Procedural game level generation by joining geometry with hand-placed connectors

Abstract

We present a method for procedural generation of 3D levels based on a system of connectors with pins and human-made pieces of geometry. The method avoids size limitations and layout constraints, while offering the level designer a high degree of control over the generated maps. The proposed approach was originally developed for and tested on a multiplayer shooter game, nonetheless being sufficiently general to be useful for other types of game, as demonstrated by a number of additional experiments. The method can be used as both a level design and level creation tool, opening the door for quality map creation in a fraction of the time of a fully human-based approach.