GPU-Driven procedural Generation using Work Graphs

Procedural generation on the graphics card is one way to reduce data duplication and enable better culling or computation savings. However previously this was a non trivial task to accomplish because of significant implementation overhead for the programmer. This paper introduces the newest DirectX 12 feature called Work Graphs. It also discusses the history of GPU-Driven procedural generation aswell as providing use-cases and summarizing algorithms establishing Work Graphs as another vital tool for graphics programming. Work Graphs allow scheduling interdependent work on the GPU directly without a roundtrip to the CPU and in the process often enable rendering speedups. Care has been taken to provide illustrations and code examples from the High Level Shading Language (HLSL) to explain the variety of features and capabilities Work Graphs offer.