Procedural Content Generation for Game 3D Modeling: The Investigation of AI-Based Approaches for Improving Game Experience
Research Article
Open Access
CC BY

Procedural Content Generation for Game 3D Modeling: The Investigation of AI-Based Approaches for Improving Game Experience

Boning Shi 1*
1 College of Design, University of California Davis, Davis, America
*Corresponding author: aboshi@ucdavis.edu
Published on 22 October 2025
Journal Cover
ACE Vol.196
ISSN (Print): 2755-273X
ISSN (Online): 2755-2721
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-451-9
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-452-6
Download Cover

Abstract

Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) has shown its advantages in many fields, one of which is the modeling market in game design, as individual needs of each player can be customized by AI. Meanwhile, over the decades, 3D model games have proven to be a powerful tool to attract players to interact with the game environment to get more immersive experiences. Previous researchers have explored the possibilities of machine learning (ML) and Reinforcement Learning (RL) for generating game content and 3D models. To provide high-quality assets, researchers aim to improve game release efficiency by integrating ML and RL into Procedural Content Generation (PCG), allowing automatic creation of text and non-text files like levels, models, and 3D environments. However, challenges remain in algorithm development and creating high-quality 3D models. This article reviews the current state of AI-driven content generation for game 3D assets, discussing techniques, applications, limitations, and challenges, including natural language processing, RL, and ML algorithms. It also highlights future opportunities, such as developing complex models and exploring new AI applications in game design.

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, Procedural Content Generation, Reinforcement Learning, Machine Learning, Game 3D Modeling

View PDF
Shi,B. (2025). Procedural Content Generation for Game 3D Modeling: The Investigation of AI-Based Approaches for Improving Game Experience. Applied and Computational Engineering,196,61-67.

References

[1]. LaViola Jr, J. J., & Litwiller, T. (2011). Evaluating the benefits of 3d stereo in modern video games. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 2345-2354).

[2]. Guzdial, M., & Riedl, M. O. (2018). Combinatorial Creativity for Procedural Content Generation via Machine Learning. In AAAI Workshops (pp. 557-564).

[3]. Kalafatis, E., Mitsis, K., Zarkogianni, K., Athanasiou, M., & Nikita, K. (2025). A modular framework for automated evaluation of procedural content generation in serious games with deep reinforcement learning agents. IEEE Transactions on Games, (99), 1-10.

[4]. Perez-Liebana, D., Liu, J., Khalifa, A., Gaina, R. D., Togelius, J., & Lucas, S. M. (2019). General video game ai: A multitrack framework for evaluating agents, games, and content generation algorithms. IEEE Transactions on Games, 11(3), 195-214.

[5]. López, C. E., Cunningham, J., Ashour, O., & Tucker, C. S. (2020). Deep reinforcement learning for procedural content generation of 3d virtual environments. Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, 20(5), 051005.

[6]. Sorenson, N., Pasquier, P., & DiPaola, S. (2011). A generic approach to challenge modeling for the procedural creation of video game levels. IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI in Games, 3(3), 229-244.

[7]. Zhao, R., & Szafron, D. (2009, October). Learning character behaviors using agent modeling in games. In Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 179-185).

[8]. Khalifa, A., Bontrager, P., Earle, S., & Togelius, J. (2020). Pcgrl: Procedural content generation via reinforcement learning. In Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 95-101).

[9]. De Lima, E. S., Feijó, B., & Furtado, A. L. (2018). Player behavior and personality modeling for interactive storytelling in games. Entertainment Computing, 28, 32-48.

[10]. Spick, R. J., Cowling, P., & Walker, J. A. (2019). Procedural generation using spatial GANs for region-specific learning of elevation data. In 2019 IEEE Conference on Games (CoG) (pp. 1-8). IEEE.

[11]. Gasch, C., Chover, M., Remolar, I., & Rebollo, C. (2020). Procedural modelling of terrains with constraints. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 79(41), 31125-31146.

[12]. Du, H., Zhao, Y., Huang, S., Bai, J., Tian, S., & Liu, J. (2023). MyRoom: A Unity Plugin for Procedural and Interactive Indoor Scene Synthesis. In 2023 IEEE Conference on Games (CoG) (pp. 1-2). IEEE.

[13]. Treanor, M., Zook, A., Eladhari, M. P., Togelius, J., Smith, G., Cook, M., ... & Smith, A. (2015). AI-based game design patterns.

[14]. Bidarra, R., de Kraker, K. J., Smelik, R. M., & Tutenel, T. (2010). Integrating semantics and procedural generation: key enabling factors for declarative modeling of virtual worlds. In Proceedings of the FOCUS K3D Conference on Semantic 3D Media and Content (pp. 51-55). Sophia Antipolis, Méditerranée, France.

[15]. Kenwright, B. (2023). Exploring the power of creative ai tools and game-based methodologies for interactive web-based programming.  arXiv preprint arXiv: 2308.11649.

[16]. Volz, V., Justesen, N., Snodgrass, S., Asadi, S., Purmonen, S., Holmgård, C., ... & Risi, S. (2020). Capturing local and global patterns in procedural content generation via machine learning. In 2020 IEEE Conference on Games (CoG) (pp. 399-406). IEEE.

[17]. Risi, S., & Togelius, J. (2020). Increasing generality in machine learning through procedural content generation. Nature Machine Intelligence, 2(8), 428-436.

[18]. Lopes, R., & Bidarra, R. (2011). Adaptivity challenges in games and simulations: a survey. IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI in Games, 3(2), 85-99.

Cite this article

Shi,B. (2025). Procedural Content Generation for Game 3D Modeling: The Investigation of AI-Based Approaches for Improving Game Experience. Applied and Computational Engineering,196,61-67.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of CONF-MLA 2025 Symposium: Intelligent Systems and Automation: AI Models, IoT, and Robotic Algorithms

ISBN: 978-1-80590-451-9(Print) / 978-1-80590-452-6(Online)
Editor: Hisham AbouGrad
Conference date: 12 November 2025
Series: Applied and Computational Engineering
Volume number: Vol.196
ISSN: 2755-2721(Print) / 2755-273X(Online)