Level editor
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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 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. An individual involved with the creation of game levels is a level designer or mapper.
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.
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.
To make larger changes to a game than simply adding new levels, a Software Development Kit (SDK) is sometimes needed.
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
- The Elder Scrolls Construction Set
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