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Procedural Content

Generation

Lecture 16:

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Updates

Second prototype due Thursday!

Upload through CMS

Thursday: playtesting

Tuesday: postmortems

You need to be in class Thursday and Tuesday

Procedural Content Generation2

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A* Mario

Procedural Content Generation3

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Infinite Mario

Procedural Content Generation4

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Minecraft

Procedural Content Generation5

Source: Mojang

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Today you will learn

Two bread-and-butter techniques

Perlin Noise

Grammars

Standard

Graph

Shape

How Minecraft’s terrain generation works*

Procedural Content Generation6

*to the extent that has been discussed publicly

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Programmers

Engine

Implementing mechanics

Designers

Levels

Animations

Procedural Content Generation7

Traditional Workflow

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Why?

Creating content is a bottleneck

Increases replayability

Shows that you deeply understand your game

Procedural Content Generation8

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Challenges

Procedural Content Generation9

“You’ve just taken a really hard problem and made it harder”

Source: spore.wikia.com

Kate Compton

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Challenges

Quality

Good?

Fun?

Beatable?

Interesting?

As good as human-designed content?

Consistency - is it always acceptable?

Speed

Procedural Content Generation10

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Rogue

Procedural Content Generation11

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Diablo II

Procedural Content Generation12

Source: www.dlcompare.com

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Spelunky

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Minecraft

Procedural Content Generation14

Source: Mojang

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Management of Randomness

Procedural Content Generation15

more random

more structured

Random numbers

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Ugly

Unstructured

Procedural Content Generation16

Random numbers

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Actual surface of the earth

Procedural Content Generation17

Source: Google maps

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Management of Randomness

Procedural Content Generation18

more random

more structured

Perlin Noise

Random numbers

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Perlin Noise

Procedural Content Generation19

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Procedural Content Generation20

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Procedural Content Generation21

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Procedural Content Generation22

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Procedural Content Generation23

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Procedural Content Generation24

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Procedural Content Generation25

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Procedural Content Generation26

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Procedural Content Generation27

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Procedural Content Generation28

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Procedural Content Generation29

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Procedural Content Generation30

~0

~0 ~.6

~.3

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Procedural Content Generation31

~0

~0 ~.6

~.3

~.15

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Procedural Content Generation32

Source: http://blog.movingblocks.net/2011/06/11/goodbye-perlin-noise-2d-perlin-noise-3d/

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Management of Randomness

Procedural Content Generation33

more random

more structured

Perlin Noise

Random numbers

Evolutionary algs.

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Galactic Arms Race

Procedural Content Generation34

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Procedural Content Generation35

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Zelda: Twilight Princess, Forest Temple

Procedural Content Generation36

Source: ZorZelda Youtube

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Procedural Content Generation37

Create

Game World

Interesting

Decisions?

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Procedural Content Generation38

Create

Game World

Choose

Decisions

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Management of Randomness

Procedural Content Generation39

more random

more structured

Perlin Noise

Random numbers

Evolutionary algs.

Grammars

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Zelda: Twilight Princess, Forest Temple

Procedural Content Generation40

Source: ZorZelda Youtube

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Can we automatically generate these?

Procedural Content Generation41

Joris Dormans, “Engineering Emergence”

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Steps

1. Understand the decisions

2. Create content that forces specific decisions

Procedural Content Generation42

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Missions

Procedural Content Generation43

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S → a a

Procedural Content Generation44

Grammars

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S → a | b a

b

Procedural Content Generation45

Grammars

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S → Sb | a

S

Sb

Sbb

abbProcedural Content Generation46

Grammars

S → Sb

S → Sb

S → Sa

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S → Sb | a a

ab

abb

abbb

Procedural Content Generation47

Grammars

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S → aSc

S → b

abc

aabcc

aaabccc

Procedural Content Generation48

Grammars

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S → X | Y

X → XX | ab

Y → YY | bc

ab

ababab

bcbc

bcbcbcbcbc

NOT: ababbc

Procedural Content Generation49

Grammars

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Why is this called a “grammar”?

sentence → noun phrase verb phrase

noun phrase → (det.) (adjective) noun (prep. phrase)

verb phrase → (adv.) verb noun phrase

(prep. phrase) (adv.)

the red fox quickly found the hedgehog

Procedural Content Generation50

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Graph Grammars

Procedural Content Generation51

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Procedural Content Generation52

Level Task

Task Task Task

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Procedural Content Generation53

Key DoorTask

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Procedural Content Generation54

Key Door

Key

Door

Key

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Procedural Content Generation55

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Procedural Content Generation56

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Shape Grammar

Procedural Content Generation57

A

B

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Shape Grammar

Procedural Content Generation58

B

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Shape Grammar

Procedural Content Generation59

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Procedural Content Generation60

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Procedural Content Generation61

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Management of Randomness

Procedural Content Generation62

more random

more structured

Perlin Noise

Random numbers

Evolutionary algs.

Grammars

Constraint satisfaction

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Procedural Content Generation63

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Procedural Content Generation64

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Procedural Content Generation65

Source: Gillian Smith, Launchpad

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Management of Randomness

Procedural Content Generation66

more random

more structured

Perlin Noise

Random numbers

Evolutionary algs.

Grammars

Constraint satisfaction

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Summary

Procedural content generation

can enhance your design power

enables some games that are impossible otherwise

(Minecraft)

is a beautiful combination of programming and design

Key techniques

Perlin Noise

Evolutionary Algorithms

Grammars

Constraint Solving

Procedural Content Generation67