Date Presented

Spring 3-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Computer Science

First Advisor

Zakaria Kurdi

Second Advisor

Annette Eccles

Third Advisor

Nancy Cowden

Abstract

Today, video games are more ingrained in American society than they have ever been before. This entertainment medium has become more profitable than all television streaming services combined as well as the entire film industry in Hollywood. Playing video games, which was once considered a pastime, has become a career for many, with websites such as YouTube and Twitch hosting thousands of “let’s play” channels and various esports tournaments boasting six- or even seven-figure prize pools.

With the evident popularity and financial success of video games, radical changes to the game development process can carry a massive impact on society, whether in the profitability of the gaming industry or the general attitude toward the medium; to ensure that this impact is positive, these processes should be analyzed meticulously. Therefore, this paper will evaluate one of the more recent alternatives to conventional game design known as “procedural generation,” which utilizes an algorithm to assemble parts of a game based on a set of parameters rather than having an artist or programmer design them.

To determine the viability of procedural generation in game design, this thesis examined several of the more well-known games that contain procedurally-generated content. It compared statistics of these games such as financial success, critical reception, and development costs, with the corresponding statistics of similar games that did not use procedural generation to reach a conclusion about whether or not this novel development technique benefits a game more than conventional design.

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