Team Talk | What game should get a level/map creator?

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Super Mario Maker 2 is out this week, promising to build on the Wii U original by offering new tools for players to execute on more complex ideas. Gears 5 has been revealed to house a new creation suite for making and sharing maps, first in the new PvE Escape mode and later the Horde and PvP modes. Nintendo even doubled down on user-generated content by showing off the ability to create dungeons in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on Switch during a Nintendo Treehouse Live stream (which Liam particularly appreciated).

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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by Team PTC

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@pass_controller

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TL;DR - Level editors are in vogue and these are the places we think they should appear next.

Sam | Resident Evil

Don’t for a minute think I’m suggesting any old Joe Bloggs should be able to desecrate the meticulous survival horror campaigns we’ve seen Resident Evil return to recently - that’d be madness! What I’m suggesting relates only to the series’ iconic Mercenaries and underappreciated Raid modes.

Most secondary modes I can safely ignore, but these deliciously moreish side dishes are a hit whenever they make the cut; Mercs has me perfecting runs to climb the global rankings, whilst the persistent progression of Raid is constantly compelling. They’re dangerous time sinks already, so why not capitalise and make them theoretically endless through the addition of user-created content?

Well, because we have lives and other games to play, but setting that aside the potential is definitely there. A lot of the areas which feature in both modes are pulled straight from the campaign, so give us the opportunity to crop these out for ourselves. RE world maps are generally split into rooms, so we could highlight the limited cluster we wanted to export and have the game automatically block any exits to keep things contained.

From there you’d decide the protagonist and their loadout, plop additional assets (ammo, health, enemies, etc.) into the mix, then set a win condition. The player might need to survive for a set time, kill all of the enemies, or reach the final room, which you could lock and give the key to a particularly powerful enemy.

Raid mode was a brilliant addition to Resident Evil, especially considering it originated in 3DS game Revelations.

Rob | Fire Emblem

Another tough choice this week, folks. I can think of at least a hundred games I’d like to see get level editors, be it The Last of Us, GoldenEye 007, Crazy Taxi, or MegaDrive classic Streets of Rage. One series stands out in particular, though, and that’s Nintendo’s Fire Emblem.

I must admit, I’d never played Fire Emblem until 3DS cracker Awakening - and what a place to start - but have been enthralled by the series ever since! So, with that in noggin, why did I pick it over the gems above?

Anyone who’s played Chucklefish’s Wargroove will already be able to attest to the power of level creation in a top-down strategy game. What better way is there for Nintendo to further the FE franchise, then?

Imagine dropping Chrom and the gang down in homemade levels, using styles ranging from the more recent 3DS games, to the sexier graphics of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, to the GBA classics. Throw in the tones of the upcoming Three Houses on Switch, plus the ability to battle associates locally or online in these Frankenstein constructions, and Nintendo could well have another Mario Maker on their hands.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is out soon, but there's no sign of a level editor, much to Rob's chagrin. 

James | Portal

Tucked into The Orange Box as a niche passion project before finding surprise success, Portal did more than enough to warrant a full sequel. Of course, since Valve apparently can't count to three, that's where the story has ended - but imagine if we, the gaming masses, could take up the torch and run with it.

If you need convincing this sounds like a good idea, I direct you to 2015’s Portal Stories: Mel, a popular free mod for Portal 2 that adds a new character and an older, prototype Portal Gun.

While it's unlikely we’d see a flourishing community of new spin-offs straight away, if Valve were to provide the relevant tools, the barrier to entry would be a lot lower and could lead us to a Mario Maker-esque experience before you know it.

Imagine discovering the joys of creative new mechanics - the sort we've seen in games inspired by Portal like Q.U.B.E. 2 and The Spectrum Retreat - interwoven with elements we already know and love. It might need a bit of quality control, but the thought of endlessly returning to the brain-teasing test chambers of Aperture Science is too exciting a possibility to pass up.

Portal Stories: Mel is a mod of professional quality.

Chris | Rainbow Six Siege

Editing tools in a PvP environment can cause tension between parties if one is given an unfair advantage over another, as I once found out by hiding a few sneaky Energy Sword and Active Camo pick-ups in Halo 3's Snowbound map.

There’d be no such advantage in Rainbow Six Siege, not least because there aren’t any pick-ups, but even if there were, attackers and defenders switch sides after each round so it wouldn’t be an easy task to engineer a competitive edge - not without it coming back to bite you later, anyway. Add to this constantly changing level geometry, thanks to the weapons of map destruction (proud of that one) available to both sides, and any balancing issues will eventually resolve themselves.

These player-created maps would need to be restricted to just-for-fun custom matches, as imaginative souls would no doubt find ways of gently tipping the scales in their favour, but the greater level of creative freedom this restriction would afford should result in some interesting designs that could give rise to new, improvised game modes.

As you can see, Siege maps generally don't stay whole for long.

Liam | FIFA

Forget VAR (video assistant referee), what the beautiful game needs is a bit of artistic licence. A map editor in FIFA might sound like a terrible idea to purists, but I think it could make for some interesting – not to mention humorous - kickabouts.

FIFA 19’s kick-off mode already lets you tweak the rules to make things more entertaining, so why not take it one step further and let us quite literally move the goalposts?

You could add pits to trap unwary players, get rid of penalty areas entirely, isolate creative midfielders on an island in the centre circle, or even have pitches tilted on an extreme gradient so each half one team faces an uphill struggle.

On the other end of the spectrum, a stadium editor/creator would also be a great addition for fans of low ranking clubs to finally get an accurate representation of their ground in the game. As someone who occasionally enjoys a nice lower league romp to the big time, being able to ditch the generic stadiums FIFA assigns such clubs would be a most welcome option.

For many players, this’d add another layer of authenticity to a franchise that prides itself on recreating the beautiful game - at least the parts we see on TV, anyway.

Imagine the glorious chaos you could cause in such an open space...

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Which game do you think would benefit from getting a level or map editor? Let us know in the comments below.