Procedural generation of levels for a realtime stealth game

Abstract

U ́rovne v stealth hra ́ch su ́ c ̌asto u ́zko prepojene ́ s ̌truktu ́ry s jedinec ̌ny ́mi vy ́zvami na s ̌ty ́l za ́mkov a kl'u ́c ̌ov. Neexistuju ́ vs ̌ak z ̌iadne dobre zna ́me prı ́pady, ktore ́ by sa poku 's ̌ali procedura ́lne generovat ' tieto u ́rovne. Implementujeme malu ́ genericku ́ 3D stealth hru v rea ́lnom c ̌ase a pre n ̌u algoritmus genero- vania u ́rovnı ́. Nas ̌a hra sa sklada ́ z mechanı ́k, ktore ́ sa bez ̌ne vyskytuju ́ vo v̈ ac ̌s ̌ine hier zamerany ́ch na stealth. Nas ̌e generovane ́ u ́rovne sa zloz ̌itost 'ou a vnu ́tornou prepojenost 'ou podobaju ́ u ́rovniam z moderny ́ch stealth hier. Ob- sahuju ́ jedinec ̌ne ́ vy ́zvy pre hra ́c ̌a. Niektore ́ vygenerovane ́ sekcie u ́rovnı ́ maju ́ nedostatky, ale vz ̌dy sa daju ́ hrat '. Struc ̌ne povedane ́, verı ́me, z ̌e na 's ̌ algorit- mus uspel ako demons ̌tra ́cia konceptu a s pridnı ́m d'alieho obsahu mo ̂z ̌e byt ' pouz ̌ity ́ v skutoc ̌ny ́ch stealth hra ́ch. Okrem toho sme prispeli konkre ́tnou implementa ́ciou algoritmu cyklicke ́ho generovania, kde po ̂vodny ́ zdroj je v detailoch implementa ́cie nejasny ́. Na 's ̌ algoritmus sa da ́ pouz ̌it ' na generova- nie u ́rovnı ́ pre stealth hry, RPG a ine ́ z ̌a ́nre, ktore ́ vyuz ̌ı ́vaju ́ vy ́zvy na s ̌ty ́l za ́mkov a kl'u ́c ̌ov.

Levels in realtime stealth games are often tightly interconnected struc- tures with unique challanges and lock & key puzzles. However, there are no well known instances that attempt to generate these levels procedurally. We implement a small generic 3D realtime stealth game and a level genera- tion algorithm for it. Our game is composed of mechanics commonly found in most stealth centric games. Our generated levels resemble levels from modern stealth games in complexity and interconnectedness. They contain unique challenges for the player. Some generated level sections have short- comings, but are always playable. In summary, we believe our algorithm succeeded as a proof of concept and can be used in actual stealth games with additional content. Moreover, we contributed a concrete implementation of the cyclic generation algorithm, where the original source is vague on imple- mentation details. Our algorithm can be used to generate levels for stealth games, RPGs, and other genres that make use of lock & key puzzles.