Towards procedural strategy game generation : evolving complementary unit types

The Strategy Game Description Game Language (SGDL) is intended to become a complete description of all aspects of strategy games, including rules, parameters, scenarios, maps, and unit types. One of the main envisioned uses of SGDL, in combination with an evolutionary algorithm and appropriate fitness functions, is to allow the generation of complete new strategy games or variations of old ones. This paper presents a first version of SGDL, capable of describing unit types and their properties, together with plans for how it will be extended to other sub-domains of strategy games. As a proof of the viability of the idea and implementation, an experiment is presented where unit types are evolved so as to generate complementary properties. A fitness function based on Monte Carlo simulation of gameplay is devised to test complementarity.peer-reviewe

Spicing up map generation

We describe a search-based map generator for the classic real-time strategy game Dune 2. The generator is capable of creating playable maps in seconds, which can be used with a partial recreation of Dune 2 that has been implemented using the Strategy Game Description Language. Map genotypes are represented as low-resolution matrices, which are then converted to higher-resolution maps through a stochastic process involving cellular automata. Map phenotypes are evaluated using a set of heuristics based on the gameplay requirements of Dune 2.peer-reviewe

Digging deeper into platform game level design : session size and sequential features

A recent trend within computational intelligence and games research is to investigate how to affect video game players’ in-game experience by designing and/or modifying aspects of game content. Analysing the relationship between game content, player behaviour and self-reported affective states constitutes an important step towards understanding game experience and constructing effective game adaptation mechanisms. This papers reports on further refinement of a method to understand this relationship by analysing data collected from players, building models that predict player experience and analysing what features of game and player data predict player affect best. We analyse data from players playing 780 pairs of short game sessions of the platform game Super Mario Bros, investigate the impact of the session size and what part of the level that has the major affect on player experience. Several types of features are explored, including item frequencies and patterns extracted through frequent sequence mining.peer-reviewe

Generating map sketches for strategy games

How can a human and an algorithm productively collaborate on generating game content? In this paper, we try to answer this question in the context of generating balanced and interesting low-resolution sketches for game levels. We introduce six important criteria for successful strategy game maps, and present map sketches optimized for one or more of these criteria via a constrained evolutionary algorithm. The sketch-based map representation and the computationally lightweight evaluation methods are geared towards the integration of the evolutionary algorithm within a mixed-initiative tool, allowing for the co-creation of game content by a human and an artificial designer.peer-reviewe

Evolving interesting maps for a first person shooter

We address the problem of automatically designing maps for first-person shooter (FPS) games. An efficient solution to this procedural content generation (PCG) problem could allow the design of FPS games of lower development cost with near-infinite replay value and capability to adapt to the skills and preferences of individual players. We propose a search-based solution, where maps are evolved to optimize a fitness function that is based on the players’ average fighting time. For that purpose, four different map representations are tested and compared. Results obtained showcase the clear advantage of some representations in generating interesting FPS maps and demonstrate the promise of the approach followed for automatic level design in that game genre.peer-reviewe

Search-based procedural content generation

Recently, a small number of papers have appeared in which the authors implement stochastic search algorithms, such as evolutionary computation, to generate game content, such as levels, rules and weapons. We propose a taxonomy of such approaches, centring on what sort of content is generated, how the content is represented, and how the quality of the content is evaluated. The relation between search-based and other types of procedural content generation is described, as are some of the main research challenges in this new field. The paper ends with some successful examples of this approach.peer-reviewe