Built desks that procedurally add props around themselves when they’re placed within a scene, enabling a variety of content if a bunch of them are placed together.

The previous version used a single Prefab containing a built desk. It works, but placing a group together showed they were obvious copies. The easiest solution is to build a variety of prefabs, but that kind of time-consuming work is exactly what procedural generation should be able to solve.

Test placement of the props showed how placing one prop eliminates the use of another. For example, here is it possible to put a chair along with two cabinets at the bottom, but the layout looks obviously uncomfortable. Thus, in the generated content, if the chair was placed in the center, the generator does not place any cabinets next to it.

After a few rounds figuring out what’s possible, the generator was able to create a good variety of positions.

Once the desk setup was done, it was possible to test layouts of desk. Pic above showed one of the joys of procedural generation; unexpected designs. That four portrait monitor setup could easily be for two coders closely working together.

Video above shows the results of the current work. Enjoy!