Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Map Design Goals
We describe what we want to achieve by identifying elements of interesting maps (of
multiplayer shooters) so that they can be incorporated into our design.
1) Fast Genera-
tion
- We wish to generate the maps in real-time. In other words, the final map has to be
generated within a span of seconds to minimise player frustration.
2) Collision Points
-
G uttler et al.
[7] defines collision points as areas that see the most clashes and where
most tactical choices are made. Tactical choices begin with preparations (route to take
and so on), and ends with a confrontation. The designer should be aware of them to
give more opportunity for tactical choices [8]. In contrast, a map with no clear or too
many such points are likely to see players stumping onto opponents unexpectedly.
3)
Flow
- The designers in [9] emphasise on
flow
, an “invisible flow (that is) continually
impelling the player onwards”. As this is too abstract, we deconstruct it into measur-
able components (Navigability and Pacing). Navigability -
players should be able to
recognize where they are and where they should go
. Pacing -
confrontation should last
enough duration to be fun. It should be accompanied by some respite, but not to the ex-
tent of inducing boredom [7]. Also, the map should not have disruptive dead ends
.Even
though they may not fully encompass it, we have observed that they provide reasonably
good flow and serve as good starting point for future research.
4) Fairness
- Each team
should have same chance of victory [7], which is related to flags. A team with flags
closer to its spawn point has a higher chance of capturing them.
5) Aesthetics
- The de-
sign must have the potential to meet aesthetics demand of players. There is a rich set of
taxonomy that collectively define aesthetic [10]. For instance, a map cannot constitute
entirely of blocks. Instead, it should contain trees, vehicles and so on to create more
natural challenges. In addition, having diverse items improve navigability, as players
can use them to get their bearings.
Fig. 1.
Illustration of a SBPCG process. Only accepted maps are used in the next population.
5
Map Generator Design
In this section we describe our algorithm to generate interesting maps for multiplayer
shooters, which makes use of the popular
Search-Based Procedural Content Gener-
ation
(SBPCG) [17] method. We employ
generate-and-test approach
as illustrated in
Figure 1.
