I'm working on a game that will have procedurally-generated maps. It's a 2D platforming game, which is a departure from your standard game with procedurally-generated maps (which tend to be either top-down views, like roguelikes, or Scorched Earth-type games). I'm making good progress on getting the large-scale structure of the map worked out; what I'm having difficulty with are the small-scale "map features" that provide a local variety. To give you some idea of what I'm working with, here's a recently-generated map: (Click for full size) Here I have three different regions, with mildly different rules for map generation. The tunnels are laid out along the branches of a tree, with the occasional loop back to an existing branch. Each tunnel gets assigned a tunnel type, which describes what content will fill it. Right now I have six tunnel "styles": straight tunnels, bumpy tunnels, wave-shaped tunnels, staircases, mazes (not shown in the above screenshot), and irregularly-shaped rooms. I need more. A lot more. What I'm looking for are ideas for map features/tunnel types that I could add to the game. Ideally such features should: a) Be constrained to one tunnel/room. My ability to analyze the map across multiple tunnels is limited and my architecture doesn't really allow for multiple tunnels to "work together" on making a given feature, at least not at the moment. b) On a similar note, be adaptable to variable boundaries. Mapgen has a tendency to make very organic-looking tunnels. I can walk the perimeter of a tunnel fairly easily, though, and I know what's inside and what's outside. c) Have enough randomness in their structure to not always look the same. Sure, I could write up a barrier puzzle with switches and just plop it down into the middle of a tunnel, but if it's always the same puzzle, what fun is that? Any suggestions? Bonus points if you outline or link to an algorithm that'd do some of the work of making the feature. :) For example, the maze feature uses a growing tree algorithm as described on this page.

Good work, I particularly like the trees in the green area! I think you actually need more visual variety more than you need algorithmic variety though, and with that in mind, here are my suggestions:

In the orange zone:

- different types and sizes of platform

- ladders or lifts?

- objects / features in the rooms (industrial machinery, computer terminals, crates, cranes...)

In the green zone:

- more variety of vegetation, e.g. bushes, colourful plants

- water?

In the brown zone:

- vary the earth texture, for example by including rocks of various sizes. Ideally the largest rocks should be several squares across, and they should be in clusters rather than uniformly applied.

General:

- consider adding another inorganic region type. Perhaps one could be more advanced / technological and the other gritty / industrial?

Thanks, but all of that is already planned. That's mostly just a matter of adding artwork, which hasn't been a top priority lately. The thing is, while lots of artwork makes the game feel more polished, it doesn't make much of an impact on repeat playings, and my goal is to have a game with lots of replayability. That comes from having a good structure to the maps, and while I have a good start on that, I need more, hence this thread.

For reference, I have at least three other regions I want to add, and all of them will eventually have a much more varied tileset.

Have a look at this:

http://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/PC/index.htm