Procedural Generation

A technique where game content (levels, maps, items, quests) is created algorithmically rather than hand-crafted by designers. Procedural generation enables near-infinite variety and replayability. It powers the dungeon layouts in roguelikes, the worlds in Minecraft and No Man's Sky, and the loot systems in Diablo and Path of Exile. The trade-off is that algorithmically generated content can sometimes lack the intentional design of hand-crafted levels.