List of games using procedural generation

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Procedural generation is a common technique in computer programming to automate the creation of certain data according to guidelines set by the programmer. Many games generate aspects of the environment or non-player characters procedurally during the development process in order to save time on asset creation. For example, SpeedTree is a middleware package that procedurally generates trees which can be used to quickly populate a forest. [1] Whereas most games use this technique to create a static environment for the final product, some employ procedural generation as a game mechanic, such as to create new environments for the player to explore. The levels in Spelunky are procedurally generated by rearranging premade tiles of geometry into a level with an entrance, exit, a solvable path between the two, and obstacles to that path. [2] Other games procedurally generate other aspects of gameplay, such as the weapons in Borderlands which have randomized stats and configurations. [3]

Contents

This is a list of video games that use procedural generation as a core aspect of gameplay. Games that use procedural generation solely during development as part of asset creation are not included.

List

Roguelike games

Games in the roguelike genre all have at least procedurally generated levels. [4]

Other

TitleYearDeveloper(s)Procedural content
.kkrieger 2004 Farbrausch Most of the meshes and textures are procedurally generated, and the music is procedurally generated during runtime. [5] [ unreliable source ]
Anarchy Online 2001FuncomMission rewards, loot, dungeon layout, and location on the world map can be generated based on selections made at mission terminals. [6] [ unreliable source ]
Astroneer 2019 System Era Softworks Procedural planet terrain. [7]
Banished 2014Shining Rock SoftwareTerrain map. [8]
Borderlands series 2009–2019 Gearbox Software, 2K Australia Weapons. [3]
Civilization series 1991–2018 MicroProse, Activision, Firaxis Games Customizable world map. [9]
Core Keeper 2022 Pugstorm Explore a procedurally generated underground world [10]
Crypt of the NecroDancer 2015Brace Yourself Games2D grid-based top-down dungeons with halls and rooms [11] [12] [13] with randomly placed enemies and items. [14]
Deep Rock Galactic 2018 Ghost Ship Games Cave systems separated into rooms and tunnels by walls of dirt. [15]
Descenders 2018RageSquid3D downhill courses on relatively dirt trails. [16]
Don't Starve 2013 Klei Entertainment Flat 2D world. [17] Later expanded with cavern systems [18] and oceans. [19]
Dwarf Fortress 2006 Tarn Adams Almost entirety of game content [20] based in a layered 3D world with elements like its history, [21] creatures and narrative, [22] religion, [23] etc.
Elite 1984 David Braben, Ian Bell Eight 3D wireframe galaxies consisting of 256 procedurally generated star systems each [24] [25]
Enter the Gungeon 2016Dodge Roll2D flat dungeon levels made of room "chunks". [26]
Factorio 2016 Wube Software 2D terrain map generation. [27] [ non-primary source needed ]
Islanders 2019Grizzly Games3D terrain generation of islands. [28]
Left 4 Dead 2 2009 Valve Gameplay changes to match player's performance, such as enemies, paths, or weather. [29]
Minecraft 2011 Mojang 3D world primarily made of cube blocks. [30] Effectively infinite. [31]
Minecraft Dungeons 2020 Mojang Randomly-generated 3D dungeons filled with monsters, traps and puzzles, and treasures. [32] [33]
Mini Metro 2015Dinosaur Polo ClubAbstract 2D levels and audio system. [34]
No Man's Sky 2016 Hello Games 3D galaxies with planets and their flora and fauna. [35] [36]
Pixel Piracy 2015Quadro Delta2D world, [37] including islands, towns and shops, as well as ship's crew. [38]
RimWorld 2013 (EA)Ludeon StudiosCustomization 3D spherical world map and flat 2D gameplay map, [39] as well as many elements, [40] notably narrative and events. [41]
Rogue Legacy 2011Cellar Door GamesSide-scrolling castle, [42] made up of interconnected rooms.
The Sentinel 1986 Firebird 3D terrain generation for all 10,000 levels.[ citation needed ]
Sir, You Are Being Hunted 2014 Big Robot An open world island landscape. [43]
Spelunky 2008MossmouthSide-scrolling underground rectangular levels made up of tiles. [2]
Spore 2008 Maxis 3D creatures, tribes, civilizations, planets and terrain, spaceships and galaxies, music, [44] [45] award-winning animation system. [46]
Starbound 2016 Chucklefish 2D side-scrolling planets [47] and content on them, such as dungeons and bosses. [48]
Stardew Valley 2016 ConcernedApe Cave areas [49] of increasing difficulty and loot. [50]
Terraria 2011 Re-Logic Side-scrolling rectangular 2D world. [51]
The Binding of Isaac 2011 Edmund McMillen Bird eye view 2D levels made up of interconnected rectangular rooms with random monsters and loot. [52]
Valheim 2021 Irongate Studios A procedurally-generated circular map of an archipelago of islands in an ocean; with the player starting the game in the center. [53]
Vintage Story 2016Anego StudiosA procedurally-generated voxel-based open world of up to 64 million square kilometres with an emphasis on realism. A 2023 update includes "upgraded world generation with various new land forms, a geologic activity system, and large scale mountain regions" [54]
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands 2020 Blizzard Entertainment Torghast, a dungeon with procedurally-generated enemy spawns. [55]
Microsoft Minesweeper 1990 Microsoft Rectangular grid of hidden mines. [56]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roguelike</span> Subgenre of role-playing video games

Roguelike is a subgenre of role-playing computer games traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player character. Most roguelikes are based on a high fantasy narrative, reflecting their influence from tabletop role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.

<i>Strange Adventures in Infinite Space</i> 2002 video game

Strange Adventures In Infinite Space is a roguelike video game created by the indie developer Digital Eel and released for Windows and Mac on March 15, 2002, by boardgame developer-publisher, Cheapass Games. Releases for Pocket PC and Palm by British developer-publisher Astraware followed. In 2020, the game was updated to run on current computer operating systems of the day. It remains free to download and share.

Dwarf Fortress is a construction and management simulation and roguelike indie video game created by Bay 12 Games. Available as freeware and in development since 2002, its first alpha version was released in 2006 and received attention for being a two-member project surviving solely on donations. The primary game mode is set in a procedurally generated fantasy world in which the player indirectly controls a group of dwarves, and attempts to construct a successful and wealthy fortress. Critics praised its complex and emergent gameplay but had mixed reactions to its difficulty. The game influenced Minecraft, Rimworld, and others, and was selected among other games to be featured in the Museum of Modern Art to show the history of video gaming in 2012.

<i>Spelunky</i> 2008 video game

Spelunky is a 2008 source-available 2D platform game created by independent developer Derek Yu and released as freeware for Microsoft Windows. It was remade for the Xbox 360 in 2012, with ports of the new version following for various platforms, including back to Microsoft Windows. The player controls a spelunker who explores a series of caves while collecting treasure, saving damsels, fighting enemies, and dodging traps. The caves are procedurally generated, making each run-through of the game unique.

<i>Minecraft</i> 2011 video game

Minecraft is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios and originally released in 2009. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being fully released in November 2011, with Notch stepping down and Jens "Jeb" Bergensten taking over development. Minecraft has become the best-selling video game in history, with over 300 million copies sold and nearly 140 million monthly active players as of 2023. It has been ported to several platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mojang Studios</span> Swedish video game developer

Mojang Studios is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. The studio is best known for developing the sandbox and survival game Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time.

Zachtronics LLC is an American video game developer, best known for engineering-oriented puzzle video games and programming games. Zachtronics was founded by Zach Barth in 2000, who serves as its lead designer. Some of their games include SpaceChem, Infinifactory, TIS-100, and Shenzhen I/O. Infiniminer (2009) inspired the creation of Minecraft.

Numerous video games were released in 2016. New hardware came out as well, albeit largely refreshed and updated versions of consoles in the PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 4 Slim, and Xbox One S. Commercially available virtual reality headsets were released in much greater numbers and at much lower price points than the enthusiast-only virtual reality headsets of earlier generations. Augmented reality also became mainstream with Pokémon Go. Top-rated games originally released in 2016 included Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Inside, Overwatch, Forza Horizon 3, Madden NFL 17, WWE 2K17, NBA 2K17, Dark Souls III, and Battlefield 1 and Doom 2016. The top five highest-grossing video games of 2016 were League of Legends, Honor of Kings/Arena of Valor, Monster Strike, Clash of Clans, and Dungeon Fighter Online.

<i>Crypt of the NecroDancer</i> 2015 video game

Crypt of the NecroDancer is a roguelike rhythm video game developed and published by Canadian independent game studio Brace Yourself Games. The game takes fundamental elements of a roguelike dungeon exploration game and adds a beat-matching rhythm game set to an original soundtrack written by Danny Baranowsky. The player's actions are most effective when moving the character set to the beat of the current song and are impaired when they miss a beat, so it is necessary to learn the rhythmic patterns that the various creatures follow. The mixed-genre game includes the ability to import custom music, and the option to use a dance pad instead of traditional controllers or the keyboard. The game was released for Linux, OS X, and Windows in April 2015, being co-published by Klei Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4 and Vita in February 2016, for the Xbox One in February 2017, and for Nintendo Switch in February 2018. Crypt of the NecroDancer Pocket Edition, developed for iOS, was released in June 2016.

<i>Eldritch</i> (video game) 2013 video game

Eldritch is a 2013 first-person shooter video game developed by David Pittman and published by American indie studio Minor Key Games. It was inspired by the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and gameplay elements of roguelike games. The expansion Eldritch: Mountains of Madness was released in December 2013. The game's source code was released in 2014, though the content itself remains proprietary.

Enter the Gungeon is a 2016 bullet hell roguelike game developed by Dodge Roll and published by Devolver Digital. Set in the firearms-themed Gungeon, gameplay follows four player characters called Gungeoneers as they traverse procedurally generated rooms to find a gun that can "kill the past". The Gungeoneers fight against bullet-shaped enemies, which are fought using both conventional and exotic weapons. Enter the Gungeon features a permadeath system, causing the Gungeoneers to lose all obtained items and start again from the first level upon death. Between playthroughs, players can travel to an area called the Breach, where they can converse with non-player characters and unlock new items randomly encountered while playing.

<i>Crown and Council</i> 2016 video game

Crown and Council is a turn-based strategy game developed by Mojang employee Henrik Pettersson. The game was both announced and released as a surprise on Steam on April 22, 2016 and was made available for free.

Gonner is a roguelike video game developed by Art in Heart and published by Raw Fury. It was released on October 12, 2016 for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux. A Nintendo Switch version of the game was scheduled for release on June 8, 2017, but was delayed to June 29, 2017. The game has been described as a "shooter" version of Spelunky.

<i>The Long Journey Home</i> (video game) 2017 video game

The Long Journey Home is a 2017 space exploration video game by Daedalic Entertainment for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

<i>Descenders</i> 2019 cycling video game

Descenders is a cycling video game developed by Dutch studio RageSquid and published by No More Robots. It was released for Linux, macOS, Windows, and Xbox One on 7 May 2019, for PlayStation 4 on 25 August 2020, for Nintendo Switch on 6 November 2020 and Xbox Series X/S on 8 June 2021. A mobile version for iOS and Android was released on 4 August 2022.

A roguelike deck-building game is a hybrid genre of video games that combines the nature of deck-building card games with procedural-generated randomness from roguelike games.

<i>BPM: Bullets Per Minute</i> 2020 video game

BPM: Bullets Per Minute is a roguelike rhythmic first-person shooter developed and published by Awe Interactive. The game incorporates elements from rhythm games and roguelikes. It was released for Microsoft Windows in September 2020, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October 2021, and for Nintendo Switch in September 2022.

<i>Star Traders: Frontiers</i> 2018 video game

Star Traders: Frontiers is a hybrid space trading and tactical role-playing game designed by Trese Brothers, a two-man independent video game studio. Players control a spaceship captain in an open world setting.

<i>Unexplored</i> Video game series

Unexplored is a series of two roguelike video games developed and published by Ludomotion. The first game, Unexplored, was released in 2017. The second game, Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy, was released in 2022.

References

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  3. 1 2 "How many weapons are in Borderlands 2?". eurogamer.net. 16 July 2012.
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