In video games creativity isn't just seen – it's played – from exploring endless landscapes, to diving into character details, to immersing ourselves in unpredictable narratives. Yet these elements are often the result of procedural generation – the creative use of algorithms to design game content. Procedural generation is the secret behind some of the biggest hits in video game history, from genre-defying titles in the 1980s, to the most famous blockbusters of today.
Next Level demystifies the collection of algorithms and procedural techniques that are often as mysterious as the things they create. Written by game designer and creative AI researcher Mike Cook, it takes us on a tour of generative systems past and present, exploring how they work, the artistic uses they have in some of our favourite games and how procedural generation didn't just change how we design games, but how we think about creativity.
Next Level: Making Games That Make Themselves by Mike Cook will be published May 5, 2026. Bloomsbury provided an early galley for review.
My former career was in software development and support, and my original thought when getting a computer science degree was to maybe get into game development. So, this book really caught my interest.
Cook does a wonderful job distilling various concepts like randomization, dynamic substitutions, simulations and more into easy to understand discussion. Yes, we get some math too. He also takes time to discuss past games that illustrate the concepts in action, giving the reader some familiar ground to see the end results.
I had a ball reading this one as it brought back a lot of warm nostalgia from my undergraduate days. Anyone interested in video games (as players or developers) will want to check this one out.
No comments:
Post a Comment