One of my main concerns about starting my graduate studies comes from the fact that i suck at self study. I wasn’t big on studying or even picking up a book that didn’t include cartoons or superheroes (reason why my family was surprised when i chose a career in science). This wasn’t a big deal as a teenager, because school was easy, but in college i paid the price.

I really don’t blame myself, i was just a victim of a failing system, and still i came out alright. But if i want to succeed in my Master’s, i really gotta step up.

While i wait for my actual studies to start, i’ll be reading a few books and trying to process and apply their chapters. Books that i find interesting and are related to what i want to achieve in the future. I’ll also make some goals that also align with my intentions.

So, first the books

I’ve chosen two books to follow.

  1. Procedural Content Generation via Machine Learning By Matthew Guzdial , Sam Snodgrass & Adam J. Summerville. The main book i’ll be reading and studying. Filled with different techniques and some really good case scenarios. It’s pretty much what i’ve been looking for. I had the pleasure of hearing a lecture by Dr. Snodgrass last summer and he seems really knowledgeable

  2. Procedural Content Generation in Games by Noor Shaker, Julian Togelius & Mark J. Nelson. This book shows more “classic” techniques regarding PCG. Noise, Random walk, etc. I’m particularly interested in turning these methods into Godot Projects so i’ll check it on occasion to improve my Game developing skills

Some extra resources that i might look or use:

  • The PCG course in Godot by GDQuest. I have a serious problem: I buy courses and never finish them. I think i work better with a book and doing things at my pace. But i really want to check this course, at least at the resource level if i get lost.

  • Artificial Intelligence and Games by Georgios N. Yannakakis & Julian Togelius. A really good comprehensive book on this little world. Even though it could use a second edition, it still has really good information and introductory themes. It’s really general so i won’t find details or big applications but it could offer some nice insights.

  • The Rust Book. I want to learn Rust, okay?

  • The ultimate Rust Crash Course (Part 1 and Part 2). I really, really, really, really want to learn Rust. Just let me have this one.

And now, my goals.

  1. Go through all the chapters in my main book. That means:
    • Read every chapter
    • make at least one mini project from each chapter (preferably in Python)
    • OPTIONAL: Try to make a POC applying one (or more) projects in Godot or Rust
  2. Go through all the chapters in my second book. That means:
    • Read every chapter
    • Make a game for every PCG technique showed in Godot

This might be a lot. But hey, I’m not putting a deadline or something, so no pressure.

I’m not saying this is a perfect plan, but i like it well enough let’s study and get some cool things done!. See you soon