Level (video games)

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The talk page may contain suggestions. (October 2023) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Level" video games – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Part of a series on the
Video game industry
Development Producer Developer Designer Artist Programmer Design Level design Programming Engine AI Graphics Music Testing
Products Video game Specialized / alternative-paradigmatic types: Casual Erotic Indie Interactive movie Nonviolent Serious Art game Edugame Exergame Non-game Arcade cabinet Console Accessory
Publishing Markets China U.S. Japan South Korea Localization Censorship Content rating Piracy Clone Intellectual property protection Digital rights management Copy protection
Distribution and monetization Buy-to-play AAA game Expansion pack Episodic video game Early access Crowdfunding Downloadable content Games as a service Cloud gaming Free-to-play Microtransactions In-game currency Loot box gacha Season pass Battle pass Advertising in video games in-game Advergame
Related Game studies Game journalism
Lists List of video game developers Indie List of video game publishers List of video game industry people List of video game websites List of video game magazines
v t e

In video games, a level (also referred to as a map, stage, course, or round in some older games) is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective. Video game levels generally have progressively increasing difficulty to appeal to players with different skill levels.^[1] Each level may present new concepts and challenges to keep a player's interest high.^[1]

In games with linear progression, levels are areas of a larger world, such as Green Hill Zone. Games may also feature interconnected levels, representing locations.^[2] Although the challenge in a game is often to defeat some sort of character, levels are sometimes designed with a movement challenge, such as a jumping puzzle, a form of obstacle course.^[3] Players must judge the distance between platforms or ledges and safely jump between them to reach the next area.^[4] These puzzles can slow the momentum down for players of fast action games;^[5] the first Half-Life's penultimate chapter, "Interloper", featured multiple moving platforms high in the air with enemies firing at the player from all sides.^[6]