Creating Realistic Landscapes for Future Developers

There’s a an article up on Gamasutra that should be a great find for those interested in game design. Whether you dream of breaking into the games industry professionally or want help making a mod look professional, “Random Scattering: Creating Realistic Landscapes” is a must read.

When dealing with a natural setting, is hard to actually place trees and other organic elements in such away that they actually look… well natural. The author outlines three different methods of developing algorithms to place objects for you, pointing out the positives and negatives to each approach. The article does get into detail but is very useful when you find yourself in a situation where you can’t see the forest for the trees.