Making games with procedurally-generated elements is a popular strategy among devs these days, but it can be tricky if you don't have the right technical skills.

Luckily, at GDC 2017 Tracery creator Kate Compton popped onstage to share advice on how even proc-gen novices can build an algorithm powerful enough to make good content, yet flexible enough to change with the changing needs of your game.

In the course of her talk Compton offered up a no-nonsense guide to the building blocks of PCG, walking through a dense catalog of procedural content techniques. She demonstrated some surprisingly simple algorithms of PCG, and offered up tips on using simple data structures to control complex content-generators that are scalable, flexible, and surprisingly powerful

It was a neat talk, one that's informative even if you aren't immediately concerned with making a procedurally-generated game. If you weren't there in person, take this opportunity to now watch Compton's talk 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.

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