Summary
- AI Dungeon tailors the story to the player's choices for a unique adventure every time they play.
- Rogue AI Simulator creates personalized storylines based on the player's actions and decisions.
- Fallout: New Vegas dynamically generates faction quests impacting the overall gameplay and story.
Many games use procedural generation to create a game world algorithmically, starting with Elite way back in 1984. But this isn’t the only way that this kind of dynamic content can be used in games. Some games have used procedural generation to create sounds or music on the fly, and, surprisingly, the first game to do this was Pong, in 1972. Then there are games that use algorithms to create aspects of the story, plot, or narrative.
Best Dungeon Crawlers With Procedural Generation
Players who are looking to immerse themselves in the dangerous randomness of dungeon crawlers can seek out these entries.
Story elements that can be generated randomly include quests, NPC interactions, and how story arcs connect, for example. This results in games that never play the same twice, with each playthrough changing in some way. From the earliest days of gaming to the modern era, these are the games that pioneered the concept of procedural storytelling.
8 AI Dungeon
Prompt-Driven Story Generation
- Platforms: Browser
- Release: 2018
- Developer: Latitude
- Genre: RPG, Adventure, Action, Casual
AI Dungeon is a text-based adventure that can be played on a browser. The player follows a story arc that is entirely procedurally generated. When starting a game, the player answers several questions and even has the option of defining their own adventure if they so choose.
6 Earliest Games That Used Procedural Generation
Procedural generation has been in vogue recently, thanks to titles like Minecraft and Starfield, but few know it was also used in the earliest games.
The result is a classic adventure game that is completely tailored to how the player wants their story to unfold. Furthermore, the AI behind the game will change the narrative in real time based on the decisions the player makes and the actions they take while they are playing. No two playthroughs will ever be the same.
7 Rogue AI Simulator
Procedurally Generated Plot
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows
- Released: January 11, 2023
- Developer: Nerdook Productions
- Genre: Simulation, RPG, Strategy, Casual
Rogue AI Simulator is a game that relies on narrative to engage the player, with the plot being entirely procedurally generated. This is an impressive feat for a game that is very story-focused. As the player progresses through the game, the story is written based on the actions and decisions of the player.
New story arcs and quests are generated on the fly, and become highly personalized based on what the player has been doing in the game up to that point. The result is truly dynamic and emergent storytelling.
6 StoryNexus
Generate And Then Play Narrative-Driven Games
- Platforms: Web
- Released: October 2012
- Developer: Failbetter Games
- Genre: Text-Based Adventure
StoryNexus is a web-based platform for creating and playing procedurally generated games. The player is free to choose from any of the games already created, or to define and generate their own. If they choose the latter option, they are asked for a title, an overview of what the story should be about, and the end goal for a successful playthrough. Further details such as the name of the main protagonist, gender, age, and role can also be answered.
Once a game has been created or loaded, it will play very much like a classic text adventure, except the interface prompts the player to decide from several courses of action, rather than typing in a text prompt.
5 Fallout: New Vegas
Dynamic Quest System
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
It must be said that Fallout: New Vegas doesn’t use procedural generation to create the entire plot of its campaign. However, it does use this technique for dynamically creating faction quests, and the way that these missions pan out can impact how the game progresses.
Decisions that players make can have an impact on the quest paths available to them. This impact has a ripple effect on the way that the overall story develops, and what happens to the player in the end. The result is a game that never plays the same way twice, and can turn out some surprisingly emergent gameplay at times.
4 King Of Dragon Pass
Strategy Game With Procedural Questing
King of Dragon Pass
- Released
- October 29, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Strategy
King of Dragon Pass is primarily a strategy game, but with certain aspects of the roleplaying genre included as well. The player takes control of a clan in this game, and the decisions they make during encounters and other game events have an impact on how the story unfolds.
11 Open-World Games That Make Great Use Of Procedurally Generated Content
Procedurally generated worlds are incredibly impressive and offer immense replayability, and these open-world titles certainly do it best.
The game generates quests and scenarios dynamically, creating emerging stories that will likely never be repeated, no matter how many times the player replays the game. King of Dragon Pass was a pioneering title in its day, using procedural generation to shape the story as the player progresses.
3 The Shrouded Isle
Procedurally Generated Storytelling
The Shrouded Isle
- Released
- August 4, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
The Shrouded Isle is a strategy game with a dark and foreboding setting. The entire story in this game is procedurally generated. Every time the player starts a new game, all the villagers that the player will interact with are generated randomly.
These villagers will have their own personalities, sets of skills, and other traits that will have an impact on how they interact with the player. Furthermore, all the quests and events that the player will come across are also generated automatically, rather than being scripted.
2 Tales Of Maj’Eyal
Roguelike With Procedural Storytelling
Tales Of Maj'Eyal
- Released
- December 31, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- nr
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Roguelike
Tales of Maj’Eyal follows the roguelike format of gameplay, and brings in some cool procedurally generated storytelling to the table as well. In fact, the entire game uses algorithmic generation for the map, locations, and dungeons alongside the storytelling aspects of the game.
Every quest, dialogue option, and world event are dynamically created, which means the game is entirely different in every way during each playthrough, from the game world to the narrative. Tales of Maj’Eyal shows just how far developers can go in creating dynamic gaming experiences without scripting anything at all.
1 Zork
Fully Dynamic Story
- Platforms: PDP-10, PDP-11, Personal Computer (various)
- Released: 1977
- Developer: Infocom, Marc Blank, Activision, Don Woods
- Genre: Text-Based Adventure
Zork is a very old game, and also one of the very earliest games to use procedural storytelling. The developers describe the experience as an interactive fiction game. The game world itself is pre-defined, and does not use procedural generation. However, most other aspects of the game do.
The story the player uncovers, as well as the puzzles and interactions they will go through, are all dynamically created on the fly. The result is a game that never plays the same twice. Considering that Zork was first released in 1977, this was quite an achievement at the time.
Best Procedurally Generated Games Of All Time
Fans of procedurally generated games will find countless ways to occupy their time with these titles.