A method to quickly produce large sets ofdifferent textures of insects (bugs) wasimplemented. The textures were procedurallygenerated in a 3D-modelling tool and thenrendered for use in a 2D-motion-based game.The resulting textures were evaluatedregarding quality and distinguishability. Noparticular features were found to be favouredover others, except some features being betterthan no features at all. Distinguishing betweengenerated textures was found to be a trivial taskfor most users.

Humans use creativity and manual dexterity to create things, usually in a labor-intensive process. Procedural content generation (PCG) is an approach where computers do most of the manual work of creating virtual objects, while a human leads the creative process. One problem with PCG is that created objects tend to look too perfect and artificial, leading to research into simulating the aging process of created virtual objects. Simulating the growth of living organisms such as lichens on existing virtual objects has been a focus of research. Most previous techniques lack a clear evaluation of the realism of the results. In this thesis, a lichen growth simulation is implemented and evaluated in terms of perceived realism. Specifically, the target of the simulation is lichen growth on horizontal stone surfaces represented using a set of textures. The lichen growth simulation is slow but robust and flexible, capable of generating a wide range of output textures. 75 participants were recruited among university students and video game industry professionals, asked to compare the realism of lichens generated with different parameter settings. The investigated parameters are the scale of the lichens, the compactness of the lichens, and the number of lichen clusters (density). Participants perceived surfaces with a dense or medium-dense cover of small scale, semi-compact lichen clusters as the most realistic, while surfaces with a sparse cover of large scale, very compact or very lacy lichen clusters were perceived as the least realistic. The lichens perceived as the most realistic are also among the most computationally expensive to produce. This outcome tells us that there is a trade-off between realism and simulation time in the lichen growth simulation. The simulation is able to generate a wide range of lichen appearances, though the speed of the simulation can be greatly improved in multiple ways. / Människor använder kreativitet och manuell färdighet för att skapa saker, vanligtvis i en arbetsintensiv process. Procedurell innehållsgenerering (eng. PCG) är ett tillvägagångssätt där datorer gör majoriteten av det manuella arbetet i skapandet av virtuella objekt, och en människa leder den kreativa processen. Ett problem med PCG är att de skapade objekten tenderar att ha ett för nytt och artificiellt utseende, vilket har lett till forskning kring att simulera åldrandeprocessen för virtuella objekt. Forskning har bland annat fokuserat på att simulera tillväxten av levande organismer såsom lavar på existerande virtuella objekt. Flera tidigare tekniker saknar en tydlig evaluering av resultatens realism. I denna studie implementeras en lavtillväxtsimulering som evalueras med avseende på upplevd realism. Simuleringens mål är specifikt att simulera lavar på horisontella stenytor representerade av en uppsättning texturer. Simuleringen är långsam men robust och flexibel, och kapabel till att generera ett brett omfång av resultat. 75 deltagare rekryterades bland universitetsstudenter och bland arbetare i datorspelsindustrin, och ombads jämföra realismen hos lavar genererade med olika parameterinställningar. De undersökta parametrarna är skalan på lavarna, kompaktheten på lavarna och antalet lavar (densitet). Deltagarna upplevde att ytor med hög och mellanhög densitet av småskaliga semikompakta lavar var mest realistiska, medan ytor med låg densitet av storskaliga kompakta eller mycket utspridda lavar upplevdes som minst realistiska. De lavar som upplevdes vara mest realistiska är också bland de beräkningsmässigt dyraste att generera. Detta resultat visar att det finns en avvägning mellan realism och simuleringstid i lavtillväxtsimuleringen. Simuleringen kan generera ett brett omfång av lavutseenden, men simuleringens snabbhet kan förbättras på flera sätt.

As video games continue to become larger, more complex, and more costly to produce, research into methods to make game creation easier and faster becomes more valuable. One such research topic is procedural generation, which allows the computer to assist in the creation of content. This dissertation presents a new algorithm for the generation of Sokoban levels. Sokoban is a grid-based transport puzzle which is computational interesting due to being PSPACE-complete. Beyond just generating levels, the question of whether or not the levels created by this algorithm are interesting to human players is explored. A study was carried out comparing player attention while playing hand made levels versus their attention during procedurally generated levels. An auditory Stroop test was used to measure attention without disrupting play.

With the increasing size of 3D environments manual modelling becomes a more and more difficult task to perform, while retaining variety in the assets. The use of procedural generation is a well-established procedure within the field today. There have been multiple works presented within the field before, but many of them only focus on certain parts of the process. In this thesis a system is presented for procedurally generating complete build- ings, with an interior. Evaluation has shown that the developed system is compa- rable to existing systems, both in terms of performance and level of detail. The resulted buildings could be utilized in real time environments, such as computer games, where enterable buildings often are a requirement for making the envi- ronment feel alive.

La grande distribution affiche une politique anti-gaspillage et a ainsi proposé dès 2014des Fruits et Légumes (F&Ls) « moches » [109] à la vente. Mais ces ventes sont temporaires et locales,et ont des effets peu étudiés sur le comportement des consommateurs. Nous proposons ici d'étudier si un magasin virtuel immersif (dans lequel nous contrôlons les F&Ls) peut être utilisé pour étudier le comportement des consommateurs confronté à des F&Ls « moches ». Afin d'avoir assez de F&Ls pour remplir le magasin virtuel, nous avons généré des F&Ls d'apparences variables de manière semi-procédurale comme suit :(1) nous générons le maillage avec des Cylindres Généralisés (CGs) [6] ; puis (2) gêneront les couleurs avec un système de particule.Nous avons réalisé 2 études comparatives (resp.N=142 et N=196). L'une portant sur le comportement consommateur lorsque les F&Ls sont plus ou moins anormaux (8F&Ls séparés en 4 groupes : sans déformation,légèrement déformés, déformés et fortement déformés). Ces différences n'avaient pas d'incidences sur le comportement. L'autre portait sur le comportement consommateur lorsque l'environnement est plus ou moins immersif (8 F&Ls sans déformation et 8 F&Ls déformés, séparés en 3groupes : magasin laboratoire, magasin virtuel non immersif et magasin virtuel immersif). Il existe des différences entre ces environnements sur le comportement. Enfin, nous avons étudié si la représentation virtuelle du consommateur avait un effet lors de l'achat des produits (incluant, mais ne se limitant pas aux F&Ls) nous avons donc réalisé une étude (N=29) avec 2 groupes : avatar obèse et avatar non-obèse. Il existe des différences localisées entre ces représentations sur le comportement consommateur. / The retail sector has an anti-waste policyand has therefore offered “ugly” FaVs (Fruits and Vegetables) for sale as early as 2014 [109]. But these sales remain temporary and local and have little studied effects on consumer behavior. We propose here to study if an immersive virtual store (in which we control the FaVs) can be used to study consumer behavior confronted to “ugly” FaVs To have enough “ugly” FaVs to fill the virtual store, we developed a method capable of generatings emiprocedural FaVs. To do so we: (1) generate the mesh with Generalized Cylinders (GCs) [6]; then (2) generate the colors with a particle system.We conducted 2 comparative studies (N=142 andN=196 respectively). The first study focused on consumer behavior when the FaVs are abnormal (8 FaVs separated into 4groups: no deformation, slightly deformed, deformed and strongly deformed). These differences had no impact on consumer behavior. The other study focused on consumer behavior when the environment is more or less immersive (8 FaVs without deformation and 8 FaVs with deformation, separated into 3 groups: laboratory store, non immersive virtual store and immersive virtual store).There are differences between these environments on consumer behavior. Finally, we studied if the virtual representation of the consumer had an impact during the purchase of products (including, but not limited to, FaVs). To do so we carried out a third consumer study (N=29) (2groups: obese avatar and non-obese avatar). There are very localized differences between these representations on consumer behavior.

Fish such as the Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata) can be tagged on their fin, released back into the wild, and their location tracked though technologies such as autonomous robots. Timestamped location data about their target is stored. We present a way to procedurally generate an animated simulation of T. semifasciata using only these timestamped location points. This simulation utilizes several components. Input timestamps dictate a monotonic time-space curve mapping the simulation clock to the space curve. The space curve connects all the location points as a spline without any sharp folds that are too implausible for shark traversal. We create a model leopard shark that has convincing kinematics that respond to the space curve. This is achieved through acquiring a skinned model and applying T. semifasciata motion kinematics that respond to velocity and turn commands. These kinematics affect the spine and all fins that control locomotion and direction. Kinematic- based procedural keyframes added onto a queue interpolate while the shark model traverses the path. This simulation tool generates animation sequences that can be viewed in real-time. A user study of 27 individuals was deployed to measure the perceived realism of the sequences as judged by the user by contrasting 5 different film sequences. Results of the study show that on average, viewers perceive our simulation as more realistic than not.

Enligt oss så är det största problemet med att processuellt generera en pseudo-oändlig spelvärld i realtid är att få genereringen att ske så sömlöst som möjligt samtidigt som världen upplevs som konsekvent. För att finna lösningar på detta problem så analyserar vi andra studier och spel som utnyttjar processuell generering. Vi använder sedan de metoder och tekniker vi funnit för skapandet av en egen applikation för att få en djupare förståelse för hur dessa fungerar i praktiken och hur mycket varje metod påverkar prestandan. I vår slutsats beskriver vi de problem vi fann, deras orsak och ger förslag på lösningar. På grund av studiens tekniska karaktär så riktar den sig främst till programmerare. Vi hoppas att med denna studie kunna komplettera andra studier inom detta, enligt oss, relativt outforskade område. / According to us, the biggest problem with procedurally generating a pseudo-infinite game world in real-time is to have it generate as seamlessly as possible and keeping the world consistent at the same time. In order to come up with solutions to this problem we analyzed other studies and games which utilize procedural generation. We then used the methods we found in order to create our own application to further understand how they work in practice and how much each method affexts the performance of said application. In our conclusion we describe the problems that arose as well as explain what caused them, as well as present possible solutions to them. Due to the technical nature of this study it is mainly aimed at programmers. We hope that this study can complement other studies within what we think is a relatively unexplored subject.

This report presents the problem of designers working on new productions for fulldomes. The back and forth process of moving between a work station and the fulldome is time consuming, a faster alternative would be useful. This thesis presents an option, a virtual reality application where a user can sketch the new environment directly on a virtual representation of a fulldome. The result would then be exported directly to the real fulldome to be displayed. The application is developed using Unreal Engine 4. The virtual dome is constructed using a procedurally generated mesh, with a paintable material assigned to it. All painting functionality is implemented manually, as is all other tools. The final product is fully useable, but requires additional work if it is to be used commercially. Additional features can be added, including certain features discussed that were cut due to time constraints, as well as improvements to existing features. Application stability is currently a concern that needs to be addressed, as well as optimizations to the software.

In computer graphics it is often necessary to construct a large number of objectsof specific types, such as buildings. One approach is to create the models procedurally,an approach that often renders function and appearance tightly coupled. This thesis explores an alternate solution to this problem. We propose a systemfor procedural building generation based on the separation of function andstyle. We show our approach to separating appearance from functionality, wethen describe our implementation of the system and finally we create a demonstrationof its potential. Our approach offers a large amount of control while allowing for a separationbetween design of functionality and design of style. The approach could intheory allow for reuse of large databases of models and simplify the creation ofprocedural generation engines

With the evolution in the game industry and other virtual environments, demands on what comes with an application is higher than ever before. This leads to many companies trying to to procedurally generate content in order to save up on storage space and get a wider variety of content. It has become essential to infuse immersion in such application and some companies has even gone as far as to let the player recreate him- or herself to be the hero or heroine of the game. Even so, many AAA companies refrain from using face segmentation software as it gives the power of adding game content by the end users, and that may lead to an increased risk of offensive content, that goes against company standards and policy, to enter their application. By taking the concept of procedural generation and applying this together with face segmentation, placing a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based texturization model, we allow for a controlled yet functioning face texturization in a run-time virtual environment. In this project we use MatLab to create a controlled Eigen space, infuses this into an application built in Unity 3D using UMA, and lets smaller recreation vectors, that spans a few kilobytes as most, to create textures in run-time. In doing so, we can project faces onto the Eigen space and get fully functioning and texturized characters, able to use ready animations and controllers of the developer’s choice. These Eigen spaces may cost more storage space and loading times up to a limit, but can in turn generate a seemingly endless variation of textural content dynamically. In order to see what potential users prioritize when it comes to applications like these, we conducted a survey where the responders saw variations of this technique and were able to express their view on attributes expected from a “good” (from their point of view) application. In the end we have a UMA ready set of scripts, and a one-time use system to create Eigen spaces for the applications to use it. We worked in close relation with Högström’s Selfie to Avatar face segmentation software and proved the concept in Unity 3D applications.