3D Hexagonal
Procedural Generation

C#UnityAlgorithmsProcedural GenGame Development

Overview

I'm currently in the process of designing and implementing the procedural generation process for an underground, cavernous environment.

Existing games that inspired my design direction typically use a square grid when dealing with level generation. However, given that the game is set underground, I wanted to give it a more organic, cavernous feel by avoiding the use of right-angles in the map.

Instead, this project will be using a hexagonal coordinate system. The grid will be a tesselation of regular hexagons with 120° interior angles. This allows for more variety in hallway/corridor directions, giving the level a less uniform feel.

At the same time, this design choice will increase the complexity of any algorithms required for map generation as the number of neighbours for each cell is now 6 instead of the standard 4.

Design Principles

Constraints

[1] Organic Quality

Physical structure should feel naturally formed — no right angles, more branching possibilities.

[2] Verticality

Intra-level movement should emphasise verticality. Rooms should have slightly different floor heights.

[3] Natural Lighting

Crystals, lava, and bioluminescence; no artificial light sources. Should be lore accurate.

[4] Scale Contrasting

Claustrophobic corridors give way to grandiose, unsettling rooms. Players should feel trapped/exposed.

[5] Modular Hookpoints

Generation places gambling dens, exits, spawn points, and staircases explicitly. Some are multicellular.

[6] Maze-like

Players must struggle to navigate before finding the next safe-haven. Levels should be complex.

[7] Difficulty Ramping

Deeper levels generate larger, more hostile, more complex maps. In-built difficulty variable.

[8] Multiplayer Sightlines

Players should be split up; pillars and geometry break long sightlines.

[9] Seed Determinism

Host-provided seeds reproduce exact layouts — supports save files and reduces reliance on host.

tbc!

3D HexagonalProcedural Generation

Overview

Design Principles

3D Hexagonal
Procedural Generation