Level editor
Encyclopedia
A level editor is a software
tool
used to design levels, maps, campaigns, etc and virtual world
s for a video game. In some cases the creator of a video game releases an official level editor for a game, but other times the community of fans step in to fill the void. An individual involved with the creation of game levels is a level designer or mapper.
Sometimes a level editor is integrated into the game; the features of the level editor will sometimes be disabled in the ship version of the software. Other times (and most often), the editor is a separate application, as are most fan-released level editors. A level editor is often used to create levels for a certain game engine
. Developing a level editor takes a lot of time and it is more efficient to release multiple games using the same engine instead of developing a new engine and level editor for each game. Levels editors offer some limited scope of content creation, but in the case of games industry solutions the scope is very large allowing an entire game to be created without the need for much support from a programming team. To make larger changes to a game than simply adding new levels, a software development kit
(SDK) is sometimes needed.
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
tool
Game development tool
A game development tool is a specialized software application that assists or facilitates the making of a computer or video game. Some tasks handled by tools include the conversion of assets into formats required by the game, level editing and script compilation.Almost all game development tools...
used to design levels, maps, campaigns, etc and virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
s for a video game. In some cases the creator of a video game releases an official level editor for a game, but other times the community of fans step in to fill the void. An individual involved with the creation of game levels is a level designer or mapper.
Sometimes a level editor is integrated into the game; the features of the level editor will sometimes be disabled in the ship version of the software. Other times (and most often), the editor is a separate application, as are most fan-released level editors. A level editor is often used to create levels for a certain game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
. Developing a level editor takes a lot of time and it is more efficient to release multiple games using the same engine instead of developing a new engine and level editor for each game. Levels editors offer some limited scope of content creation, but in the case of games industry solutions the scope is very large allowing an entire game to be created without the need for much support from a programming team. To make larger changes to a game than simply adding new levels, a software development kit
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
(SDK) is sometimes needed.
Examples
In the early years of video-gaming, some games came with a utility called a "construction set". This was similar in many ways to a level-editor. Some games used them to create extra levels, whereas others (like the Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit) used them as a means to create a game rather than be a game in itself. Some examples of games with construction sets include:- Pinball Construction SetPinball Construction SetPinball Construction Set is a computer game by Bill Budge published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Apple II and Atari 800 in 1983 and was later ported to other platforms, such as the Commodore 64 and DOS .-Description:...
- Adventure Construction SetAdventure Construction SetAdventure Construction Set is a program written by Stuart Smith that is used to construct tile-based graphical adventure games. ACS was originally published by Electronic Arts in 1984 on the Commodore 64, and was later ported to the Apple II, Amiga and MS-DOS platforms...
- Racing Destruction SetRacing Destruction SetRacing Destruction Set is a car racing and motocross computer game that was published in 1985 by Electronic Arts. It was developed for the Commodore 64 computer system, and was advertised as being Commodore 128 compatible...
- The Elder Scrolls Construction Set
- Shoot'Em-Up Construction KitShoot'Em-Up Construction KitShoot'Em-Up Construction Kit was a "construction kit" for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST created by Sensible Software and published by Outlaw in 1987. It allowed the user to make simple shoot 'em ups by drawing sprites and backgrounds and editing attack patterns...
- TimeSplittersTimeSplitters (series)TimeSplitters is a series of first-person shooter video games created by Free Radical Design. The games are often compared to Rare's shooters GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark since Free Radical Design was founded by a group of ex-Rare employees who developed these games...
See also
- Online CreationOnline creationOnline Creation, also referred to as OLC, Online Coding, Online Building, and online editing, is a software feature of MUDs that allows users to edit a virtual world from within the game itself...
- List of level editors
- Music Construction SetMusic Construction SetMusic Construction Set is a music composition notation program. It was originally developed in 1984 for the Apple II, and quickly ported to other systems of the era. It was designed and developed by Will Harvey and published by Electronic Arts...