Automated video game world map synthesis by model-based techniques

Abstract

World maps contribute a significant part of the interactivity and entertainment to modern video games. While large-scale industrial world map generation tools exist, their use usually implies a substantial learning curve, and the cost of licences restricts the accessibility of these tools to individual game developers. In this paper, we introduce a world map generator for Unity-based games that exploits model-based techniques. After the game-specific concepts of the world map are captured and turned into a metamodel, the world map generation problem is first formulated as a consistent graph generation problem solved by a state-of-the-art model generator. This graph model is subsequently refined into a concrete world within the Unity game engine by (1) mapping the abstract graph elements into Unity game objects and (2) creating a height map based on user-defined properties with the Perlin Noise technique. Demonstration video: https://youtu.be/03BbD61EKpk