How do you craft a deliberate, cohesive art design for a game that's procedurally generated?

That's exactly what Compulsion Games' Whitney Clayton covered in her GDC 2017 presentation on the art of We Happy Few, the studio's procedurally-generated game set in a '60 dystopian drug paradise.  

Clayton shared an earnest look at the ins and outs of We Happy Few's pre-production research, world building, and production challenges, talking ultimately about how to make a procedural world more interesting than those that have come before.

It was an intriguing talk that exposed some of the strengths and weaknesses of procedural game design (at least when it comes to aesthetics); if you missed it in person, don't miss your chance to now watch it (for free!) over on the official GDC YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas