# General Video Game Rule Generation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.05160 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.05160/

## Key facts

- Cited by 17 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 12 Jun 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 17 of 17)

- [Game Generation via Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.08706/) (2024)
- [GAVEL: Generating Games Via Evolution and Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.09388/) (2024)
- [Goals as Reward-Producing Programs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.13242/) (2024)
- [Unbounded: A Generative Infinite Game of Character Life Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.18975/) (2024)
- [Mutation Models: Learning to Generate Levels by Imitating Evolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.05497/) (2022)
- [Revisit and Outstrip Entity Alignment: A Perspective of Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14651/) (2023)
- [Grammar-based Game Description Generation using Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.17404/) (2024)
- [AnimeGamer: Infinite Anime Life Simulation with Next Game State Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.01014/) (2025)
- [A Preliminary Study on a Conceptual Game Feature Generation and Recommendation System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.13538/) (2023)
- [Comparing PCG metrics with Human Evaluation in Minecraft Settlement Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.02457/) (2021)
- [Measuring Diversity of Game Scenarios](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.15192/) (2024)
- [Adversarial Random Forest Classifier for Automated Game Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.12501/) (2021)
- [Exploring Minecraft Settlement Generators with Generative Shift Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.05371/) (2023)
- [Grammar and Gameplay-aligned RL for Game Description Generation with LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.15783/) (2025)
- [ScriptDoctor: Automatic Generation of PuzzleScript Games via Large Language Models and Tree Search](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.06524/) (2025)
- [Game Mechanic Alignment Theory and Discovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.10247/) (2021)
- [Mortar: Evolving Mechanics for Automatic Game Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.00105/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce the General Video Game Rule Generation problem, and the eponymous software framework which will be used in a new track of the General Video Game AI (GVGAI) competition. The problem is, given a game level as input, to generate the rules of a game that fits that level. This can be seen as the inverse of the General Video Game Level Generation problem. Conceptualizing these two problems as separate helps breaking the very hard problem of generating complete games into smaller, more manageable subproblems. The proposed framework builds on the GVGAI software and thus asks the rule generator for rules defined in the Video Game Description Language. We describe the API, and three different rule generators: a random, a constructive and a search-based generator. Early results indicate that the constructive generator generates playable and somewhat interesting game rules but has a limited expressive range, whereas the search-based generator generates remarkably diverse rulesets, but with an uneven quality.