Elon launching his own gaming company
(nichegamer.com)
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I'm not sure how I feel about this. Curious but cautious, maybe.
I've never enjoyed procedural generation because I know, in the back of my head, that whatever I'm playing has been randomly assembled by a soulless algorithm. I think I feel the same way about AI. I want the design and effort and craftsmanship that comes from the human touch.
Procedural generation is the only way to have a replayable game. Nearly every other game ends up a one and done (The Elder Scrolls are the only exception for me). With procedural generation you can endless exploration, new problems to solve, and far less repetition. It's why roguelikes have so much staying power.
It also forces actual learning of game mechanics instead of memorization of a static map. I dream of a multiplayer fps like R6S with completely runtime generated procedural maps. No memorization of pixel shots, no timed noob tube shots like on AA2, no degenerate strategies countering specific map metas. Just skill in actually reading the terrain.
Resident Evil 4, Max Payne, Jagged Alliance, Halo and Streets of Rage 4 are probably the games I have replayed the most in recent times, along with the original UFO Defence trilogy from Microprose.
You don't need procgen to make a highly replayable game, you just need good gameplay hooks and a decent enough pace/length to draw people back in. I can't think of one procgen focused game that I felt compelled to replay as much as I've replayed the aforementioned titles.
The thing about modules is that it can still be learned and repetitive. Deep Rock Galactic is a prime example of that. That is the beauty of AI generated over procedural generation. It allows far more freedom in the generation of a level. The real end goal would be to merge AI and procedural, in that you can still use the props you menetioned to fill a level, but leave the larger scale design to a NN that then fills the level with appropriate pre downloaded props.
I think there are many exceptions. Take Dark Souls and every one of its derivatives, for example. Any game that allows that kind of build customization sees tons and tons of replay. Games like Divinity: Original Sin 2 also get lots of replay. Again, build diversity may be a big component, but I also think it doesn't have to be.
Also, is it really exploration if it's randomly generated? What you're exploring are things you've already seen, just in random configurations. The best bits (IMO) are always the static elements that have been designed from the ground up, like bosses and boss arenas or unique structures with deliberate level design and secrets.
And that's generally why I'm not into roguelikes, either. Maybe it's a minority opinion, but they feel hollow to me.