Player Creation Sharing

Player Creation Sharing is a method of creating and sharing creations within an interactive medium, mainly video games and websites. Sources for content creation include can include Level Editors and Game Makers.

The content can be shared many ways. Online methods include a central hub for content within the work itself, access codes, or general platforms such as Steam Workshop. Offline methods include inserting memory cards, using a connection cable, uploading files, or scanning codes with a camera.

If the content modifies the source material, it's a Game Mod. While some games allow sharing mods, ROM Hacks are usually not supported by Player Creation Sharing.

Compare Player Data Sharing, where unique aspects of one player's save file can be incorporated into another. See also Fan Works and Derivative Works.

---

Examples of works featuring Player Creation Sharing:

Fighting Games

• In newer installments of Super Smash Bros. (and previously Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U until Miiverse was shut down) stages made with the Stage Builder tool can be shared online. Infamously, for a period of time when Ultimate was released, several inappropriate and explicit stages ended up getting shared due to an initial lack of oversight on the sharing service. Nintendo subsequently took these down.

Game Makers

• Game Builder Garage is a game designed to allow the players to create a game for themselves, which can then be shared through unique ID numbers.
• Roblox is mostly made up of user-made games, as the main thing about it is that you can make whatever you want. Its most popular games are all user-made, with a few exceptions such as old classics. Their motto is "Powering Imagination" for a reason.

Hack-and-Slash

• Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires allows players to create their own custom campaigns (and even submit their created officers) for other players to download and play.

Idle Games

• Exponential Idle has added the custom theory feature in an update. It lets players create their own small idle games with JavaScript and upload them into the game. The ones that receive approval from the developers are marked with a star and progress in them affects the main game theory multiplier.

MMORPGs

• City of Heroes has an in-game Level Editor called the Mission Architect that allows players to write and submit missions to play.
• Neverwinter and Star Trek Online formerly each had in-game Level Editors, both called the Foundry, that allowed players to build missions that could then be played with Player Characters in the game proper. STO's was developed as a testbed for the Neverwinter Foundry, which was made in homage to the famous level editors in the preceding Neverwinter Nights series. Unfortunately, after its original coders left Cryptic Studios, the Foundry fell by the wayside and began suffering escalating game breaking bugs until Cryptic finally shut the system down in both games in 2019.

Platform Games

• Online versions of Everybody Edits act as a live Level Editor. Players can instantly join and modify levels that others are playing when permitted by the level owner.
• LittleBigPlanet games let players share levels they create as well as music, films, and costumes.
• Platform Racing: The second and third entries each have a Level Editor, with many user-levels being added to the campaign.
• Portal 2 has a Level Editor. Player-created levels are mainly shared through the Steam Workshop.
• Pushmo lets players publish levels they made by sharing QR codes.
• Super Mario Maker prominently features levels made and shared online. The main campaign modes string these together randomly. Super Mario Maker 2 introduces Super Worlds, which let level creators group levels together and place them into a larger world.

Puzzle Games

• All variants of Deadly Rooms of Death come with a level editor, and the game's website has a section for player-created holds.
• In Scribblenauts Unlimited, objects created with the game's object editor can be shared through Steam Workshop.

Racing Games

• ModNation Racers: Players can create their own karts, tracks, and player characters in-game. For a time, these could be shared online, but this feature is now defunct due to the online service shutting down.
• SuperTuxKart: It's intended for people to be able to make new tracks for battle mode and race mode, as well as new characters. You can download most of these in the 'add-ons' menu. And the game even comes with a Level Editor.
• The TrackMania games come with a robust track editor, with the tracks later being able to be shared online. A large community has since formed that makes and shares tracks, with several websites being dedicated to sharing them.

Role-Playing Games

• Miitopia: In the Switch version, players can upload their Miis for other players to use in the game.

Real Time Strategy

• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition allows user-made content (usually gameplay/civilization modifications and even maps) to be shared through the Modifications menu.

Shoot 'em Ups

• Blast Works Build Trade Destroy allowed you to create fully custom ships, bullet patterns, and stages which could be shared on Blast Works Depot. Unfortunately, the game's sharing services have long since gone defunct.
• Bubble Tanks: Arenas allowed you to build custom tanks (for both the player and as enemies) out of provided parts, along with letting you design your own stages. 3 removed the level editor, but greatly increased the number of parts available in the tank editor, with even more available as Downloadable Content. In both games, your creations could be uploaded to the server where other players could download and play with them. Sadly, these services are no longer in operation.

Simulation Games

• In the Animal Crossing series:
  • It's possible to design customised patterns of 32×32 pixels, which can be used on clothes, umbrellas, carpets, and floors. Later games also allow one to use designs for certain furniture items as well. In New Leaf, designs can be stored as QR codes and shared to other players, while New Horizons allows designs to be uploaded online for others to download through an in-game kiosk.
  • The game also allows players to visit each other's towns, cities, and islands to see what the others have built and how they have decorated it. This is also possible in New Horizons by sharing a "dream" address where a saved version of a player's island can be seen and explored by strangers, but not truly interacted with it.
• Planet Coaster: The game features a blueprint function, where rides and scenery can be shared through the Steam Workshop.
• The RollerCoaster Tycoon series allows you to build your own theme park, including many types of rides. Some websites, such as RCTgo, allow for the online sharing of these tracks and parks.
• Spore was built off this concept, with various in-game editors for creating instances of almost any entity you see in the game; creatures, vehicles, buildings, spaceships, and more. All of this can be shared to the Sporepedia, where other players can add these creations to their games. Various expansions were released that upped the amount of parts for creatures, and even added the ability to make playable Adventures that lean into Level Editor status.

Turn-Based Strategy

• Battle for Wesnoth has an "Add-ons" feature that can be used to download many user-made campaigns, multiplayer maps, and factions among other things.
• Disgaea: Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten and Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance allow online players to create custom maps for others to download from a database. Alliance Of Vengeance takes it further by allowing certain maps to be designated for gather resources or level-grinding, those specific options need to be unlocked first.
• Wargroove allows uploading custom maps and campaigns.

Wide-Open Sandbox

• Garry's Mod 12 had the Toybox, which allowed the player to install mods and load them in-game. In GMod 13, this was replaced by Steam Workshop support, though you can install dupes and saves in-game.
  • There is also one included in the Midgame Workshop Hotloader mod, which re-adds the ability to load mods in the map.
• Saints Row has had a feature like this since at least the third installment (the now-defunct My Steelport, for example), which is also present in the reboot. Unlike My Steelport, however, with the latter, it's possible to exchange custom characters either from the Boss Factory demo or within the actual game itself.
• Universe Sandbox lets the player test out trending Steam Workshop items in-game, without the need to subscribe to them. However, you can still subscribe to items if you wish to keep them.

Websites

• Scratch is a website for creating and sharing user-generated content.

---