{{Short description|Game development tool}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}} [[File:TIDE Tile Map Editor Thumb 01.png|thumb|TIDE, a 2D level editor, showing tiles for a side-scrolling video game]] A '''level editor''' (also known as a '''map''', '''campaign''' or '''scenario editor''') is a game development tool used to design levels, maps, campaigns and virtual worlds for a video game. An individual involved with the development of game levels is a level designer or mapper.
Official level editors are typically made to assist game development or to allow for greater player creativity, while fan-made editors are usually created for easier modding. Level editors vary in complexity; editors used in game development are usually more difficult and extensive than those made with players in mind.<ref name=":3" />
Modern level editors often allow to upload created levels online and play other uploaded user-made levels.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Level editors often have a substantial effect on the game's longevity.
== History == [[File:Dandy (Atari 8-bit edition) - Level editor.svg|left|thumb|"Dungeon Editor" in ''Dandy'' for the Atari 8-bit computers]] ''Lode Runner'' (1983) is one of the earliest examples of games with a level editor. The idea of a level editor was conceived due to a lack of programming experience of James Bratsanos, a friend of the game's lead programmer and designer Douglas E. Smith.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lode Runner |url=https://www.filfre.net/2020/12/lode-runner/ |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=The Digital Antiquarian |language=en-US}}</ref> In a 2010 interview, game designer John Romero claimed that Smith added the level-editing function at the request of neighborhood kids he had testing the game, and "a ton" of the levels they designed ended up in the final game.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barton |first=Matt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opLCzUsjRowC&pg=PA7 |title=Honoring the Code: Conversations with Great Game Designers |date=26 March 2013 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4665-6753-5 |language=en}}</ref> Other early level editors were featured in ''Dandy'' (1983) and ''Excitebike'' (1984).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scullion |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IE8IEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Excitebike%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA72 |title=The NES Encyclopedia: Every Game Released for the Nintendo Entertainment System |date=30 March 2019 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-5267-3780-9 |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Doom Construction Kit screenshot.png|thumb|''Doom Construction Kit'', one of the first ''Doom'' level editors, released in 1994]] ''Doom'' (1993) became one of the first 3D games which became popular partially due to third-party level editors, which led to the formation of an online community sharing fan-made ''Doom'' mods. Developer id Software embraced the modding scene, packaging mods ''TNT: Evilution'' and ''The Plutonia Experiment'' as an official expansion ''Final Doom'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wales |first=Matt |date=10 December 2019 |title=Bethesda's Doom 1 & 2 console ports adding Final Doom, Sigil for free |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/bethesdas-doom-1-and-2-console-ports-adding-final-doom-sigil-for-free |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Eurogamer.net |language=en}}</ref> releasing ''Doom''{{'s}} source code under a free license for easier modding and porting,<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 March 2010 |title=A List of PC Game Classics Available Free of Charge |url=https://www.techspot.com/guides/258-free-pc-game-classics-list/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=TechSpot |language=en-US}}</ref> and adding a built-in mod browser in ''Doom + Doom II'', a remaster of the first two games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=8 August 2024 |title=Doom and Doom II get a 'definitive' rerelease that's packed with upgrades |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/8/24216379/doom-doom-ii-definitive-re-release |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=The Verge |language=en-US |quote=You'll also be able to download single-player mods through a new in-game mod browser.}}</ref> Since the popularity of Doom, other third-party level editors for various games were released, such as ''QuArK'' for ''Quake''.
In 2008, ''LittleBigPlanet'' was released, featuring a robust level editor and an ability to share levels online.{{Efn|The online servers for LittleBigPlanet have been shut down on 13 September 2021.|name=note1|group=note}} Unlike other games with a level editor, where it was featured as a side mode, the editor in ''LittleBigPlanet'' was the main selling point. The game was universally acclaimed for its amount of content and the unique approach to user-generated content.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Roper |first=Chris |last2=Miller |first2=Greg |date=9 September 2009 |title=LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/09/09/littlebigplanet-game-of-the-year-edition-review |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Welsh |first=Oli |date=12 October 2008 |title=LittleBigPlanet review |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/littlebigplanet-review |access-date=10 June 2025 |work=Eurogamer.net |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cocker |first=Guy |title=Little Big Planet Review |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/little-big-planet-review/1900-6199348/ |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref> Later games in the ''LittleBigPlanet'' series expanded the formula, adding more features to the editor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Greg |date=4 January 2011 |title=LittleBigPlanet 2 Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/01/04/littlebigplanet-2-review |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Lucy |date=18 November 2014 |title=LittleBigPlanet 3 Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/11/18/littlebigplanet-3-review |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>
Since the late 2000s, an increasing amount of games with a level editor also featured a way to share them online via in-game services or external dedicated websites, like Steam Workshop. On these services, users are able to download other people's levels and, in some cases, rate them based on their perceived quality.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Senior |first=Tom |date=19 October 2011 |title=Team Fortress 2: the best of the Steam Workshop |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/team-fortress-2-the-best-of-the-steam-workshop/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Klepek |first=Patrick |date=26 June 2019 |title='Mario Maker 2' Is Brilliant, But I Hope Nintendo Doesn't Fail the Community |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/mario-maker-2-is-brilliant-but-i-hope-nintendo-doesnt-fail-the-community/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=VICE |language=en-US |quote=When you finish a stage, [...] you can either give it a heart ("I like it") or a broken heart ("Boo!") before leaving a Miiverse-like comment or suggesting an alternative tag to describe the stage.}}</ref>
In 2015, Nintendo released ''Super Mario Maker'', another game with a level editor as the main focus of the game. The editor was designed to be accessible and easy to understand. Users could upload their levels online and play other people's levels, as well as vote for (like) or against (boo) them.{{Efn|New levels could not be uploaded after 31 March 2021. Super Mario Maker's online services were shut down on 8 April 2024, making online levels inaccessible.|name=note2|group=note}}<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=2 October 2015 |title=Moneyball, but for Mario—the data behind Super Mario Maker popularity |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/how-to-make-a-popular-super-mario-maker-level/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Ars Technica |language=en}}</ref> The level editor was praised for being intuitive and easy to understand, while still allowing to create unique levels.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Otero |first=Jose |date=2 September 2015 |title=Super Mario Maker Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/09/02/super-mario-maker-review |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> Later games with level editors are often influenced by and compared to ''Super Mario Maker''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Castle |first=Katharine |date=20 October 2023 |title=Bit.Trip ReRunner's Mario Maker-esque level editor makes a good game even better |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/bittrip-rerunners-mario-maker-esque-level-editor-makes-a-good-game-even-better |access-date=10 June 2025 |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |language=en |quote=much like Super Mario Maker before it, Bit.Trip has opened itself up to the whims of would-be game making audience}}</ref> In 2019, Nintendo released ''Super Mario Maker 2'', a sequel to the first game with even more features.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Macy |first=Seth G. |date=26 June 2019 |title=Super Mario Maker 2 Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/26/super-mario-maker-2-review |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>
== Characteristics == The developer of a video game may include built-in level editing tools; for example, a track editor for a racing game, or release an official level editor for the game as a separate application. In cases where the game doesn't have an official level editor, players of the game develop fan-made editors, such as Lunar Magic for ''Super Mario World''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joho |first=Jess |date=12 June 2017 |title=Why 'Super Mario Maker' Didn't Kill the Mario Hacking Community |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-super-mario-maker-didnt-kill-the-mario-hacking-community/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=VICE |language=en-US |quote=the SMW tool Lunar Magic created by user fuysoya is not only credited as one of the best game-editing tools ever made, but also credited for both launching and sustaining the community.}}</ref> Level editors are present extensively in video game integrated development environments, such as Godot, Unity, ot Unreal Engine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Level Editor in Unreal Engine {{!}} Unreal Engine 5.6 Documentation {{!}} Epic Developer Community |url=https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/level-editor-in-unreal-engine |access-date=16 June 2025 |website=Epic Games Developer |language=en-us}}</ref>
Most in-game level editors impose object limits to prevent performance issues, crashes, and exploits.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phillips |first=Monica |date=20 May 2023 |title=Fall Guys: How To Use The Level Editor |url=https://gamerant.com/fall-guys-how-to-use-level-editor-guide/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Game Rant |language=en |quote=Each object [in the editor] will take up a bit of the limited amount of Budget displayed in the top right corner.}}</ref> This is especially prevalent in editors available on game consoles, such as ''Halo''{{'s}} Forge.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Priestman |first=Chris |date=30 January 2020 |title=Halo Forge on PC is making 'great progress,' gets first screenshot |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/halo-forge-on-pc-is-making-great-progress-gets-first-screenshot/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=PC Gamer |language=en |quote=When Forge comes to PC it will have an expanded budget, meaning you can place many more objects in a single level than you used to be able to.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Morton |first=Lauren |date=29 January 2020 |title=343 Industries share progress on Forge for Halo: Reach, Halo 3, and Halo 2 Anniversary |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/343-industries-share-progress-on-forge-for-halo-reach-halo-3-and-halo-2-anniversary |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 September 2022 |title=Halo Infinite Forge shows off a giant grunt and new building features |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/halo-infinite/forge |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=PCGamesN |language=en-US}}</ref> {{Multiple image | image1 = OpenHV Map Editor.png | caption1 = ''OpenHV''{{'s}} top-down map editor is a simple to understand grid-based editor. | image2 = Age of Empires IV Content Editor Interface 002.png | caption2 = ''Age of Empires IV''{{'s}} level editor is significantly more complex, but gives user more options. | direction = horizontal }} The complexity of a game's level editor and the amount of available options given to the player are usually proportional. Simplified editors, such as ''Portal 2''{{'s}} built-in chamber editor, are more accessible and easy to understand to an average player, but offer limited creative freedom compared to professional map development tools, such as Valve's Hammer Editor, which also comes with ''Portal 2'' and requires significant expertise from the user.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Senior |first=Tom |date=14 March 2012 |title=Portal 2 Puzzle Creator in internal beta testing now, will use Steam Workshop |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/portal-2-puzzle-creator-in-beta-testing-now-will-use-steam-workshop/ |access-date=10 June 2025 |work=PC Gamer |language=en |quote=[Puzzle creator] looks very similar to the animated diagrams of the first Portal trailers, [...] much friendlier than Valve's Hammer editor.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 October 2011 |title=Valve Tinkering With an Excellent Portal 2 Feature That Talks Back |url=https://kotaku.com/valve-tinkering-with-an-excellent-portal-2-feature-that-5851007 |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=Kotaku |language=en}}</ref>
While in most games level editors are an additional feature, certain games have the level editor as the main feature of the game, such as ''Super Mario Maker'' and ''LittleBigPlanet''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Some games, like ''Dreams'' and ''Game Builder Garage'', allow users to make their own assets and develop custom logic, effectively functioning as game creation systems.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cardy |first=Simon |date=13 February 2020 |title=Dreams Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/dreams-review |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Macy |first=Seth G. |date=10 June 2021 |title=Game Builder Garage Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/game-builder-garage-review |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>
Most modern games with level editors allow creators to upload their levels online, which are then able to be played by other people.<ref name=":0" /> To upload a level, there is usually a requirement to beat the level beforehand, preventing impossible levels to be uploaded.<ref name=":2" />
=== 2D level editors === [[File:SuperTux level editor 0-6-2.png|thumb|Level editor in ''SuperTux''; blocks and entities are placed on a visible grid.]] Level editors are most often present in two-dimensional tile-based video games, typically featuring a square grid on which level elements are placed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Donlan |first=Christian |date=11 September 2015 |title=Super Mario Maker review |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/super-mario-maker-review |access-date=16 June 2025 |work=Eurogamer.net |language=en |quote=A graph paper grid allows for precision placement of landscape and enemies}}</ref> These editors often provide drag-and-drop functionality along with tools for moving, deleting, and adjusting properties of objects.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frushtick |first=Russ |date=26 June 2019 |title=Super Mario Maker 2 review: much more than a game design toolkit |url=https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2019/6/26/18758748/super-mario-maker-2-review-nintendo-switch |access-date=16 June 2025 |website=Polygon |language=en-US |quote=Creating new land is as simple as tapping the land icon and dragging across the screen. Enemies are easy, too: Just drag and drop.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Moser |first=Cassidee |date=8 June 2016 |title=Deus Ex Go Preview: Another Inventive Puzzler |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/95069/deus-ex-go-preview-another-inventive-puzzler |access-date=16 June 2025 |website=Shacknews |language=en |quote=a touch screen allows for easy drag and drop placement, tracing, positioning, and playing.}}</ref> Similar to various graphics software, layering may also be used to separate overlapping objects.
=== 3D level editors === {{Multiple image | image1 = Spring Map Editor 1.40.jpg | caption1 = 3D level editor for ''Spring'' with terrain morphing features | image2 = QuArK-MapEditor.png | caption2 = ''QuArK'' editor, showing three orthographic projections and 3D view | width2 = 170 }}
Three-dimensional level editors are usually reserved for game development; user-friendly 3D editors are far less common, because of the increased complexity required to build in three dimensions, as well as to program such level editor. 3D editors typically have a virtual camera that can be moved freely to view the level. Early 3D editors sometimes displayed orthographic projections of the level on each axis; this was used to precisely place brushes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Finney |first=Kenneth C. |title=3D game programming all in one |date=2004 |publisher=Thomson/Course Technology |isbn=978-1-59200-136-1 |series=Course Technology PTR game development series |location=Boston, Mass}}</ref>
== Impact == The presence of a level editor in a video game can often increase its longevity and prolong the game's popularity. Various news sources report that ''Portal 2'' continued to receive new community maps made in the game's chamber editor even after 13 years since the game's release in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lane |first=Rick |date=26 September 2019 |title=The best player-made Portal 2 campaigns |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-player-made-portal-2-campaigns/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=PC Gamer |language=en |quote=Since Portal 2 made its debut in April 2011, the community has designed more than half a million custom test-chambers, with dozens of new chambers being added every day.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Graham |date=18 May 2021 |title=Portal 2 update lifts Steam Workshop file size restrictions |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/portal-2-update-lifts-steam-workshop-file-size-restrictions |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |language=en |quote=the game's community has responded by using those tools to create ten years of regular new puzzle rooms}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Leary |first=Dominic |date=21 February 2025 |title=Portal 2: Best Community Co-Op Maps To Try |url=https://gamerant.com/portal-2-best-community-co-op-maps/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Game Rant |language=en |quote=Thanks in part to the strong modding support [...], Portal 2 is still seeing community maps and mods developed to this day.}}</ref> Released in 2013, ''Geometry Dash'' was a modest success at launch, but the game's community has been steadily growing since then, partly because of the online levels created by players.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lane |first=Rick |date=21 December 2023 |title=Game receives huge free update following 10th anniversary and instantly quintuples its previous player-count high |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/game-receives-huge-free-update-following-10th-anniversary-and-instantly-quintuples-its-previous-player-count-high |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Yahoo Tech |language=en-US |quote=Geometry Dash has been gathering momentum for a while, with its players steadily increasing}}</ref> ''Super Mario Maker 2'' has received over two million levels in the first eleven days after the game's release;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khalid |first=Amrita |date=9 July 2019 |title=Players have created over 2 million levels on 'Super Mario Maker 2' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/2019-07-09-super-mario-maker-2-million-levels.html |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US |quote=Nintendo announced today that players have uploaded 2 million courses on the level creator since its worldwide release on June 28th.}}</ref> this has then increased to 26 million by 3 May 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baird |first=Scott |date=3 May 2021 |title=Super Mario Maker 2 Players Have Uploaded More Than 26 Million Levels |url=https://screenrant.com/super-mario-maker-2-upload-26-million-levels/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |website=ScreenRant |language=en |quote=Nintendo has revealed that Super Mario Maker 2 fans have created over twenty-six million stages since launch.}}</ref>
== See also == {{commons category}} * List of level editors * End-user development * Low-code development platform * No-code development platform * Video game modding * Visual programming language
== Notes == {{Notelist|group=note}}
== References == {{reflist}}{{Video game gameplay}}
Category:Video game level editors Category:Video game terminology