History Main / RandomlyGeneratedLevels

%% This page has been alphabetized. Pleas put examples in the correct order. Thanks!

This is when a VideoGame generates a map, dungeon or level in a [[GameplayRandomization random]] (or, at the very least, unpredictable) fashion. Rather than seeing the same level designs over and over, the player gets a slightly different experience every time they play. {{Roguelike}}s and {{Endless Running Game}}s are the main users of this technique. This can greatly improve a game's replayability, but at the cost of design innovation, since the level designs are limited by the generation algorithm's capabilities.

* Random assembly: The generation algorithm assembles a game level by picking randomly from a set of manually-created assets and stitches them together. This results in cleaner and more playable levels, since the assets will be tailored to fit together in a modular fashion, but at the cost of variability since players will become accustomed to seeing the same assets repeatedly.
* Random generation: All level content is created from scratch using a builder algorithm to place terrain. This allows for much more intricate levels, but writing an algorithm to do this is difficult for complex levels. It is generally used only for things like geometry and natural landscapes.

Some games opt for a middle ground by using random generation to create the level geometry, then randomly placing assets in the world where appropriate.

Usually the computer will impose some restrictions on this randomness, so that, for instance, there is always a path to the end of the level, and the [[DynamicDifficulty harder monsters won't appear]] while the player character is at a low [[CharacterLevel level]]. Since the designer's choices in this area often have a bigger impact on the experience than the random elements do, this trope is also called "[[ProceduralGeneration procedurally generated]] levels".

Some games allow to save/load or display/type in the pseudorandom seed to generate a map you wish to replay.

There are also games that use a fixed seed, so the player gets to play the same world every time. This technique is used in games that contain a game world that is much larger than the memory or disk space it is supposed to fit in.

* ''VideoGame/FZero X'' has a mode where you play in randomly generated tracks, sometimes with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhv2bHNn4A0 sadistic results]]. In a few cases, the X Cup will generate a track the AI cannot handle at all. Witness [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_q8fmr01Ms this track]], where the competition manages to completely wipe itself out in ten seconds.

This is when a VideoGame generates a map, dungeon or level in a [[GameplayRandomization random]] (or, at the very least, unpredictable) fashion. Rather than seeing the same level designs over and over, the player gets a slightly different experience every time they play. {{Roguelike}}s and {{Endless Running Game}}s are the main users of this technique. Can lead to bad level design and bad gameplay if the maps generated are frustrating, terrible or likely to lead to other complications, but a good level generator can greatly improve a game's replayability.

* The {{Bonus Dungeon}}s in ''Creator/NipponIchi'' games are like this.
* ''VideoGame/NovelAI'' not only generates the world in text, they can also generate artwork as well to further help the player immerse themselves in the work they created.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' has Niflheim, which is randomly generated each time you go in it. While a few seeds are always the same, such as the location of [[BonusBoss a Valkyrie]] and a room full of treasure that require Mist Echoes to unlock, the rest is random as to what chests and loot you can find.

** SLIGE is the first attempt of this as a command prompt based application. It invariably designed cathedral or tomb-like indoor levels. It was so infamous for the community that the use of it in distributing levels may lead to a ban.

* ''Videogame/{{Doom}}''
** SLIGE is the first attempt of this as a command prompt based application. It invariably designed cathedral or tomb-like indoor levels. It was infamous for the community that the use of it in distributing levels may lead to a ban.

* The dungeons in ''VideoGame/{{Arcuz}} II'' are randomly generated each time you load your save.

* ''Aztec'', for the UsefulNotes/{{Apple II}}e. Each time you would get a random arrangement of preset rooms and a random collection of beasties, tribesmen and chests. Problems with the layout were eased by using dynamite to blow holes in the walls between rooms.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bejeweled}}'': Every game/level begins with a random combination of different colors of gems. Except in most Classic/Normal modes (where you have to score as much as you can until there are no possible moves), an algorithm is applied to the board so that there is at least one legal move at any time.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTriad'' bundles a program with the registered version called RANDROTT for generating random levels. Pick different parameters and a different seed value for a different set of levels. Quite a few user-made levels available online are actually modified RANDROTT levels.

* One of the main ideas underpinning ''VideoGame/{{Starbound}}'' is to take this as far as possible - it's set in a universe where all planets are [[ProceduralGeneration procedurally generated]] and totally unique, from obvious things like the size, climate, biome, and number of moons, to even things like the day/night cycle and gravity level. And not only are the planets procedurally generated but the plants and animals as well. So much is generated that the possibility of any two players getting anything even close to the same planet is statistically impossible.
** Notes from the developer have suggested that between random starting locations and each player having their stars spawn randomly across the map, everyone's experience will be unique. However, the star's precise coordinates form its seed, so players can share their finds by giving each other these (long) numbers.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for Wii U/Nintendo 3DS'' has the "Super Mario Maker" stage, where the layout is random and continually changing.

** In contrast, the only randomly generated dungeon in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' is Mementos, where all the sidequests take place in. All of the other dungeons ("Palaces") are pre-made.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' have, with a few hand-crafted exceptions, thousands of [[ProceduralGeneration procedurally generated]] towns, cities, villages and dungeons. ''Arena'' does this on the fly, while in ''Daggerfall'', they were generated on the developer's computers, then placed on the disk.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' downplays it, as the entire world is hand-built, but some of the dungeon architecture still gives the impression that they may have been randomly generated during development. The extremely limited LevelScaling of enemies and loot further reduces the randomness.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' do this with parts of the landscape, and have the same dungeon architecture feel of ''Morrowind'', but play it straighter in that the enemies and loot within are determined via LevelScaling.
* ''VideoGame/{{Starflight}}'' may have a scripted overworld (although the star systems feel quite random-generated), but at least the planetary maps are generated.

* ''The Explorer'', an obscure 8-bit computer game, is the extreme example in the 8-bit world with its 4 billion unique locations.
* ''VideoGame/{{Noctis}}'' is a space-simulation game which generates a galaxy with a radius of 90 thousand light-years. The entire purpose of the game is explore it and upload findings into an online guide so that others might find them.

* The ''Franchise/DotHack'' games have dungeons created by selecting a group of keywords, which are generated from those keywords, except for a few plot-critical dungeons.
* The grottoes in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX''
* Several games by Creator/{{cactus}}' feature levels (or rather {{boss|Game}}es) generated with a fixed seed. These include ''Protoganda'', its sequel and ''VideoGame/BurnTheTrash''.
* Several games created by [[Creator/LucasArts Lucasfilm]] in the early 1980s used fractal technology to generate maps of then-unprecedented complexity:
** ''Behind Jaggi Lines!'' was a beta version of air combat simulator[[note]]search and rescue missions under enemy fire, if you want the details[[/note]] over ragged mountains.
** ''VideoGame/RescueOnFractalus'' was a polished version of the former.
** ''The Eidolon'' simply turned the mountains upside down making them the insides of a cave.
** ''Koronis Rift'' was about piloting a surface rover over a jagged terrain. It had somewhat better graphics.
* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'', much like ''VideoGame/{{Noctis}}'', creates an entire explorable universe this way with about 18 quintillion planets, where ''everything'' is procedurally generated.
* When you start a new character in the 1975 ''VideoGame/{{dnd}}'', the dungeon, its treasures, and the geography of its levels are randomly generated. When you die, the dungeon resets again, so you can't going through the same dungeon twice with different characters

* In ''[[VideoGame/RagnarokRoguelike Ragnarok]]'', almost all the levels have a random layout, save for a few very specific locations.
* ''VideoGame/{{rRootage}}'' normally has fixed stages, but the R stages have randomized patterns.
* The castle in ''VideoGame/NosferatuTheWrathOfMalachi'' is semi-randomly generated each new game. The basic layout of the castle remains the same, but the interior rooms and the placement of enemies and [=NPC=]s differs each time.
* ''VideoGame/SCPContainmentBreach'' features three zones, all of which have random layouts, most of which are filled with monsters that will [[TheManyDeathsOfYou kill you in a variety of ways.]]
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for Wii U/Nintendo 3DS'' has the "Super Mario Maker" stage, where the layout is random and continually changing.
* ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondandPearl Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum]]'' has Turnback Cave, home of Giratina (though in ''Platinum'', you'll only have to go there for Giratina if you failed to obtain in the Distortion World). Each room has four exits, and there are 25 different room configurations (not including Giratina's room). One of these is the "pillar room"; you must find this 3 times before entering 30 total rooms, and then any exit from the third pillar room will lead to Giratina's room (or after Giratina's been captured, an item room). Other than the third pillar room leading to the end and the 30th room leading to exiting the cave if you haven't found three pillar rooms, it's completely random what exit will lead where. [[note]]The item in the item room is determined by how many rooms you had to go through to get there, and there is a reward specifically for doing it in just three, so presumably the pillar room is always one of the four options, giving you a 25% chance of finding it each time and thus a 1 in 64 chance of getting it in the minimum 3.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has the Palace of the Dead where each floor has a different layout every time you enter the palace. Each floor will always have a spot that advances you to the next floor and a spot that is used to revive fallen players, but traps and treasure coffers will always be randomized. Each set of 10 floors has its own set of enemies.
* ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune II'''s Random Mission Generator generates maps from pseudo-random seeds that can be chosen by the player.

* ''VideoGame/EagleIsland'''s core gameplay element is a level that randomly generates its map layout, monsters, treasure and terrain every time it is entered (whether by starting the game, resetting to the start of said level, or dying).
* In ''VideoGame/AxiomVerge'', the secret areas are randomly generated combinations of rooms, possibly inspired by the "[[MinusWorld Hidden Worlds]]" in VideoGame/{{Metroid}}''. The access points are also different in each playthrough, though selected from among a fixed set of candidate locations.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Distance}}'', Trackmogrify mode has you type something, which is then used as a seed for a track generator.
* Maps in ''VideoGame/{{Hytale}}'''s Adventure mode are randomly-generated. ''Unlike'' its inspiration, however, these maps are split into zones, each with different rules for the world generation system to follow; zones have their own biomes, cave systems, blocks, creatures, races, dungeons, coastal features, etc. Sometimes, these zones will collide and create fun environmental quirks, which are what the dev team calls "happy little accidents". Even the deep ocean kind of counts as a zone, and the "infinite lands" can be found beyond it. Not counting the ocean, there are at least six zones on the game's main planet of Orbis alone, with two as of yet unannounced.
* The [[BonusDungeon Skull Cavern]] in ''VideoGame/StardewValley''. In the regular mines, while there is still a sense of randomness in the enemies and items that spawn as well as when the ladders show up, each floor has a set layout, and it ends at level 120. In the Skull Cavern, however, the level layouts are ''completely'' randomized, and you can go down well past level 120.
* Storm Impact's ''VideoGame/TaskMaker'' franchise has multiple examples:
** In the original ''[=TaskMaker=]'', players who die are sent to Hell, a randomly-generated fire maze from which the player must escape to return to the game. The only condition is that the maze will always have four exits, but only one is actually accessible.
** In ''VideoGame/TheTombOfTheTaskMaker'', three villages (Trading Post, Isles of Muck, and Eyearrass) all have subterranean levels (Subterra, Undertow Cove, and Papyruswork) which are randomly generated. The dungeon of Grayclay and its sub-level Tubors are also randomly generated. However, in all of these examples, the exits are in the same spot every time.
* In Storm Impact's other game, the skiing game ''VideoGame/MacSki'', the default level "Algorithmia" is randomly generated every time.
* ''VideoGame/AIDungeon2'' generates the game world and everything that exists and happens inside it using a state-of-the-art AI that runs on a supercomputer. Technically all it does is generate text, but the results can be surprisingly good.
* ''VideoGame/{{Meritous}}'': The map changes for each new game, but is static for every save.
* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRogue'' randomly generates small city districts for each of its floors, along with the option to set a seed for each run. Notably it also includes a level editor that allows players to create new buildings or other terrain features then load up packs of them that will be added to the generation options, meaning the amount of variety is only limited by the effort the player base puts into continually expanding the game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Unloved}}'', in stark contrast to the tightly-designed ''VideoGame/{{Doom}} II'' WAD it was supposedly based on.
* ''VideoGame/UphillRush'': The track designs for each level are random. Though it is actually made from several pre-made setpieces which the game decides when and where to use, so you may start with a loop-de-loop and proceed to a fairly tall hill or the other way around, or start with some other track part entirely.
%%* ''VideoGame/TheVisionOfTheAnt''
* ''VideoGame/WaterWarfare'' randomly generates all its maps, though in each of the four map themes (Playground, Beach, Plaza, and Nature Park), certain features will always be consistent. Certain templates will also show up with reasonable consistency based on map size (small or large), game type (Battle Royale, Deathmatch, Treasure Chest, Checkpoint, Point Rally, Defender), and number of players (two to eight). For example, a 1-on-1 Battle Royale on the Playground will always have two hills and no underground tunnel, but adding just one more player allows a tunnel to appear. But no matter how many players are added to a Treasure Chest battle, if it's on the Playground, there will never be a tunnel. (In Mission Mode, however, the maps are always the same for each mission, and not random at all).
* ''Warlords'' turn-based strategies[[note]]predecessors of ''VideoGame/WarlordsBattlecry'', not to be confused with [[VideoGame/{{Warlords}} the 1980 arcade]][[/note]] starting from II have the "Random Map" option.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' assembles the layout of missions from an assortment of tiles created by the developers; the mission chosen affects which tileset and which specialty rooms (e.g. Spy vaults), if any, are used. There are a few exceptions, such as quest missions and raids, which use predetermined layouts instead, but regular missions always have a random layout.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Worms}}'' series allows players to battle on randomly generated maps.

[[/note]]

* ''TabletopGame/BetrayalAtHouseOnTheHill'' features randomly generated layouts, chosen randomly by the players as they are playing the game. Also, the same could be said of the Betrayal itself as it's based entirely on what the players find by exploring the House.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTriad'' bundles a program with the registered version called RANDROTT for generating random levels. Pick different parameters and a different seed value for a different set of levels. Quite a few user-made levels available online are actually modified RANDROTT levels.
* Every level and world of ''Infinite Mario Bros.'' is randomly generated.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', by the same developer as ''Infinite Mario Bros.'', this trope is taken to ridiculous levels: The random level generator is used to produce levels larger than the ''entire surface area of Earth''.
* The Creator/{{Microprose}} game based off ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has a randomly generated map. Enemies are encountered randomly. Dungeons, where you get random cards, are generated randomly and appear in random locations. Enemies attack towns randomly; if you did something for that town to give you an extra hit point, you lose it if you don't stop them; if one wizard (There are five, one for each color of magic.) takes over three towns (four if you have a special item), game over.
* The dungeons in ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale'' are generated this way.
* The original ''VideoGame/CastleWolfenstein'' has pregenerated rooms whose layouts didn't change; however, the order and connection between rooms was randomized at the start of each game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' has the dungeoneering skill, which is firmly based on this trope.
* The ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' series has training centers. The course consists of a rectangular grid of rooms with doors between them. You start at a random room in the bottom row, one (possibly more, but you're locked in as soon as you find one) random top-row room is designated as the goal and is larger than usual, and the two are always connected by a path through a series of unlockable doors. Aside from the goal room, each room also contains either a free item or a battle at the center, and picking up the item or winning the battle opens all unlockable doors in the room (from the side you're on only; doors can be unlocked twice, once from each side). Losing a battle kicks you out, while reaching the goal room pits you in a full-fledged soccer match which gives everyone on your team a permanent stat boost if you win. Each time you play, the set of unlockable doors and each room's contents are randomized. As you progress in the main story, the grid gets bigger, the battles get harder, the item drops get better, and the stat boosts for clearing the whole course are also increased. Additionally, the layout tends to vary based on the course you pick (which determines which stat(s) get boosted if you win); the Stamina Course in particular tends to have the path snake around and go through nearly every room in the grid, with branches leading to dead ends being few and short, while some others tend to have maze-like layouts.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Niflheim, while [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld its sequel]] has Gladsheim. Both consist of nodes on a rectangular grid with connections between them. Niflheim is a timed 15-level dungeon with [[CheckPointStarvation no save points]], and each level requires you to either defeat all enemies on it or find the exit. Gladsheim is an untimed 10-level dungeon with a save point on the third and sixth levels next to the entrance, and the 10th level has a boss fight and nothing else. Apart from the 10th level, each level is an 8-by-8 grid; you start on a random non-edge square and have to go to all 4 corners and defeat the enemy at each corner.
* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' can randomly generate maps several times larger than the application itself.
* ''VideoGame/GetMedieval'' had a game mode that would randomly generate dungeons.
* ''VideoGame/{{Canabalt}}''
* ''VideoGame/RobotUnicornAttack''
* ''VideoGame/TempleRun''
* ''VideoGame/Oasis2005'' has randomly generated levels based on the difficulty, campaign and level.
* In ''VideoGame/SpacePanic'', the ladders connecting the platforms were randomly placed.
* ''VideoGame/TenMinuteSpaceStrategy'' generates a new map for each campaign, with size and planet density decided by the player.
* This was a selling-point feature of ''Slayer'' on the UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer, as the box proudly touts the ability of the game to create over 4 billion different dungeons.
* ''VideoGame/SuperHexagon''
* ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndHisDesktopAdventures'' and ''VideoGame/YodaStories'' are unusual AdventureGame examples, where not only is the terrain created randomly each time, but the puzzles and items are drawn from a large pool.

* One of the main ideas underpinning ''VideoGame/{{Starbound}}'' is to take this as far as possible - it's set in a universe where all planets are [[ProceduralGeneration procedurally generated]] and totally unique, from obvious things like the size, climate, biome, and number of moons, to even things like the day/night cycle and gravity level. And not only are the planets procedurally generated but the plants and animals as well. So much is generated that the possibility of any two players getting anything even close to the same planet is statistically impossible.
** Notes from the developer have suggested that between random starting locations and each player having their stars spawn randomly across the map, everyone's experience will be unique. However, the star's precise coordinates form its seed, so players can share their finds by giving each other these (long) numbers.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rogue}}'', [[TropeCreator the very first]] roguelike and the inspiration for all subsequent roguelikes, including ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}''.
* ''Dungeon Hack'', an unusually forgiving roguelike with ''VideoGame/EyeOfTheBeholder'' look and feel (and also using [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons AD&D 2nd edition]] rules and published by SSI). Included an option to display and manually set the random seed.
* ''VideoGame/{{Diggles}}'' is an odd case. The map is generated not at the start of the game, but when you order to explore a part of a dark area. And only for the area you order to explore (or a slightly bigger area if you luck onto a plot-advancing large cave). Thus reverting to an older saved game may result in a radically different map.
* ''Warlords'' turn-based strategies[[note]]predecessors of ''VideoGame/WarlordsBattlecry'', not to be confused with [[VideoGame/{{Warlords}} the 1980 arcade]][[/note]] starting from II have the "Random Map" option.

* The dungeons in ''VideoGame/{{Arcuz}} II'' are randomly generated each time you load your save.
* The defining feature of ''VideoGame/{{Daylight}}'' compared to other first-person horror exploration games (i.e. ''VideoGame/SlenderTheArrival'', ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'', ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'') is that the maze-like levels are randomly generated each playthrough, adding replay value.

* ''[[Videogame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]]'' and the expansion pack allow players to earn a unique upgrade for their ship which allows it to activate a BlindJump and jump off of the PortalNetwork. Unlike normal sectors which are designed by hand, unfocused jump sectors are completely randomly generated. The Unfocused drive typically dumps the player into intergalactic space with occasional Xenon or Kha'ak enemies, and the sectors are the only way to "[[BoardingParty acquire]]" the unique Goner Aran mothership.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' assembles the layout of missions from an assortment of tiles created by the developers; the mission chosen affects which tileset and which specialty rooms (e.g. Spy vaults), if any, are used. There are a few exceptions, such as quest missions and raids, which use predetermined layouts instead, but regular missions always have a random layout.

really limited by the effort the player base puts into continually expanding the game.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' has Niflheim, which is randomly generated each time you go in it. While a few seeds are always the same, such as the location of [[BonusBoss a Valkyrie]] and a room full of treasure that require Mist Echoes to unlock, the rest is random as to what chests and loot you can find.

* ''VideoGame/TheVisionOfTheAnt''

* Chunsoft's ''Mystery Dungeon'' games, including ''Torneko no Daibouken'', ''VideoGame/ShirenTheWanderer'', ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' and ''Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' features randomized dungeon layouts which include a handful of required rooms. ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' does the same, though single-player maps do not change unless the original is deleted, or if the player plays online. These levels were more random before the first few patches; later on, they changed the random generator to be less annoying.
* ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'''s outdoor areas have a more regular but still randomized layout, with landmarks such as bridges, major dungeons, and paths to the next area always in the same place. Dungeons are totally random but built out of modular rooms instead of a crude assortment of walls like in ''Diablo I'' and ''II''.
* ''VideoGame/NetHack''
* ''VideoGame/{{Angband}}'' and all of it's derivatives, though some will include pre-generated levels in addition.
* ''VideoGame/SimCity''
* The ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series has this trope, though you also get the option to play on an Earth-like world. Even in the Earth-like worlds, you can choose to have both the resources and the nation starting positions randomized, leading to some very weird situations, such as being the Aztecs in Spain sailing off to conquer the Spanish in Mexico.
* ''VideoGame/ToejamAndEarl'', when playing on the Random World setting, as opposed to Fixed World which uses a fixed seed.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters'': The first two games. In the sequel, there were predefined "main" worlds and the sub-worlds were randomly generated; in the original, all worlds were randomly generated.

%%* ''VideoGame/InfiniteDungeons'': The official module for ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights''.
* ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'' allows for randomly generated maps. Also, two of its campaigns have randomly generated maps (one in each). Random cave maps, however, tend to favor chaotic units far more than lawful units, as the cave generator doesn't make any lighted spaces yet.
* The ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series allows for randomly generated multiplayer maps.
* ''VideoGame/FZero X'' has a mode where you play in randomly generated tracks, sometimes with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhv2bHNn4A0 sadistic results]]. In a few cases, the X Cup will generate a track the AI cannot handle at all. Witness [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_q8fmr01Ms this track]], where the competition manages to completely wipe itself out in ten seconds.
* In ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', the Arcarum expeditions (barring the 3rd, 6th, and 9th boss stages) are all randomly generated, and vary from the positioning of the nodes and their contents, such as objectives, enemies, and treasures.
* With the exception of your own base, ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense'''s levels are randomly generated based on pre-existing bulks of tiles (for instance, buildings).
* ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'' took it to the extreme by letting people script the terrain generation.
* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarth'''s skirmish mode featured random terrain, though it was possible to choose the type (Islands created an archipelago, Mediterranean had a huge landlocked body of water in the middle, etc.).
* ''VideoGame/HellgateLondon'' has this as one of its features - not surprising, since many of the developers came from the team that made ''Diablo''.

* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' randomly generates every starting world. This being ''Dwarf Fortress'', it also generates the history and legends of the land and tends towards realistic landscapes. Nothing like the taste of geology in the morning! It's possible to save and manually set the various random seeds to generate the same world on another computer, but significant changes in world generation prevent the same seed from being usable in different major versions.
* All dungeons in ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns'' are randomly generated. The Ancient Cave starting in [[VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals the second game]] consists entirely of randomized floors in each game.
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' randomly generates most of the non-boss floors of Tartarus, although it follows a few design rules. For instance, floors between a Tartarus Boss and a plot-determined barrier will invariably be smaller than the norm, and the party will usually appear extremely close to the stairs to the next floor (with the small inconvenience that [[TheGrimReaper The Reaper]] will spawn that much faster, too.)
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' does the same thing with the non-boss floors in its dungeons, though there are one or two premade floors without bosses on them in the game.
** In contrast, the only randomly generated dungeon in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' is Mementos, where all the sidequests take place in. All of the other dungeons ("Palaces") are pre-made.
* ''VideoGame/InvisibleInc'' has a few rooms that are mostly the same in each level, but most of the rooms - and the level layout - are completely random.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Worms}}'' series allows players to battle on randomly generated maps.
* The {{Bonus Dungeon}}s in ''Creator/NipponIchi'' games are like this.
** "The Dark World" (''{{Hell}}'') in ''VideoGame/LaPucelle''.
** Item World in the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series. (and Class World in ''VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'').
** Dungeonman Dungeons in ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave''.
** Some regular stages in ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'' have randomly generated portions. Dungeons created through the Sacred Tome are always randomized.
** ''[[VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject Z.H.P. Undying Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman]]'' is Nippon Ichi's attempt at a {{Roguelike}} and thus completely based on the trope.

* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' is a rare PlatformGame example.
* ''COMPUTE!'s Third Book of Creator/{{Atari}}'' includes the Atari BASIC source code of a game called ''Castle Quest'', in which each room has random placement of walls and enemies.

* ''VideoGame/UphillRush'': The track designs for each level are random. Though it is actually made from several pre-made setpieces which the game decides when and where to use, so you may start with a loop-de-loop and proceed to a fairly tall hill or the other way around, or start with some other track part entirely.
* ''VideoGame/WaterWarfare'' randomly generates all its maps, though in each of the four map themes (Playground, Beach, Plaza, and Nature Park), certain features will always be consistent. Certain templates will also show up with reasonable consistency based on map size (small or large), game type (Battle Royale, Deathmatch, Treasure Chest, Checkpoint, Point Rally, Defender), and number of players (two to eight). For example, a 1-on-1 Battle Royale on the Playground will always have two hills and no underground tunnel, but adding just one more player allows a tunnel to appear. But no matter how many players are added to a Treasure Chest battle, if it's on the Playground, there will never be a tunnel. (In Mission Mode, however, the maps are always the same for each mission, and not random at all).
%% * ''Yoda Stories''.

* ''VideoGame/BurningRangers'' has only four levels, so SEGA used this trope as a way of boosting replay value. And how, because there are '''tons''' of variations. You can even unlock codes for each specific version of the levels that let you play that version as much as your heart desires when you use the codes.
* ''VideoGame/AquaRhapsody''

* Many games by ABA games utilize these.
** ''VideoGame/{{rRootage}}'' normally has fixed stages, but the R stages have randomized patterns.

* ''VideoGame/TwentyXX'' has a random seed system, although you can enter a seed for a specific runthrough using one of the variant challenges. The pieces are selected from an established lineup of challenges, and then modified based on difficulty: for example, you'll likely see a couple of familiar platform arrangements in the Skytemple, but in later levels, they're covered in lasers and powerful Maceknights that shoot death rays when their shields are struck.
* ''VideoGame/{{Unloved}}'', in stark contrast to the tightly-designed ''VideoGame/{{Doom}} II'' WAD it was supposedly based on.

* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRogue'' randomly generates small city districts for each of its floors, along with the option to set a seed for each run. Notably it also includes a level editor that allows players to create new buildings or other terrain features then load up packs of them that will be added to the generation options, meaning the amount of variety is only really limited by the effort the player base puts into continually expanding the game.

This is when a VideoGame generates a map, dungeon or level in a [[GameplayRandomization random]] (or, at the very least, unpredictable) fashion. Rather than seeing the same level designs over and over, the player gets a slightly different experience every time they play. {{Roguelike}}s and {{Endless Running Game}}s are the main users of this technique. Can lead to bad level design and bad gameplay if the maps generated are frustrating, terrible or likely to lead to other complications, but a good level generator can make the game interesting for more time and not being based on memorizing.

There are two methods of level creation that are generally used: the random generation and the random assembly. The random assembly means that the generation algorithm picks the manually-created assets from the game database and creates the level by stiching them together, while the random generation implies that all the content is created on-the-fly. The random assembly is easier to implement, but the limited number of the assets will become a sore in the eye sooner or later. The random generation is much more robust, but the complexity of the algorithms makes it almost unusable for anything more complicated than the level geometry. The middle ground in that case is to use the random generation for the basic level outlook, and to place the assets whithin it in the appropriate places.

* ''VideoGame/{{Oasis}}'' has randomly generated levels based on the difficulty, campaign and level.

* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' features randomized dungeon layouts which include a handful of required rooms.
** ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' does the same, though single-player maps do not change unless the original is deleted, or if the player plays online. These levels were more random before the first few patches; later on, they changed the random generator to be less annoying.
** ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'''s outdoor areas have a more regular but still randomized layout, with landmarks such as bridges, major dungeons, and paths to the next area always in the same place. Dungeons are totally random but built out of modular rooms instead of a crude assortment of walls like in ''Diablo I'' and ''II''.

* ''VideoGame/ToejamAndEarl'', when playing on the Random World setting (as opposed to Fixed World, which just uses a fixed seed (see below)).

** ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'''s outdoor areas have a more regular but still randomized layout, with landmarks such as bridges, major dungeons, and paths to the next area always in the same place. Dungeons are totally random but built out of modular rooms instead of a crude assortment of walls like in ''Diablo II'' and ''II''.

** ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' does the same, though single-player maps do not change unless the original is deleted, or if the player plays online. These levels were more random before the first few patch; later on, they changed the random generator to be less annoying.

* The defining feature of ''VideoGame/{{Daylight}}'' compared to other first-person horror exploration games (i.e. ''SlenderTheArrival'', ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'', ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'') is that the maze-like levels are randomly generated each playthrough, adding replay value.