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. 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

See also

• Online Creation
• List of level editors
• Music Construction Set