SketchTiler: Co-Creative Sketch-to-Tilemap Conversion Using Wave Function Collapse

In 2D game development, tilesets are commonly used to create environments and levels, forming what is known as a tilemap. The unique workflow and constraints of tile-based art can be tedious to work with, especially for designers accustomed to more traditional artistic methods. Although AI-assisted systems have been used across various artistic contexts to translate high-level instructions into low-level visual representations, their application to tilemap design remains largely unexplored. To address this gap, we developed SketchTiler, an application that interprets freehand sketch lines and converts them into tilebased representations. Using the Wave Function Collapse (WFC) algorithm, the tool is able to generate contextually appropriate structural representations from user sketches. Suggestions are provided for unfilled areas, informed by surrounding tile context and the overall map structure.