How can you prototype a game with procedurally generated content?

1 Define your scope

Before you start coding, you need to have a clear idea of what kind of game you want to make, and how much of it will be procedurally generated. Some games rely heavily on procedural generation, such as roguelikes, sandbox games, or simulation games, while others use it sparingly, such as platformers, RPGs, or puzzle games. You also need to decide what aspects of your game will be generated, such as terrain, buildings, items, enemies, quests, or dialogue. You should have a vision of how these elements will fit together, and what kind of rules or constraints you will use to generate them.

3 Start simple

One of the common pitfalls of procedural generation is trying to do too much too soon. You may be tempted to create complex and detailed algorithms that can generate a vast and diverse game world, but this can lead to frustration, bugs, and poor quality. Instead, you should start with simple and basic prototypes that can test your core gameplay mechanics and generate the minimum viable content. For example, you can start with a single room or level that can generate a few tiles, items, or enemies, and see how they interact with the player and the environment. You can then gradually add more features, variations, and polish to your prototypes as you iterate and improve them.

5 Learn from others

Finally, you can learn a lot from other games that use procedural generation, both in terms of inspiration and techniques. You can study how they generate their content, what kind of algorithms they use, what kind of challenges they face, and what kind of solutions they find. You can also play them and see what makes them fun, engaging, and memorable. Some examples of games that use procedural generation in different ways are Minecraft, Spelunky, No Man's Sky, Dwarf Fortress, and RimWorld. You can also find tutorials, articles, books, and videos that can teach you more about procedural generation and how to apply it to your game.