Into the Black: On Videogame Exploration
While this isn’t strictly about procedural generation, I think the general points about exploration and videogames are applicable.
Not just in describing a way to think about exploring the procedurally generated spaces we’re creating–do we need to add collectables, or is the journey itself enough?–but also in our exploration of procedural generation itself.
Does procgen always need a goal? Does every procgen project need to be a game, or have some practical result? I think I’ve made it clear over the past year that I think the answer is no–sometimes procgen is interesting in its own right. While I’m all in favor of combining projects into more complex systems, Tamperdrome Collection, Mansion Maniac, or Ordovician are complete in themselves and don’t need anything as tawdry as a goal.
It’s also why, while an infinite procedurally generated storytelling system that can tell any story would be fascinating, I don’t think it’s the holy grail of procgen (or videogames, for that matter). It’s another dimension of the seduction of infinity: sometimes it’s better be about something, rather than to be about everything. Your procgen project doesn’t have to be all things to all people, and you can procedurally generate a story without needing to procedurally generate all stories.
(This is also an excuse for me to mention Bernband, which has no procedural generation but is nonetheless delightfully atmospheric.)