Sturgeon: Tile-Based Procedural Level Generation via Learned and Designed Constraints

Abstract

This work describes Sturgeon, a system for tile-based level generation using constraints. We present a small mid-level constraint API that can be instantiated with various low-level solvers, including portfolio solvers. We show how this mid-level API can be used to generate levels incorporating a variety of constraints, including constraints learned from example levels and constraints provided by a designer. We incorporate a flexible constraint-based approach within the system for ensuring level goals are reachable. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the system in a variety of games and show applications ranging from infilling and repair to expressive range coverage.

Topics & Concepts