SceneGen: Automated Biome Generation for 2D Platformers

Project Overview

SceneGen is a groundbreaking Unity tool designed to automate the creation of areas and/or levels for 2D platformer games. By leveraging procedural generation algorithms, SceneGen enables indie game developers to significantly reduce development time, automate biome generation, minimize human resource needs, and foster a more user-friendly game development process.

Problem Statement

Designing levels and areas for 2D platformers is a creatively demanding task that becomes increasingly complex with the addition of diverse biomes and their respective objects. This complexity poses a challenge for indie developers, who lack access to the procedural generation tools available to larger game studios. SceneGen addresses this gap by offering a solution that simplifies and accelerates game development.

Solution

SceneGen allows developers to generate varied game scenes by adjusting parameters such as biome type, procedural generation algorithm, biome size, object textures, and player dynamics. The tool supports common 2D platformer biomes like Desert, Mountain, Urban City, Beach, Jungle, and Underwater, alongside procedural generation algorithms including Perlin Noise, Simplex Noise, and Cellular Noise.

Goals

• Reduce Development Time: Streamline the game development process.
• Automated Biome Generation: Simplify the creation of diverse game environments.
• Reduce Need for Human Resources: Enable developers to achieve more with less.
• User-Friendly Interface: Ensure ease of use for game developers.

Project Scope

Developers can download the SceneGen Unity package, import it into their projects, and easily generate levels or areas by customizing parameters in the Unity Inspector panel. Biome customization options include selection from six biomes, generation of biome-specific objects, and choice of procedural generation algorithms.

Modules

1. Biome Generation: Automated creation of diverse biomes.
2. Biome Objects Generation: Generation of objects specific to each biome.
3. Biome Parameter Customization: Customization of biome sizes and transitions.
4. Noise Algorithm(s) Selection: Selection from multiple procedural generation algorithms.
5. In-Built Textures: Use of pre-existing or custom textures for biome objects.
6. Player Parameter Customization: Customization of player dynamics such as speed and jump height.