



What game or games are you playing right now?

Well, I played a LOT of indie games over the winter break. I’m also an occasional Starcraft 2 player.



What is your favorite all-time game?

SimCity is still the most important game for me of all time: I’m still not sure how Will Wright managed to build so much complexity and autonomy into a system that feels so player-malleable.



What is your least favorite all-time game?

Like many people, I have a love/hate relationship with that game-drug World of Warcraft. It’s a beautiful, wonderful game that could be so much more! I feel empty after playing it yet I always want more. So I wouldn’t say it’s my least favorite game, but it’s certainly one that I feel passionately of two minds about.



First video game system you owned?

Commodore 64. I didn’t own my first console until I was actually making a game for the original Xbox (Whacked!)



Current system you spend the most time playing?

After 15 years of dormancy, the PC is beginning to awaken from its slumber. Most of the games I play are on the PC or the iPad at the moment.



When you and your team aren’t making awesome games, what other hobbies are you involved in?

I play a lot of ultimate frisbee and disc golf! I’m like a dog when it comes to frisbees. I also love to spend time in the ocean, being a San Diego native, so I bodysurf any chance I can get. Also I would have to describe donuts as a hobby of mine.