Old-school first-person shooters likeDOOMandQuakeare known for their hardcore mapping communities, but creating custom maps for these games is a notoriously inaccessible experience. This is especially so for newcomers to mapping, as well as morecasual FPS fans.
However, many FPS games throughout the years — even old-school FPS titles likeTimeSplitters— have included in-game level editors that attempt to make the experience more accessible. These are just a few examples of well-crafted editors that are both fun and easy to use.
Thisfirst-person puzzle gamedoesn’t contain much shooting outside of the portal gun itself, but its innovative first-person puzzle designs and memorable linear narrative makes it one of the all-time greats. Furthermore,Portal 2features a brilliant level editor that’s accessible to newcomers while allowing for more complex creations.
Portal 2’slevel editor allows players to create their own contained puzzles, and while the features may not be as extensive as some fans would hope, the potential for the editor is still surprisingly good. Creating environments and placing objects is incredibly simple, and the clean user-interface allows the experience to be free of tedium. As a result, the level editor allows players to easily build and share maps with the community.
Entries in theFar Cryfranchise, such asFar Cry 3, included level editors that allowed players to use in-game assets to create custom scenarios to play in. More impressive wasFar Cry 5’slevel editor, which upped the ante and gave players more freedom to create what they wanted.
While players are unable to do much outside of placing assets and painting/changing the terrain, the editor’s intuitive tools allow players to create a variety of environments that wouldn’t look out of place in the main game. As a result, many later entries intheFar Cryfranchiseare much more replayable than their predecessors.
After two entries intheHalofranchise,Halo 3introduced an in-depth level editor that allowed players to create custom maps. While games such asHalo Reachand later entries in the series also featured this “Forge” mode,Halo 3’scustom games were particularly memorable for the community spirit that surrounded them.
Halo’sForge mode, while not the most complex (especially in its earlier stages), blended perfectly with the custom game mode. This resulted in an infinitely replayable multiplayer experience, led by a community of die-hard fans.
This classic first-person shooterfranchise by Free Radical Designis known for its plethora of content and variety of arcade modes. Most notable, however, are the level editors ofTimeSplitters 2andTimeSplitters: Future Perfect. These level editors were highly detailed and incredibly accessible, allowing even beginners to create fun maps to explore.
The map-maker ofTimeSplitters: Future Perfectis particularly great, even allowing for custom logic. AlthoughTimeSplittersisn’t readily available anymore, the level editors of these games make them worth the effort it takes to play them.
This visceral, fast-paced reboot ofthe classicDOOMfranchisebrought the spirit of theDOOMmapping community into the mainstream by including an accessible level editor. This editor, “SnapMap,” is also tremendously powerful, allowing players to quickly create highly polished maps without much prior experience. Although the originalDOOMgames have notoriously hardcore mapping communities, this accessible tool allows more casual players to express their creativity in theDOOMuniverse.
The editor works using a modular system that allows players to snap together different pre-made tiles to design a map like they’re playing with LEGO. Unfortunately, the levels of customization aren’t close to what players can achieve using more in-depth mapping tools for games such asQuake, which often results in more generic levels. However, the accessibility and general ease of use makes it worth checking out, especially for beginners to mapping.
Thismodern boomer shootertakes clear inspiration from games such asDOOM, both the original games and the more recent sequels. This results in a modernized, highly polished experience with plenty of quality of life features. Furthermore,Prodeusfeatures a built-in level editor.
Although fans have long been making maps forDOOM,Prodeus’built-in editor makes creating custom maps much more accessible. Furthermore,Prodeusalso features a built-in browser to view and play maps made by the community, making it a breeze to enjoy extra fan-made content.
This retro-styled FPS features classic boomer-shooter gameplay with some inspirations from old-school classics such asHexenandHeretic. The game takes place in a fantasy setting, featuring a variety of fantasy weapons that suit the theme well while still offering players a diverse arsenal.
Best of all,Wizordumhas a great in-game level editor that players can make use of.Wizordumfeatures one of the most accessible level editors, especially among boomer shooters, allowing players to create detailed custom levels with ease.
