• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Games that did procedurally generated content best?

C

CountAntonius

Member
From Minecraft seeding to Chalice Dungeons which do you think have done it best?

A downfall is often games suffer not having something handcrafted by the devs so even if you have an infinite amount of content it tends to be shallow or extremely repetitive. Any good examples?
 
Spelunky and in an underrated Example in my opinion, Bloodborne. Grinding for the Chalices sucked, but once you were in them and you were at the right level, they were pretty great stuff and have unique enemies and traps and stuff that could've and should've been in the main game for sake of variety.
 
The only real answer is Hellgate london.
Wait a minute. You said well.
...
Not hellgate london. Aren't the rifts in Diablo 3 procedurally generated?
 
The ones I've come across all seem a bit samey tbh, they all have some different layout to the levels and maybe some enemy variation or stat variation. The best I've played is probably either Path of Exile or Diablo 3. I haven't really played the end game maps of PoE but I heard it's supposed to be good.

I also have to say Elite Dangerous is up there simply because of the size of that game, which was only possible because of procedural generation.
 
Chalice Dungeons are garbage.

Diablo 1 did procedurally generated content really well. Made for great replayability.

Same thing with Isaac.
 
The top 3 for me would be:

  1. Invisible Inc. - So much of the game design is built around exploration, remaining hidden, risk/reward and information = power, that procedural levels actually enhanced the game's tension over what hand-crafted (every time the same) spaces could.
  2. XCOM2 - The tilesets and mission variety were some of the weaker aspects of the still good Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within. XCOM2 gave me that improved variety in procedural areas, both aesthetically, and what the spaces allowed for mechanically. The additions of stealth, improved destruction, and timers made missions exciting and dynamic vs. the turtle-fest of samey spaces in the previous game. Even though they were procedural spaces, they looked good enough to be other game's handcrafted content.
  3. Don't Starve - One of the few "survival" games that's actually done, and filled with decently polished content. There is just so much variety to the procedural generation, tons of things to collect, build and improve. All wrapped up in this charming stylized art, and any misgivings I have about its procedural spaces mod support addressed.
 
I'll echo invisible inc. Some of the most "handcrafted" looking generated content.

I also really like the way many strategy games use it. Age of empires 2 or Civilisation


Crypt of the Necrodancer as well.
 
Diablo and Diablo 2 are both excellent examples because they tightly controlled the map generation to allow for variety and even a small amount of predictability to reward experienced players.

I've got to say though that the correct answer for this thread is so obviously Nethack that no other answer is really justifiable. The entire premise of the game is that everything is completely different when you start over and the main gameplay mechanic is using your knowledge to cope with the total randomness. You might be polymorphed into slime or you might have to use the corpse of an enemy who turns you into stone on contact as a weapon. Hell, you might die by tripping while using said corpse as a weapon and dropping that corpse on your feet. You might dredge up a water demon on the first level; you might accidentally find yourself tripping on fungus or being chased through the dungeon by a pack of dogs.
 
Kieli said:
Chalice Dungeons are garbage.
Click to expand...

I loved the Chalice Dungeons in Bloodborne, so they're probably my answer. The important thing to remember is that they aren't there in lieu of main game content; they're there in addition to it. They also allow make progressing to each NG+ have more of a purpose, and because of the unique way they increase in difficulty, they can provide a constant challenge (whereas in the main game and other Souls games, you can eventually reach a point where you can steamroll everything if you're levelling faster than the game is scaling in difficulty).

I also liked how they tied into the lore, and had a genuine reason for existing rather than being a disconnected gameplay mode.

The Chalice Dungeons can be completely disregarded, or can add tons of content/playtime if you want to get into them. They couldn't have been implemented better. They're fantastic additions to the "Soulsborne" series, and I missed them in DS3.
 
I've been playing a lot of Rimworld recently and while I've failed my colony about 10 times already, each game has been very different. I'd defo put it close to the top in this category for me!
 
I can't think of any. It's ironic that games with PGC have the least replay value for me due to the substandard design.
 
The only ones I like are Rogue Legacy and Spelunky to be honest. Those did it really well. Chalice Dungeons in Bloodborne were okay at first but now they just represent an annoyance for me since you have to do them for every character seperately.
 
J Jizzle said:
I've been playing a lot of Rimworld recently and while I've failed my colony about 10 times already, each game has been very different. I'd defo put it close to the top in this category for me!
Click to expand...
Yeah I've enjoyed rimworld a lot to. I love games where you get your own unique kind of stories. Even when they end it total failure lol.

Starbound has been great recently to.

Honestly I don't get the hate for these types of games. It really adds to the repeatability.
 
Spelunky and Dwarf Fortress are the main two games that come to mind. Dwarf Fortress is particularly impressive due to the scale of the world history and the character interactions that are generated as a result of it.
 
Dark_cloud_2_us_front.jpg


I love what the Dark Cloud series was able to do with procedurally generated dungeons. From Wikipedia:

Dark Chronicle is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective, in which the player moves through procedurally-generated dungeons, battling monsters and collecting items. The player controls two characters for the majority of the game; Max and Monica. Max fights with a wrench as his melee weapon and a gun as his ranged weapon. Monica uses a sword and a magical bracelet. Combat is composed entirely of real time hack and slash.
Click to expand...

Great game!
 
sirronoh said:
Dark_cloud_2_us_front.jpg


I love what the Dark Cloud series was able to do with procedurally generated dungeons. From Wikipedia:



Great game!
Click to expand...

I'd argue it's an example of doing it poorly. The game is good overall but the dungeons were never very compelling.

Most story based RPGs that use random dungeons at best approach being passable.
 
It's quite noticeable if people have no idea about Dwarf Fortress going by the answers in this thread because it's like a factor of ten above everything else.
 
Shotgun Kiss said:
The Chalice Dungeons can be completely disregarded, or can add tons of content/playtime if you want to get into them. They couldn't have been implemented better. They're fantastic additions to the "Soulsborne" series, and I missed them in DS3.
Click to expand...
They're definitely a great alternative as post/endgame content for people who don't care about pvp (self included) and who get tired of doing endless NG+ runs. At depths 4-5 they get interesting and I've had a ton of fun just running through the cursed dungeons. It's great to have a lot more different enemy types and layouts to take advantage of the combat system when it's so fun. And I really enjoy the story and aesthetics presented in the dungeons as well. I've had a ton of fun in them and they probably comprise the majority of my play time at this point.

I feel like they could have been done a lot better though. They probably should have axed layers 1-3 completely and made you unlock the Chalices closer to the late/endgame. I was really hoping they would be improved upon in DS3, instead of just dropped.
 
I’m a big fan of procedural generation in games, I have been since the original Elite back on the C64. Some of my favorites that I feel are the best examples of what it can do:

Minecraft – really is the best use of it IMHO, pretty much the poster child for PG
Spelunky – this would be the only game I could consider to use PG better than Minecraft. Expertly used and controlled to create super engaging gameplay situations that do not get old, ever
Elite – the franchise has always used PG beautifully, and the latest version is no exception. I do wish there was more variety in its PG use though, it should be less repetitive than it is with its world generation
Starbound – still exploring this one since 1.0 just launched, but this game uses PG awesomely
Terraria – same as Starbound, great example
Dwarf Fortress – while the game may not be for everyone, it certainly is a wonder of programming and it uses PG very well to keep it endlessly replayable
 
Bunch of games. I was super skeptical about procedurally generated content, but shoutouts to

> Terraria
> Spelunky
> Rogue Legacy

One game that did it wrong:

> Bloodborne
 
Chalice dungeons in Bloodborne killed my enthusiasm for the game. They're utter trash, and the game would have been better without them. Put those cool bosses in the main game as optional bosses, not in some boring, shit to look at dungeons that take forever to get through.

I think The Binding of Isaac did a great job. Spelunky too. I also really like Nuclear Throne's random generation, even if it can be a bit harsh at times.
 
XCOM : UFO Defence on DOS.

Man I dreaded terror missions. Avenger x Hyperwave Decoder to wipe out terror ships before they could land couldn't come fast enough
 
Illwinter Design games (Dominions, Conquest of Elysium) do large-scale world generation pretty well. Of course their RNG also whiffs occasionally, but it usually boils down to the selected era being bad for that particular faction (in CoE) or poorly chosen Pretender traits (in Dom).
 
Lactose_Intolerant said:
Dwarf Fortress
Click to expand...

Adnor said:
The world history generation in Dwarf Fortress is one of the best things I've seen in a videogame.
Click to expand...

paradise_circus said:
dwarf fortress is unmatched imo
Click to expand...

Kalor said:
Spelunky and Dwarf Fortress are the main two games that come to mind. Dwarf Fortress is particularly impressive due to the scale of the world history and the character interactions that are generated as a result of it.
Click to expand...

roadrunn3r said:
It's quite noticeable if people have no idea about Dwarf Fortress going by the answers in this thread because it's like a factor of ten above everything else.
Click to expand...


Yup. Dwarf Fortress is something very special.
 
Zanac was pretty ahead of its time with adaptive difficulty and enemy waves in a genre where rote memorizers were/are the norm. Still playing it to this day.
 
The best versions are games that do procedural generation on a macro level but still have individual design on a micro level. Things such as Spelunky and Binding of Isaac. Then you get the best of both worlds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Arc System Works has started using AI-generated content in its upcoming game ‘Donutal’
9
421
kpopSuperstar replied
The Best Games That STILL Haven’t Been Remastered...
Opinion Trailer  2 3
115
444
Hypnotoad replied
GTA 6 to launch online within a month after the release of the game; user-generated content ecosystem ‘will produce millionaires.’
Opinion Rumor 
21
252
Represent. replied
  • Poll
Years later, what is the best Mass Effect game? (With full content/DLCs !)
Opinion Community Poll  2 3
110
1K
ZehDon replied
Fake AI generated game reviews
Drama 
46
795
darth.shrimp replied
Top Bottom