No Man's Sky.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.
Tower of Guns.
Spelunky.
Daylight (to an extent).
Minecraft.
Road Not Taken.
What do all of the above have in common?
Well if you haven't guessed from the title, they're all procedurally generated games.
For me, games of this category have become more noticeable the last 12 months compared to a few years ago. Not sure if I'm paying attention more or if there is a genuine increase.
Yes, I have done some research and there are games which are procedurally generated which were released years ago. But it seems as if a revival of sorts is currently happening.
I can see the appeal of such a game. Being able to replay the games countless times is obviously the first. I mean, in this day and age if you're going to part with your money then you'll want it's worth. Secondly these games can appeal to those who stream or upload to YouTube. I cannot wait for Tower of Guns, I can see myself uploading countless videos to YouTube.
A personal negative to procedurally generated games is being a perfectionist. (Although I suspect everyone that plays videogames is a perfectionist to some degree.) For example, I'm getting frustrated as Hell (no pun intended) with The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and Spelunky as I cannot get pass the early levels. Whereas if those games weren't procedurally generated, I could evaluate the same level 100 times and come up with a plan of attack.
I've lost track of where I was going with this..... I guess this is a plea to videogames and the industry.
In essence procedurally generated games are needed within the videogame community. However I think they need to be more original in both the genre and what elements of the games are actually procedurally generated.
