Case studies · 14
Procedural tools
Making world-building decisions faster to test
Procedural tools can remove a surprising amount of repetitive setup from early world-building. Marc has developed and explored reusable Unreal Engine systems for generating and varying landscapes, cities and playable environments so that ideas can be tested before large amounts of manual production are committed.
- Delivery context
- Founder-led collaborative Unreal Engine R&D
- Period
- 2014–2026
- Disciplines
- R&D · Development
At a glance
Procedural tools
R&D into reusable landscape, city and gameplay prototyping tools that reduce repetitive setup and make environment decisions faster to test.
The full story
Making world-building decisions faster to test
This body of R&D covers procedural landscape and city generators, reusable rule-based systems and supporting tools for testing gameplay ideas inside Unreal Engine.
The objective is practical rather than procedural generation for its own sake. If terrain, layout or environmental variation can be generated and adjusted through reusable rules, more options can be explored before teams commit to detailed manual work.
That makes early design decisions more tangible, reduces repetitive setup and provides a faster way to compare playable spaces.
The work remains collaborative and experimental rather than a single packaged commercial product. For Digital SHIFT, its relevance is the same as many of our other R&D projects: automate the repeatable parts so that human effort can stay focused on the decisions that actually need judgement.
Something to untangle?
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