Search-Based Procedural Generation of Maze-Like Levels
Bibliographic record
Abstract
A correctly designed dynamic programming algorithm can be used as a fitness function to permit the evolution of maze-like levels for use in games. This study compares multiple representations for evolvable mazes including direct, as well as positive and negative indirect representations. The first direct representation simply specifies, with a binary gene, which squares of a grid are obstructed. The second paints the maze grid and passage is allowed only between colors that are the same or adjacent in a rainbow. The positive and negative representations are developmental and evolve directions for adding barriers or digging “tunnels.” These representations are tested with a design space of fitness functions that automatically generate levels with controllable properties. Fitness function design is the most difficult part of automatic level generation and this study gives a simple framework for designing fitness functions that permits substantial control over the character of the mazes that evolve. This technique relies on using checkpoints within the maze to characterize the connectivity and path lengths within the level. Called checkpoint-based fitness, these fitness functions are built on a menu of properties that can be rewarded. The choice of which qualities are rewarded, in turn, specifies within broad limits the characteristics of the mazes to be evolved. Three of the representations are found to benefit from a technique called sparse initialization in which a maze starts mostly empty and variation operators fill in details while increasing fitness. Different representations are found to produce mazes with very different appearances, even when the same fitness function is used. The example fitness functions designed around dynamic programming with checkpoints are found to permit substantial control over the properties of the evolved mazes.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".