Procedurally Generated Stories
Every time I find an interesting article online (mostly about digital games, game theory, analysis, etc.), and I don’t have the time to read it, I put it in a bookmarks folder named “Readings”. Once in a while I open that folder and start catching up with nice stuff, discovering new games or theories. This time, a review by Rock Paper Shotgun captured my attention; it’s an article about Unexplored, a roguelike that brings procedural generation to another level. Technical considerations aside, I am amazed by the way this game allows the player to build alterbiographies – i.e. the stories that players generate from their interaction with the game.
Procedurally generated games tend to facilitate the creation of stories by the players’ experiences; emergent narratives are in their DNA, so to speak. However, Unexplored has the ability to add consistency to those stories. It happens thanks to (relatively) simple exploits, like randomizing backstories – Character X has been slain by Monster Y – and involving a crafting/enchanting system that allows to mix, experiment, and create meaning by playing. The combination of equipment, enemies, level design, and randomly generated backstories produces always different results.
So far, I have been through a good dozen of games. All of them were exciting and intriguing.
In a playthrough my mage discovered so many powerful magic items that he became almost unstoppable, but a foolish mistake – disabling a switch I mistook for a trap – prevented his progression through the dungeon, as it became impossible to open a door. I had to jump over a cliff to go deeper into a cave, in order to find another path. This move resulted in a high risk / high reward situation, as I reached the lair of a dormant dragon. Sneaking around, I could find some diaries that told me where to find key objects, and hidden treasures.
Another playthrough went south when my rogue found a magic bow, equipped it, and discovered that it was cursed (so it was impossible to remove it). Plus, the bow had a major malus: every arrow shot with it didn’t quite reach the target, swinging around randomly. I had to progress by throwing unknown potions at enemies, hoping they were explosives, and avoiding conflict until I found a scroll – three levels later – that removed the bow’s curse. Unfortunately, my character died in the next room, because I forgot how to properly swing a sword while struggling with that useless bow.
Yesterday I played as an adventurer which was so lucky to find a lot of potions of strength on the first level: by drinking them, he became able to use two huge poleaxes, and the playthrough evolved very aggressively from there. Obviously. He was a death machine, blinded by rage and blood lust, always searching for bigger opponents to slain. Too bad he encountered, as a random boss fight, an alchemist. He could nothing against his fire, and died miserably.
These stories make for a great example of what Unexplored can do: generate experiences that can be told as independent narratives, with different backgrounds and a very little setup by the developers – except for that huge work that PCG requires “behind the scenes”. It works so well that at some point you could find yourself playing Unexplored to build a story, rather than progressing into the dungeon or achieving some impressive feat. And I think this is awesome.
zero/3 