editor as it is really used will be invaluable. Without actually having to sit down and fully
use the application they are creating, the programmer is likely to conclude that the
designers are overemphasizing the problems with the editor (known in industry par-
lance as “whining”). But by actually having to use the tool he is working on, a
programmer is likely to easily identify editor shortcomings that can be easily fixed
through a few hours of coding. Designers frequently fail to understand the complexity
of different programming tasks, and as a result make requests for nearly impossible fea-
tures in the level editor, while thinking easily remedied problems are unfixable.
Perhaps the best solution of all is to have a designer who is also a programmer, and
thereby spends a lot of time working with the editor. This designer/programmer is
directly motivated toward improving the tool he must work with every day, and is likely
to do whatever he can to make it the best tool possible. Ten years ago I am sure this was
not that uncommon, but for full-scale projects in development today it is fairly rare. Pro-
gramming a level editor and designing levels have each become tasks that fully
consume an individual developer’s time, and unfortunately the days of the
designer/programmer seem to be mostly a thing of the past.
A Game Editor for All Seasons.......................
A level editor does not actually need to be bug free. Bug-free software is the stuff one
buys in stores, if one is lucky. Really great in-house tools can have plenty of bugs in
them. What is important is that these tools be buggy in predictable ways. The bugs
should occur in patterns that the designers can learn how to predict and teach them-
selves to avoid. Once a designer becomes adept at the tools he will know what not to do
and will be able to easily work around the trouble spots. Proprietary level editor tools
are one place in software development where the old joke “Doctor, it hurts when I do
this!” “Then don’t do that!” really rings true.
Of course, if the tools used on a project are good enough, marketing may catch on
and can come up with the bright idea, “Hey, we can release the tools with the game!”
Indeed, shipping a game with its level editor and having users create add-on levels for
your title can help to keep interest alive in a game long after it has been released.
Hard-core fans will love to make “mods” for the game to circulate among their friends
or the general public. For the tools to be released, they really will need to be relatively
bug free, or at least much more stable than when they were only being used in-house.
The possibility of releasing the level editor to the fans should function as an incentive to
encourage the programming team to create the best tools possible. Of course, some
publishers still fail to see the logic of having the fan community build add-ons and refuse
to release the tools used for the game’s creation. The argument they often give is that if
users can build more levels themselves, who will want to buy the sequel? Of course, id
Software, the company that popularized releasing level editors to the public, continues
to do quite well financially, suggesting that protectionist thinking in terms of level edi-
tors is somewhat foolish.
In the end, it all comes down to what should be recognized as an axiom in the gam-
ing industry: a game can only be as good as the tools used in its creation. A
well-conceived level design tool can make the difference between a great game and a
mediocre one. One can think of the ideal level editor as a place where the designer has
406 Chapter 21: Designing Design Tools