Quantum Imaginary Time Evolution for Procedural Content Generation

Quantum Imaginary Time Evolution (QITE) is a variational algorithm for preparing ground states of Hamiltonians by iteratively updating a parameterized unitary derived from measurement data and a Trotterized imaginary-time step [1]. Because each iteration re-calibrates the update using the current measured state, QITE is comparatively robust to noise and is a promising candidate for early fault-tolerant hardware. In this work, we explore QITE as a tool for procedural content generation (PCG) in video games, where there is growing demand for generation of richer and more engaging content within the required constraints. We present a QITE-based pipeline that encodes design rules as Hamiltonian terms and synthesizes assets by driving towards their ground states. We discuss implementation on currently available noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices and simulators, assessing resource requirements, error-mitigation strategies, and output quality. Our results benchmark feasibility and scaling trends, outline near-term pathways for QITE-enabled PCG that complement classical methods under hard constraints.

[1] Motta et al., Nature Physics volume 16, pages 205–210 (2020), DOI:10.1038/s41567-019-0704-4.