{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7167921340","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3795095.3805100","title":"Mortar: Evolving Mechanics for Automatic Game Design","display_name":"Mortar: Evolving Mechanics for Automatic Game Design","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-07-10","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7167921340","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3795095.3805100"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3795095.3805100","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3795095.3805100","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4363608932","display_name":"Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"conference"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"type":"conference-paper","indexed_in":["crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"hybrid","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3795095.3805100","any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5027180951","display_name":"Muhammad Umair Nasir","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2458-9599"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I192619145","display_name":"University of the Witwatersrand","ror":"https://ror.org/03rp50x72","country_code":"ZA","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I192619145"]}],"countries":["ZA"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Muhammad Nasir","raw_affiliation_strings":["University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2458-9599","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I192619145"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5079052267","display_name":"Yuchen Li","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6217-2381"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I57206974","display_name":"New York University","ror":"https://ror.org/0190ak572","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I57206974"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Yuchen Li","raw_affiliation_strings":["New York University, New York, USA"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6217-2381","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"New York University, New York, USA","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I57206974"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5078861770","display_name":"Steven James","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4366-4125"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I192619145","display_name":"University of the Witwatersrand","ror":"https://ror.org/03rp50x72","country_code":"ZA","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I192619145"]}],"countries":["ZA"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Steven James","raw_affiliation_strings":["University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4366-4125","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I192619145"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5077267552","display_name":"Julian Togelius","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3128-4598"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I57206974","display_name":"New York University","ror":"https://ror.org/0190ak572","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I57206974"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Julian Togelius","raw_affiliation_strings":["New York University, New York, USA"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3128-4598","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"New York University, New York, USA","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I57206974"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":2,"institutions_distinct_count":2,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":"310","last_page":"318"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11574","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence in Games","score":0.9520000219345093,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11574","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence in Games","score":0.9520000219345093,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11197","display_name":"Digital Games and Media","score":0.007600000128149986,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3312","display_name":"Sociology and Political Science"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/33","display_name":"Social Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10731","display_name":"Educational Games and Gamification","score":0.00570000009611249,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3204","display_name":"Developmental and Educational Psychology"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/32","display_name":"Psychology"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/game-mechanics","display_name":"Game mechanics","score":0.7487999796867371},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/set","display_name":"Set (abstract data type)","score":0.5587000250816345},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/statistical-mechanics","display_name":"Statistical mechanics","score":0.391400009393692},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/component","display_name":"Component (thermodynamics)","score":0.38260000944137573},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/video-game","display_name":"Video game","score":0.3278000056743622},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/outcome","display_name":"Outcome (game theory)","score":0.3107999861240387},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/structural-mechanics","display_name":"Structural mechanics","score":0.3009999990463257}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C170828538","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1751513","display_name":"Game mechanics","level":2,"score":0.7487999796867371},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.5730999708175659},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C177264268","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1514741","display_name":"Set (abstract data type)","level":2,"score":0.5587000250816345},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C99874945","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188715","display_name":"Statistical mechanics","level":2,"score":0.391400009393692},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C168167062","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1117970","display_name":"Component (thermodynamics)","level":2,"score":0.38260000944137573},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.3449999988079071},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C3018412434","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7889","display_name":"Video game","level":2,"score":0.3278000056743622},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C148220186","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7111912","display_name":"Outcome (game theory)","level":2,"score":0.3107999861240387},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C126298732","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1371892","display_name":"Structural mechanics","level":3,"score":0.3009999990463257},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C72514878","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q919765","display_name":"Computational mechanics","level":3,"score":0.2921000123023987},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C43133876","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172145","display_name":"Fluid mechanics","level":2,"score":0.2897999882698059},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C113174947","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2859736","display_name":"Tree (set theory)","level":2,"score":0.2883000075817108},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C503285160","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q858057","display_name":"Game design","level":2,"score":0.2816999852657318},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C206183056","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q833065","display_name":"Analytical mechanics","level":4,"score":0.2782000005245209},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C114008111","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q467257","display_name":"Aircraft flight mechanics","level":3,"score":0.26409998536109924},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C177142836","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q44455","display_name":"Game theory","level":2,"score":0.25189998745918274}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1145/3795095.3805100","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3795095.3805100","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4363608932","display_name":"Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"conference"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference","raw_type":"proceedings-article"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3795095.3805100","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3795095.3805100","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4363608932","display_name":"Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"conference"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":14,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W1625390266","https://openalex.org/W2144230296","https://openalex.org/W2168115594","https://openalex.org/W2766162456","https://openalex.org/W3047290399","https://openalex.org/W3092157356","https://openalex.org/W4242962246","https://openalex.org/W4288267703","https://openalex.org/W4363651325","https://openalex.org/W4378363844","https://openalex.org/W4388139328","https://openalex.org/W4400413686","https://openalex.org/W4415795813","https://openalex.org/W7133186592"],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"We":[0,106,122,146],"present":[1],"Mortar,":[2],"a":[3,29,36,40,46,78,93,159],"system":[4,156],"for":[5,10],"autonomously":[6],"evolving":[7],"game":[8,12],"mechanics":[9,15,62,70,109,134],"automatic":[11],"design.":[13],"Game":[14],"define":[16],"the":[17,83,108,115,120,139,144,152,164],"rules":[18],"and":[19,24,31,63,131,133,158],"interactions":[20],"that":[21,58,124,128,135],"govern":[22],"gameplay,":[23],"designing":[25],"them":[26],"manually":[27],"is":[28],"time-consuming":[30],"expert-driven":[32],"process.":[33],"Mortar":[34,125],"combines":[35],"quality-diversity":[37],"algorithm":[38],"with":[39],"large":[41],"language":[42],"model":[43],"to":[44,91,150,162],"explore":[45],"diverse":[47,130],"set":[48],"of":[49,154],"mechanics,":[50],"which":[51],"are":[52,71,86],"evaluated":[53,72,87],"by":[54,73,88],"synthesising":[55],"complete":[56,75],"games":[57,76,85,127,165],"incorporate":[59],"both":[60],"evolved":[61],"those":[64],"drawn":[65],"from":[66],"an":[67],"archive.":[68],"The":[69],"composing":[74],"through":[77],"tree":[79],"search":[80],"procedure,":[81],"where":[82],"resulting":[84],"their":[89,112],"ability":[90],"preserve":[92],"skill-based":[94,116,140],"ordering":[95,117,141],"over":[96],"players\u2014that":[97],"is,":[98],"whether":[99],"stronger":[100],"players":[101],"consistently":[102],"outperform":[103],"weaker":[104],"ones.":[105],"assess":[107,151],"based":[110,166],"on":[111,167],"contribution":[113],"towards":[114,138],"score":[118,142],"in":[119,143],"game.":[121,145],"demonstrate":[123],"produces":[126],"appear":[129],"playable,":[132],"contribute":[136],"more":[137],"perform":[147],"ablation":[148],"studies":[149],"role":[153],"each":[155],"component":[157],"user":[160],"study":[161],"evaluate":[163],"human":[168],"feedback.":[169]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-07-14T23:27:15.235271","created_date":"2026-07-11T00:00:00"}
