Book Image

Procedural Content Generation for Unity Game Development

By : Ryan Watkins
Book Image

Procedural Content Generation for Unity Game Development

By: Ryan Watkins

Overview of this book

Procedural Content Generation is a process by which game content is developed using computer algorithms, rather than through the manual efforts of game developers. This book teaches readers how to develop algorithms for procedural generation that they can use in their own games. These concepts are put into practice using C# and Unity is used as the game development engine. This book provides the fundamentals of learning and continued learning using PCG. You'll discover the theory of PCG and the mighty Pseudo Random Number Generator. Random numbers such as die rolls and card drafting provide the chance factor that makes games fun and supplies spontaneity. This book also takes you through the full development of a 2D game. Starting with level generation, you'll learn how PCG can make the game environment for you. You'll move into item generation and learn the different techniques to procedurally create game items. Thereafter, you'll be guided through the more abstract PCG areas such as scaling difficulty to the player and even generating music! The book helps you set up systems within your games where algorithms create computationally generated levels, art assets, quests, stories, characters, and weapons; these can substantially reduce the burden of manually creating every aspect of the game. Finally, you'll get to try out your new PCG skills on 3D terrain generation.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Procedural Content Generation for Unity Game Development
Credits
Disclaimer
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Algorithm design


In order to successfully design an algorithm for a randomly generated dungeon, we need to define what we mean by dungeon. In video games, a dungeon is typically an enclosed labyrinth-like level with a start and an end. A subgenre of games called a dungeon crawler gets its name from having the player complete many of these levels known as dungeons. Roguelike games are also known for their dungeon crawler style game play but with the extension that the dungeons are procedurally generated.

So our aim is to make a maze-like level layout and design. There are plenty of maze creating algorithms that are well defined and documented on the Internet. You should spend some time looking at some of these maze creation algorithms and trying to understand them. However, we will be writing our own algorithm to get the most exposure to the topic.

Algorithm overview

We can create the dungeon, much like we do the game world board. We will lay out tiles representing the floor for our player to...