I forgot to post this thread here. I know it's more video game related, but similar mechanics could be used in board games for random dungeon layout.
I am considering creating randomly generated levels using connected graph algorithms in order to increase replay value. The idea would be that the maze is generated but the story elements remains the same. They are spawned randomly in the dungeon.
I did not play much RPG that had randomly generated content. So I was wondering how story elements can be added to such game? I don't need super deep story like Skyrim and Mass Effect. One game that comes to my mind is Diablo (I only played torchlite). I think they have story features located at certain levels of the dungeons and this is what create the story. So I could define that on:
Level 3: You Get a boss, which gives a key item
Level 5: You meet an NPC, to who you must give this key item, to unlock something.
Once the maze is generated, it would put those events somewhere in the generated maze. Is there other ways to do it?
Some games like Moonlighter have story before and after the dungeon, but not while playing the dungeon. Another technique could be to have a series of quest, with target localized in the Dungeon, the quest is resolved outside the maze. Very similar to spawning key story elements in the maze.
Else I could have generic events and story elements that I randomly select and spawn in the maze. The problem is that there would be no cohesion between those elements, therefore no story. So better used a fixed set of events.
My original idea was that I could have a list of story objective positioned at level depth only.
Level 1: Get key A
Level 3: Use key A, meet NPC, get key B
level 5: Defeat boss, use key B, end game.
The maze would be randomly generated and those events would be placed in it. The advantage is that those story "main quest" events are related to each other, and they control how to win the game. The disadvantage is that every play through will have those same events, and players must select a story before generating the maze. I could run into complication that those events could not be placed in the maze due to a bad configuration.
Else, I can go only random from a pool of quest and objectives. But again, I could have different pool of objectives according to the story flavor I am trying to generate. So instead of forcing a sequence of events, I could generate a sequence of events from a pool of possibilities.
I am wondering if I could use event mechanics or something similar from cooperative board games: like Robinson Crusoe, Eldritch Horror, Arkham Horror. Those events could occurs between expeditions, or during an expedition and spawn some kind of quest in the maze that must be accomplished, else something bad is going to happen to the city above, or the dungeon will have more threat like a lurking monster in an area of the maze. It could have some potential, with or without a link to a story.
My goal has always been to create story machine, rather than scripted stories. So maybe a pool of events and quests which share a thematic flavor could actually generate story with minimal cohesion.