Little Fifteen and Philip Bak recently announced that they’re working on a unique little shooter called Bezier which is said to use genetic algorithms and musical analysis and have a unique look. So we took a look behind the announcement and spoke with the man himself.
[GDN] You’ve stated that Bezier runs on genetic algorithms, what gave you the idea to use those specific algorithms to power the game?
The idea came from the story. In a future of turmoil several computer engineers make a breakthrough in genetics which allows them to store lifeforms digitally. They create a vast computer underground, a modern day noah’s ark, and inject thousands of different types of life inside including themselves. So the story is a collision between the organic and the digital. I saw what a genetic algorithm could bring, especially to the look, sitting alongside that well.
[GDN] What exactly are they responsible for? Enemy spawning, the environment or something else as well?
Mainly the aesthetic of enemy objects. I wanted to create a game that looked like no other - primarily generated from an algorithm and not an artist. Most of the enemies are based on gods from past civilisations. I defined nine or ten different personality traits and then mapped these on to the character of each deity. This Initialisation was then plugged into the GA with the aims of the Selection & Reproduction steps to create a visual form made up from bezier curves. At first this ended up looking a complete mess, but after a long time tweaking variables, forms did start to appear with the process. These were then taken to an editor I wrote where I cleaned them up and set up a simpler GA loop to be played out inside the game which controls animation.
[GDN] You state that music analysis is also a part of the equation so does that mean there’s a dynamic score or does it 
use the music collection on the PC it’s running on?
Friends suggested I create an ’Audiosurf’ type blaster when I first started and whilst it seemed a novel idea it just didn’t fit the story I wanted to tell. The music isn’t dynamic but is very key and the whole game is driven by it. Each zone has its own soundtrack and I wanted to get away from those tiresome dance-music scores which plague the genre. To complement the story I wanted the music to be a battle between a digital sound built from synthesizers and an acoustic section with orchestra, guitars and ethnic instruments. In the game the music runs through a spectral analysis with these parameters combined with player input and sent directly to the engine (some right down to the shaders) which affect the visuals further. This is why I called the engine the BezierSynth, because I wanted it to have the subtle feel of playing a musical instrument.
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