History of Level Design

Reading the chapter about the history of game design has made me understand Level Design as a whole a lot better. The chapter talked about how one of the very first places level design was actually being implemented  by MUD's 1991 game ZZT. It allowed players to build their own levels with editors.

These level editors continued to ship with games and hobbyists began to learn how to create interesting levels. These hobbyists were later being hired by companies to design levels for them. However, as level design grew, more complex Level Design software began to be used. Now most of the levels are created in an outside program and then implemented into a game engine. Now Level Editors have evolved from simple editors to a place where you can composite a scene to show off your pieces.

I've had experience with Level Editors in previous computer games that I have played. The most notable one that I remember was from a game called Age of Mythology. You could use tools in the game to alter terrain, add buildings, and units. This allowed you to create scenarios that players could actually play out, and you could tell them that you designed it in the editor.

Age of Mythology: Ensemble Studios