
A level editor (also known as a map, campaign or scenario editor) is a
game development tool
A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art (su ...
used to design
levels, maps, campaigns and
virtual world
A virtual world (also called a virtual space or spaces) is a Computer simulation, computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many simultaneous users who can create a personal Avatar (computing), avatar and independently explore th ...
s for a
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
. 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
Fan labor, also called fan works, are the creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works (fiction, fan fiction and review literature) ...
editors are usually created for easier
modding
Modding (from "modifying") is the act of modifying hardware, software, or anything else to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specification or appearance. The term is often used in reference to vid ...
. Level editors vary in complexity; level editors used in game development are usually more difficult and extensive than those made with players in mind.
History
''
Lode Runner
''Lode Runner'' is a 2D puzzle-platform game, developed by Doug Smith and published by Broderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to ''Space Panic'' from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in ...
'' (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. In a 2010 interview, game designer
John Romero
Alfonso John Romero (born October 28, 1967) is an American video game developer. He co-founded id Software and designed their early games, including ''Wolfenstein 3D'' (1992), ''Doom (1993 video game), Doom'' (1993), ''Doom II'' (1994), ''Hexen ...
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. Other early level editors were featured in ''
Dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...
'' (1983) and ''
Excitebike'' (1984).
''Doom'' (1993) became one of the first
3D games which became popular partially due to
third-party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...
level editors, which led to the formation of an online community sharing fan-made
''Doom'' mods. Developer
id Software
id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...
embraced the modding scene, packaging mods ''TNT: Evilution'' and ''The Plutonia Experiment'' as an official expansion ''
Final Doom
''Final Doom'' is a 1996 first-person shooter game developed by TeamTNT and published by id Software for MS-DOS and Macintosh computers, as well as for the PlayStation, although the latter featured a selection of levels from the game and f ...
'', releasing ''Doom''
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer.
Since a computer, at base, only ...
under a
free license
A free license or open license is a license that allows copyrighted work to be reused, modified, and redistributed. These uses are normally prohibited by copyright, patent or other Intellectual property (IP) laws. The term broadly covers '' fr ...
for easier modding and
porting
In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...
, and adding a built-in mod browser in ''Doom + Doom II'', a remaster of the first two games. Since the popularity of Doom, other third-party level editors for various games were released, such as ''
QuArK
A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...
'' for ''
Quake''.
In 2008, ''
LittleBigPlanet
''LittleBigPlanet'' (''LBP''; stylised as ''LittleBIGPlanet'') is a Puzzle video game, puzzle platform video game series created and produced by British developer Media Molecule and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Most games in th ...
'' was released, featuring a robust level editor and an ability to share levels online. 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 it's amount of content and the unique approach to user-generated content.
Later games in the
''LittleBigPlanet'' series expanded the formula, adding more features to the editor.
Since the late
2000s
File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty on the left during the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on Sep ...
, 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.
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
In English, the word ''like'' has a very flexible range of uses, ranging from conventional to non-standard. It can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, filler, quotative, and semi-suffix.
U ...
) or against (
boo) them.
The level editor was praised for being intuitive and easy to understand, while still allowing to create unique levels.
Later games with level editors are often influenced by and compared to ''Super Mario Maker''. Nintendo later released ''
Super Mario Maker 2
is a 2019 platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the sequel to '' Super Mario Maker'' and was released worldwide on June 28, 2019. The gameplay is largely retained from that o ...
'', a sequel to the first game with even more features.
Characteristics
The developer of a video game may include built-in level editing tools; for example, a
track editor for a
racing game
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a motor racing, racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more re ...
, 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
''Lunar Magic'' is a level editor created by FuSoYa for '' Super Mario World'' that allows the user to edit and create custom graphics, blocks, sprites, levels, backgrounds, music, overworld maps, and full title screen and credits. The progra ...
for ''
Super Mario World
''Super Mario World'', known in Japan as '' is a 1990 platform game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The player controls Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach and Dino ...
''. Level editors are present extensively in
video game integrated development environments, such as
Godot,
Unity, ot
Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game '' Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of ...
.
Most in-game level editors impose object limits to prevent performance issues,
crashes, and
exploits. This is especially prevalent in editors available on
game consoles, such as ''
Halo
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to:
Most common meanings
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
* ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021)
Arts and en ...
''
Forge
A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
.
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'' built-in chamber editor, are more accessible and easy to understand to an average player, but offer limited creative freedom compared professional map development tools, such as
Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...
's
Hammer Editor, which also comes with ''Portal 2'' and requires significant expertise from the user.
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''.
Some games, like ''
Dreams
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...
'' and ''
Game Builder Garage
is a 2021 programming video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. Released on June 11, 2021, it is a spin-off of the Nintendo Labo series, which included a mode with similar gameplay titled Toy-Con Garage.
Gameplay ...
'', allow users to make their own assets and develop custom logic, effectively functioning as
game creation systems.
Most modern games with level editors allow creators to upload their levels online, which are then able be played by other people. To upload a level, there is usually a requirement to beat the level beforehand, preventing impossible levels to be uploaded.
2D level editors

Level editors in two-dimentional games typically feature a
square grid on which level elements are placed. These editors often provide drag-and-drop functionality along with tools for deleting objects and adjusting their properties. Similar to various
graphics software
In computer graphics, graphics software refers to a program or collection of programs that enable a person to manipulate images or models visually on a computer.
Computer graphics can be classified into two distinct categories: raster graphics ...
,
layering
Layering can refer to:
* Layering (horticulture), a means of vegetative propagation
* Layering (finance), a strategy in high frequency trading
* Layering (linguistics), a principle by which grammaticalisation can be detected
* Surface layering ...
may also be used to separate overlapping objects.
3D level editors
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 dimentions, as well as to program such level editor. 3D editors typically have a
virtual camera
In 3D computer graphics, 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the b ...
that can be moved freely to view the level. Early 3D editors sometimes displayed
orthographic projection
Orthographic projection (also orthogonal projection and analemma) is a means of representing Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional objects in Plane (mathematics), two dimensions. Orthographic projection is a form of parallel projection in ...
s of the level on each axis; this was used to precisely place
brushes
A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped during u ...
.
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. 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. ''Super Mario Maker 2'' has received over two million levels in the first eleven days after the game's release; this has then increased to 26 million by May 3, 2021.
See also
*
List of level editors
*
End-user development End-user development (EUD) or end-user programming (EUP) refers to activities and tools that allow end-users – people who are not professional software developers – to program computers. People who are not professional developers can use EUD to ...
*
Low-code development platform
A low-code development platform (LCDP) provides a development environment used to create application software, generally through a graphical user interface (as opposed to only writing code, though some coding is possible and may be required). A l ...
*
No-code development platform
No-code development platforms (NCDPs) allow creating application software through graphical user interfaces and configuration instead of traditional computer programming based on writing code.
As with low-code development platforms, it is meant ...
*
Video game modding
Video game modding (short for "modifying") is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general ''modding''. A set of modifications, commonly c ...
*
Visual programming language
In computing, a visual programming language (visual programming system, VPL, or, VPS), also known as diagrammatic programming, graphical programming or block coding, is a programming language that lets users create computer program, programs by ...
Notes
References
{{reflist
Video game terminology