Truly Random Generation
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Houston, we have a problem
Playing through our current random generation was super sucky
It wasn't where we NOR our community wanted it to be
It wasn't where we NOR our community wanted it to be
Photo by Stuck in Customs
Untitled Slide
Friedrich Hayek's famous quote might also be applicable to game design.
We spent some serious time hashing out what we wanted.
We spent some serious time hashing out what we wanted.
Premise
Map
Rooms
Tiles
Blocks
We listed:
a solid foundation that can easily be built upon
smart map layout and generation
different rooms needed to be generated on the map
the tiles in the room couldn't look the same each time (i've seen room 5 2000x times now)
Blocks of varition would be nice.
a solid foundation that can easily be built upon
smart map layout and generation
different rooms needed to be generated on the map
the tiles in the room couldn't look the same each time (i've seen room 5 2000x times now)
Blocks of varition would be nice.
Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography
Darius Kazemi
@tinysubversions
We spent an equal amount of time on research.
Chris found an awesome essay from
Darius Kazemi of tiny subversions.com on how Spelunky's random generation could be explained. It was definitely a resource to build off of.
Its VERY Important to note Darius' essay is NOT how the Spelunky team developed the game :) but it is very cool.
Chris found an awesome essay from
Darius Kazemi of tiny subversions.com on how Spelunky's random generation could be explained. It was definitely a resource to build off of.
Its VERY Important to note Darius' essay is NOT how the Spelunky team developed the game :) but it is very cool.
Untitled Slide
The basis for Darius' essay and any other randomized program is probability
and probabilities within probabilities.
and probabilities within probabilities.
Photo by Gwydion M. Williams
Map
- 4x4 grid
- Matrix4x4
- [i,j]
- Matrix4x4.zero
- The Path
The basic map was 16 tiles, a 4x4 grid.
This was soooo perfect for me! Unity has Matrix4x4
Little did I know Matrix4x4 is a transformation matrix and NOT a Mathmatical matrix like Ruby has. This limited my use of the matrix to just the map.
The benefits is you can access an individual point using the row and column for coordinates YES!
Matrix.zero easily sets up a 4x4 of zeros
Now I can generate a "golden path" that works best for the player.
This was soooo perfect for me! Unity has Matrix4x4
Little did I know Matrix4x4 is a transformation matrix and NOT a Mathmatical matrix like Ruby has. This limited my use of the matrix to just the map.
The benefits is you can access an individual point using the row and column for coordinates YES!
Matrix.zero easily sets up a 4x4 of zeros
Now I can generate a "golden path" that works best for the player.
Photo by The Famous Froggies
Rules of Movement
- 1,2 move LEFT
- 3,4 move RIGHT
- 5 move DOWN
- Exit Room
- Zeros are "'filler"
The path had to have movement rules.
Filling the matrix with values was easy with Random.Range.
1 or 2 meant go left
3 or 4 meant go right
5 meant go down
all of this was possible with a switch/case setup
row, column values based on rules of movement
Filling the matrix with values was easy with Random.Range.
1 or 2 meant go left
3 or 4 meant go right
5 meant go down
all of this was possible with a switch/case setup
row, column values based on rules of movement
Photo by vonderauvisuals
Rooms
- 10x8 grid
- Templates
Rooms are made up of 10X8 arrays.
Its true that arrays are really one long thing (thanks C# in Unity), but I set mine up in the editor to look like a matrix.
Make different versions of room types then select from them using Random.Range
Templates: they make it easier to create levels. Open, closed, platforms, high danger, easy etc.
Its true that arrays are really one long thing (thanks C# in Unity), but I set mine up in the editor to look like a matrix.
Make different versions of room types then select from them using Random.Range
Templates: they make it easier to create levels. Open, closed, platforms, high danger, easy etc.
Photo by onkel_wart (thomas lieser)
Room Types
- 1: L,R mix
- 2: L,R, D mix
- 3: L,R, T closed
- 4: L, R, T open
- 5: open to top, L, R, mix
Photo by ecstaticist
Room Types
- 0: Filler - yet worth it to explore
- E: - hard with Exit door
- Array
- Represents a tile/block with probabilities
- 1 = 100%, 2 = 50%, 5 = Ground Block
Photo by Great Beyond
Obstacle Blocks
- Blocks with more tile probabilities
- The same room will look different every time
- 3x5 or 2x4
Obstacle blocks can be ground or air depending on where you place them :D
They allow for you to stack even more probabilities together.
They don't have to be the same for each room.
Some rooms may need a 3x5, but maybe a 2x4 is more appropriate for a
They allow for you to stack even more probabilities together.
They don't have to be the same for each room.
Some rooms may need a 3x5, but maybe a 2x4 is more appropriate for a
Photo by RaSeLaSeD - Il Pinguino
Balance, Spice, Tweak
Now all thats left is to balance the tiles, spice it up a bit with some bad guys, tweak probabilities and PUBLISH!! :D
Photo by Robert S. Donovan
