An extensible description language for video games

Abstract

In this short paper, we propose a powerful new tool for conducting research on computational intelligence and games. "PyVGDL" is a simple, high-level, extensible description language for 2-D video games. It is based on defining locations and dynamics for simple building blocks (objects), together with local interaction effects. A rich ontology defines various controllers, object behaviors, passive effects (physics), and collision effects. It can be used to quickly design games, without having to deal with control structures. We show how the dynamics of many classical games can be generated from a few lines of PyVGDL. Furthermore, the accompanying software library permits parsing and instantly playing those games, visualized from a bird's-eye or first-person viewpoint, and using them as benchmarks for learning algorithms.