Slightly related to a recent post.
I understand procedural generation in video games is basically an instruction set to tell the computer to run through to get the same result every time so that it doesn’t load a whole level each time, it builds the level based on a set of parameters.
How is this different than just loading a built level? Isn’t that what a normal script of code is in any other game? Is an instruction set to tell the computer to load the level?
Is it just the difference between one being done by a programmer and one done by a level designer/artist? They both need assets already designed and made to work right?
In: 30
There are two key differences. The first is variation. Procedural levels can be different each time, but follow the same rules such that the game can still be played (but not the exact same way each time).
The other difference is storage. A procedural world only needs to save the procedure, the seed, and any changes that the player makes. You don’t have to save the exact height of every pixel of land in a procedural world – that information is compressed very efficiently within the seed and procedure. You need to save almost nothing, which allows for truly enormous (and complex) worlds to exist in an inherently limited computer.
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