Bumping this because I came across a relevant paper, which explains some of the math and thought processes behind procedurally generated levels. It's interesting stuff. "This paper introduces a search-based generative process for first person shooter levels. Genetic algorithms evolve the level’s architecture and the placement of powerups and player spawnpoints, generating levels with one floor or two floors. The evaluation of generated levels combines metrics collected from simulations of artificial agents competing in the level and theory-based heuristics targeting general level design patterns. Both simulation-based and theory-driven evaluations target player balance and exploration, while resulting levels emergently exhibit several popular design patters of shooter levels." https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e1...2.1946961032.1550376553-1940820457.1550376553
As someone interested in level design and also someone who's going to start a degree in computer science next year this is really cool. Thanks for finding this chunk
This in a way reminds me of the post I made on your site https://www.nextleveldesign.org/index.php?/forums/topic/430-that-je-ne-sais-quoi/ Part of the point of that post was to help create a template for map creations. FInding interactions that are beloved in a given game and recreating those kinds of things in new ways. A random level generator would be one kind of end result of this type of feedback. The interesting thing about random level generators is not so much hoping it creates the perfect level but that it inspires the perfect level. Much in the way random landscape generators may almost organically affect or inspire a games story.