ABSTRACT
Procedural content generation (PCG), the algorithmic creation of game content with limited or indirect user input, has much to offer to game design. In recent years, it has become a mainstay of game AI, with significant research being put towards the investigation of new PCG systems, algorithms, and techniques. But for PCG to be absorbed into the practice of game design, it must be contextualised within design-centric as opposed to AI or engineering perspectives. We therefore provide a set of design metaphors for understanding potential relationships between a designer and PCG. These metaphors are: tool, material, designer, and domain expert. By examining PCG through these metaphors, we gain the ability to articulate qualities, consequences, affordances, and limitations of existing PCG approaches in relation to design. These metaphors are intended both to aid designers in understanding and appropriating PCG for their own contexts, and to advance PCG research by highlighting the assumptions implicit in existing systems and discourse.
- Agre, P. E. Computation and Human Experience. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1997. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Andersen, E. Optimizing adaptivity in educational games. In Proc. Foundations of Digital Games 2012, ACM Press (2012), 279--281. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Baber, C. Cognition and Tool Use: Forms of Engagement in Human and Animal Use of Tools. Taylor & Francis, London, 2003.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Bellotti, F., Berta, R., De Gloria, A., and Primavera, L. Adaptive experience engine for serious games. IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI in Games 1, 4 (2009), 264--280.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Bodine, R., and Crawford, D. The Handbook of Conflict Resolution Education: A Guide to Building Quality Programs in Schools. Jossey-Bass Inc. Publishers, 1998.Google Scholar
- Boehner, K., David, S., Kaye, J., and Sengers, P. Critical technical practice as a methodology for values in design. In Proc. CHI 2005 Workshop on Quality, Value(s) and Choice, ACM Press (2005).Google Scholar
- Caroll, J. M., Mack, R. L., and Kellogg, W. A. Interface metaphors and user interface design. In Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction, M. Helander, Ed. Elsevier Science Publishers, 1988, 67--85.Google Scholar
- Cooke, N. J. Varieties of knowledge elicitation techniques. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 41, 6 (1994), 801--849. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Fernandez-Vara, C., and Thomson, A. Procedural generation of narrative puzzles in adventure games: The puzzle-dice system. In Proc. Procedural Content Generation in Games 2012. ACM Press, 2012.Google Scholar
- Friedman, B., and Kahn, Jr., P. H. Human values, ethics, and design. In The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook, J. A. Jacko and A. Sears, Eds. L. Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale, NJ, USA, 2003, 1177--1201. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Gearbox Software. Borderlands. Feral Interactive, October 2009.Google Scholar
- Harrison, S., Tatar, D., and Sengers, P. The three paradigms of HCI. In Proc. alt.chi 2007 (2007).Google Scholar
- Hullett, K., and Mateas, M. Scenario generation for emergency rescue training games. In Proc. Foundations of Digital Games 2009, ACM Press (2009), 99--106. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. SpeedTree, 2002 - 2012. Computer software.Google Scholar
- Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. Speedtree utilities. http://www.speedtree.com/support/speedtree_utilities.htm, September 2012.Google Scholar
- Kazmi, S., and Palmer, I. J. Action recognition for support of adaptive gameplay: A case study of a first person shooter. International Journal of Computer Games Technology 2010 (2010). Google ScholarDigital Library
- Khaled, R., and Ingram, G. Tales from the front lines of a large-scale serious game project. In Proc. CHI 2012, ACM Press (2012), 69--78. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Koster, R. A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Paraglyph Press, 2004. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Lakoff, G., and Johnson, M. Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press, 1980.Google Scholar
- Lawson, B., and Loke, S. M. Computers, words and pictures. Design Studies 18, 2 (1997), 171--183.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Lopes, R., and Bidarra, R. Adaptivity challenges in games and simulations: A survey. IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI in Games 3, 2 (2011), 85--99.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Malone, T. W. What makes things fun to learn? Heuristics for designing instructional computer games. In Proc. Small Systems 1980, ACM Press (1980), 162--169. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Nelson, M. J. Encoding and generating videogame mechanics. Tutorial at the 2012 IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games. http://www.kmjn.org/notes/generating_mechanics_bibliography.html, 2012.Google Scholar
- Nelson, M. J., and Mateas, M. Towards automated game design. In Proc. AI*IA 2007: Artificial Intelligence and Human-Oriented Computing, Springer (2007), 626--637. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Nelson, M. J., and Mateas, M. An interactive game-design assistant. In Proc. Intelligent User Interfaces 2008, ACM Press (2008), 90--98. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Niehaus, J., and Riedl, M. O. Scenario adaptation: An approach to customizing computer-based training games and simulations. In Proc. AIED 2009 Workshop on Intelligent Educational Games (2009), 89--98.Google Scholar
- Nitsche, M., Ashmore, C., Hankinson, W., Fitzpatrick, R., Kelly, J., and Margenau, K. Designing procedural game spaces: A case study. In Proc. FuturePlay 2006 (2006).Google Scholar
- Pedersen, C., Togelius, J., and Yannakakis, G. N. Modeling player experience in Super Mario Bros. In Proc. Computational Intelligence and Games 2009, IEEE Press (2009), 132--139. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Rizzo, A., Graap, K., McLay, R. N., Perlman, K., Rothbaum, B. O., Reger, G., Parsons, T. D., Difede, J., and Pair, J. Virtual Iraq: Initial case reports from a VR exposure therapy application for combat-related post traumatic stress disorder. In Proc. Virtual Rehabilitation 2007 (2007), 124--130.Google Scholar
- Schmitt, S. World Machine. http://www.world-machine.com/, 2012. Computer software.Google Scholar
- Smith, A. M., Andersen, E., Mateas, M., and Popović, Z. A case study of expressively constrainable level design automation tools for a puzzle game. In Proc. Foundations of Digital Games 2012, ACM Press (2012), 156--163. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Smith, A. M., and Mateas, M. Computational caricatures: Probing the game design process with AI. In Proc. AIIDE Workshop on Artificial Intelligence in the Game Design Process, AAAI Press (2011), 19--24.Google Scholar
- Smith, G., Gan, E., Othenin-Girard, A., and Whitehead, J. PCG-based game design: Enabling new play experiences through procedural content generation. In Proc. Procedural Content Generation in Games 2011, ACM Press (2011). Google ScholarDigital Library
- Smith, G., Othenin-Girard, A., Whitehead, J., and Wardrip-Fruin, N. PCG-based game design: Creating Endless Web. In Proc. Foundations of Digital Games 2012, ACM Press (2012), 188--195. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Smith, G., Whitehead, J., and Mateas, M. Tanagra: A mixed-initiative level design tool. In Proc. Foundations of Digital Games 2010, ACM Press (2010), 209--216. Google ScholarDigital Library
- St. Amant, R., and Horton, T. E. Characterizing tool use in an interactive drawing environment. In Proc. Smart Graphics 2002, ACM Press (2002), 86--93. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Sullivan, A., Mateas, M., and Wardrip-Fruin, N. Rules of engagement: Moving beyond combat-based quests. In Proc. Intelligent Narrative Technologies III, ACM Press (2010). Google ScholarDigital Library
- Togelius, J., Kastbjerg, E., Schedl, D., and Yannakakis, G. N. What is procedural content generation? Mario on the borderline. In Proc. Procedural Content Generation in Games 2011, ACM Press (2011). Google ScholarDigital Library
- Togelius, J., Nardi, R. D., and Lucas, S. M. Towards automatic personalised content creation for racing games. In Proc. Computational Intelligence and Games 2007, IEEE Press (2007), 252--259.Google Scholar
- Togelius, J., and Schmidhuber, J. An experiment in automatic game design. In Proc. Computational Intelligence and Games 2008, IEEE Press (2008), 111--118.Google Scholar
- Toy, M., Wichman, G., and Arnold, K. Rogue, 1980. Computer software.Google Scholar
- Treanor, M., Blackford, B., Mateas, M., and Bogost, I. Game-O-Matic: Generating videogames that represent ideas. In Proc. Procedural Content Generation in Games 2012, ACM Press (2012).Google Scholar
- Vallgårda, A., and Redström, J. Computational composites. In Proc. CHI 2007, ACM Press (2007), 513--522. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Walls, J. Police Quest. Sierra On-Line, 1987. Computer software.Google Scholar
- Wilson, D., and Sicart, M. Now it's personal: On abusive game design. In Proc. FuturePlay 2010, ACM Press (2010), 40--47. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Yannakakis, G. N., and Togelius, J. Experience-driven procedural content generation. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing 2, 3 (2011), 147--161. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Design metaphors for procedural content generation in games
Recommendations
Understanding procedural content generation: a design-centric analysis of the role of PCG in games
CHI '14: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsGames that use procedural content generation (PCG) do so in a wide variety of ways and for different reasons. One of the most common reasons cited by PCG system creators and game designers is improving replayability by providing a means for ...
Procedural Content Generation for Game Props? A Study on the Effects on User Experience
Theoretical and Practical Computer Applications in EntertainmentThis work demonstrates the potentials of procedural content generation (PCG) for games, focusing on the generation of specific graphic props (reefs) in an explorer game.
We briefly portray the state-of-the-art of PCG and compare various methods to ...
Designing Games with Procedural Content Generation: An Authorial Approach
CHI EA '15: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing SystemsThis paper describes the design of a novel approach to procedural content generation, intent on supporting game design activities. The distinctive factor in this approach is that content generation is guided by a series of target experience indicators, ...
Comments