Monday, November 14, 2016

Go on a procedurally generated walk with a dog

It’s quiet. The air is gentle and warm as it brushes past your neck and causes you to close your eyes. A barking in the distance causes you to step away from admiring the lake—the soft, rhythmic motion of the waves was lulling you in a trance as it splashed against the shoreline. An impatient whining beckons you to turn around, and you oblige.

Sitting obediently is a good boy, with black-and-white fur and pointed ears. Your heart swells. He’s doing such a good job sitting there. As you walk toward him, the dog springs up and begins to walk ahead of you, pausing every so often to make sure you’re still there. And so the two of you continue walking across the smooth terrain, admiring the weather and each other’s company.

03

///

The world of Mudeford is procedurally generated, mixing together elements of blue and green to contrast water and land. To mold these landscapes the creator took inspiration from Mudeford, England, where they grew up going on peaceful walks with their dog. Hence it seemed natural to take the inspiration further and turn it into a dog walking simulator (which I’m 100 percent doggone excited for).

the good boy of Mudeford

The result is a first-person game about walking your dog that was created during #procjam and, as such, is currently in its early prototype stage. The creator has expressed desire to continue the project in the future, hoping to turn the endeavor into a way of researching and designing 3D spaces. “A lot of procedural world generation looks at the same functional notions like distance or reachability,” they said. “I want to look at other stuff, like lighting, visibility, or where someone’s eye is drawn.”

While I can’t take my own dog for long walks anymore due her old age, it was nice to walk around for a few minutes with the good boy of Mudeford, and wonder where he wanted to lead me.

To play Mudeford and read more about it click here.

02

The post Go on a procedurally generated walk with a dog appeared first on Kill Screen.

No comments:

Post a Comment