Game designers like to think of their worlds as being like living virtual worlds that people can escape to. This is an appealing sentiment, but unfortunately most games don’t really qualify as living virtual worlds. One of the most important reasons why they don’t is because most games can only be experienced once, after which re-experiencing the game immediately becomes mostly an exercise in redundancy. A real living world wouldn’t be like that.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. A game can be made to be infinitely long and to create a new experience every time it is played. How long the game remains fun after that depends upon the strength of the core gameplay mechanics, but nonetheless the length and surface-level variation of the game can be extended to infinity relatively easily.
The key to doing this is to use a technique known as procedural content generation (PCG), which has the effect of randomizing and recreating some of the game content dynamically every time the game is played. The techniques required to do PCG well can be challenging sometimes, but the results can be extremely effective and powerful. It is well worth taking the time to learn how to do it.
Procedural content generation is so powerful that it allows even a single game developer, working solo, to create a game that lasts forever. I have never found a more economical technique for maximizing the value produced per unit of development effort than PCG. It isn’t always appropriate for every type of game, but it is definitely one of the most useful game dev tools in existence.
Admittedly though, procedural content generation and fixed linear storylines tend to clash with each other and often don’t mix very well. Games which focus more on storytelling and on providing a fine-tuned and highly curated emotional experience, like a roller coaster ride locked into a precise predetermined path, will tend to struggle with PCG, and often should mostly avoid using it. However, more open-ended games often benefit enormously from using PCG.
One of the best game genres for experiencing PCG is roguelikes.
This game dev tip is an excerpt taken from a small book I wrote. You can find more information about the book here on my website.