Lo-Fidelity Generator

This past week, I implemented my city generator idea of a fluid skyline whose silhouette changes over time.  I settled on a 10x10 grid where the user can click on a block and it randomly places a building in its place. I used Meshy AI to generate over 10 unique structures all prompted loosely around "[low/medium tall/tall/super-tall] futuristic [residential/commercial/mixed/office/industrial] that has a base that fits within a 1:1 square city block". I also added a terrain today in the background to make the periphery feel more alive. I found some HDR 4k skyboxes as well and decided to use one with a city in the distance. When the user hovers over a city block a selection hologram appears to inform the user of the selected block.

My biggest fear is having my game become Cities Skylines or a generic city builder game. So my goal is to take as much building out of the user's control and include more generative effects. Below are my ideas for generators that can help influence the shape of the skyline to create a unique skyline for every instance:

Constructive generator

- [ ] Random things get taller

- [ ] A random square gets a bunch of trees

- [ ] Flood waterlogs a couple tiles and creates a lake

Destructive generator

- [ ] Asteroid that randomly destroys buildings

- [ ] Godzilla/character event

- [ ] Plague that forces you to quarantine blocks

- [ ] Fire

- [ ] Earthquake

In one of my favorite VR games, Superhot, the user's constraint is time. The faster the player moves, the faster the time passes. So it creates a dynamic where the user must be very tactical in every single one of their actions. I'm curious to see how I could use Superhot as inspiration for building my constraints. However, I shall experiment first to see what sticks.