From Chaos to Playable Worlds: An Introduction to Procedural Generation (Columbia University Talk)

This is the recorded version of my procedural generation talk delivered at Columbia University for the CU Game Development community.

In this session, I walk through the fundamentals of procedural generation—from noise functions and dungeon algorithms to the world-building mindset—using examples from popular games and programmatic concepts.

The talk is designed for beginners in computer science and game development who want a clear, practical introduction to how procedural systems actually work under the hood.

Topics include:
• What procedural generation is
• Noise functions
• Dungeon algorithms (cellular automata, drunkard’s walk, rooms & corridors)
• Performance considerations
• How procedural generation scales from indie prototypes to AAA systems
• Blending Tactics
• Real world examples and use cases.

This talk was created for a beginner-heavy audience of CS and math students, but it’s a solid overview for any aspiring game developer.

If you want to see the slide deck, check out my other projects, or use the procedural generation tool I developed just for this talk, check out my portfolio:
https://jpgreenportfolio.netlify.app/

You can also check out my work at my itch.io page:
https://jpgfg.itch.io/

Thanks for watching—hope it helps you build something awesome.