<s>
A	O
game	B-Application
development	I-Application
tool	I-Application
is	O
a	O
specialized	O
software	B-Application
application	I-Application
that	O
assists	O
or	O
facilitates	O
the	O
making	O
of	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
into	O
formats	O
required	O
by	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
level	O
editing	O
and	O
script	B-Language
compilation	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Almost	O
all	O
game	B-Application
development	I-Application
tools	I-Application
are	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
developer	O
custom	O
for	O
one	O
game	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
a	O
console	O
manufacturer	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Nintendo	O
or	O
Microsoft	O
)	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
game	O
development	O
kit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
many	O
COTS	O
packages	O
are	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
gamessuch	O
as	O
3D	O
packages	O
like	O
Maya	B-Language
and	O
3D	B-Language
Studio	I-Language
Max	I-Language
,	O
graphic	O
editors	O
like	O
Photoshop	B-Operating_System
and	O
IDEs	O
like	O
Microsoft	O
Visual	O
Studiothey	O
are	O
not	O
considered	O
solely	O
game	B-Application
development	I-Application
tools	I-Application
since	O
they	O
have	O
uses	O
beyond	O
game	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	B-Application
tools	I-Application
may	O
or	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
released	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
final	O
game	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
what	O
the	O
tool	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
today	O
a	O
game	O
like	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
would	O
most	O
likely	O
have	O
levels	O
generated	O
with	O
a	O
level	O
editor	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
industry	O
's	O
infancy	O
,	O
such	O
levels	O
were	O
hard	O
coded	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
source	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
soon	O
as	O
the	O
more	O
technologically	O
advanced	O
use	O
of	O
sprites	O
became	O
common	O
,	O
game	B-Application
development	I-Application
tools	I-Application
began	O
to	O
emerge	O
,	O
custom	O
programmed	O
by	O
the	O
programmer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
game	B-Application
development	I-Application
tools	I-Application
are	O
still	O
often	O
programmed	O
by	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
development	O
team	O
by	O
programmers	O
,	O
often	O
whose	O
sole	O
job	O
is	O
to	O
develop	O
and	O
maintain	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	B-Application
tools	I-Application
change	O
very	O
often	O
during	O
the	O
development	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
games	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Firaxis	O
 '	O
Civilization	B-Application
IV	I-Application
,	O
are	O
built	O
with	O
user	O
modification	O
in	O
mind	O
and	O
include	O
numerous	O
tools	O
for	O
game	O
customizing	O
.	O
</s>
