“Perlin noise and sovereign land: Minecraft’s world generation algorithm and colonialism” presented by Kerich
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Short Papers Online Content
Presentation Title:
- Perlin noise and sovereign land: Minecraft’s world generation algorithm and colonialism
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Abstract:
This paper explores the connection between procedural generation technologies, specifically those used in world generation in 2011’s Minecraft, and colonialism. Specifically, it examines the ways that the Perlin noise generation algorithm generates a world that exists specifically for the player’s extraction of resources, and provides control mechanisms so that the world is never too wild or untameable. The paper concludes with reflection on some methods by which these colonial ideas might be subverted in games that use procedural generation technology.
