Level editor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A level editor (also known as a map, campaign or scenario editor) is a software application used to design levels, maps, or campaigns for a computer or 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 steps in to fill the void.
Sometimes a level editor is integrated in the game, and is an integral part of the game. Other times (and most often), it is a separate part of the game. The latter is almost always the case for fan-released level editors.
An individual involved with the creation of game levels is a level designer or mapper.
Some level editors include:
- Far Cry Instincts Map Editor for Far Cry
- JED, level editor for Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
- Lunar Magic, an editor for Super Mario World
- Re-Volt track editor (PC/PS1/N64/Dreamcast)
- SimPE, level and content editor for The Sims 2
- Star Wars Battlefront BFBuilder
- StarEdit Editor for StarCraft
- Tomb Raider Level Editor
- UnrealEd, level editor for Epic's Unreal series of first-person shooters
- Valve Hammer Editor for Half-Life 2 (and related Steam games)
- Warcraft III World Editor
- JCS,Editor for Jazz Jackrabbit 2
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 Set
- Adventure Construction Set
- Shoot'Em-Up Construction Kit
- Racing Destruction Set
