How Procedural Environment Generation Helps Our Artists During Development

Sharp-toothed greetings!

I’m Alexander, Technical Artist at WATT Studio. Today I’d like to talk about how we create procedurally generated buildings in GRIMPS. Steam post image One of the most time-consuming parts of game development is creating the environment. Drawing assets and assembling locations can take a huge amount of production time. To speed up development and reduce the workload on our art team, we decided to actively use procedural generation.

In GRIMPS, we use the PCG (Procedural Content Generation) system in Unreal Engine. How does it work? Using a node-based system, we build an algorithm that places points in space. Different modules are then attached to these points — walls, windows, doors, and smaller details like air conditioners or drainpipes. Steam post image

This approach not only allows us to assemble buildings quickly but also helps optimize the scene. The engine groups identical modules and renders them as a single object, which saves memory and resources. As a result, a building that would normally take several days to assemble manually can now be generated in just a few minutes by adjusting parameters such as size, color, decorations, and other settings.

At the same time, each building still looks different. An artist simply places the generator in the scene, tweaks a few parameters, and instantly gets a house with the desired size and style.

A Bit of Technical Insight

At the core of the generator is a grid of points that defines the building’s structure. First, we create a base grid with a set distance between points. Then the algorithm removes all internal points, leaving only the points along the perimeter — these are used to construct the walls. Steam post image

Next comes the point filtering stage:

• Corner points are detected and assigned unique meshes

• Points are distributed for walls, windows, and doors

• Special elements like stairwell windows are added

For example, in apartment buildings we use a simple pattern: every fifth module horizontally becomes a door, which helps quickly create a recognizable structure.

Different sides of the building follow different rules:

Front side

• Uses the main pattern with doors

• Additional wall modules are placed around the door areas

Back side

• No doors are generated

• Instead, stairwell windows appear in those positions

Side walls

• Edge points become solid walls

• Remaining points are filled with windows

  

After that, the grid is duplicated vertically to create multiple floors. The algorithm processes each level separately:

• the ground floor

• the middle floors

• the top floor

Based on their attributes, points are then converted into actual geometry — windows, walls, doors, or roof cornices. Additional points are generated for smaller details such as drainpipes, air conditioners, and other props.

Different building types use slightly different algorithms. For example, construction sites include internal walls and additional controls for placing windows and fences. Steam post image Procedural generation allows us to fill the world of GRIMPS much faster, while giving our artists more time to focus on unique details that make the environment feel alive.

In future devlogs, we’ll share more about how the world of the game is created.

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