In this 2017 GDC talk, Dire Wolf Digital's Shay Pierce shares some techniques and considerations worth knowing when using random generation in games.

It was a really practical talk in which Pierce presented several tricks and tips, each starting with underlying design/psychology motivations and leading into technical implementation details.

He covered the ups and downs of techniques like "bagging", weighting, fairness (real, perceived, and contrived), heterogeneousness, and the use of historic outcomes to affect future results.

It was a fascinating look at one of the core components of many game designs, so even if you're not a game programmer it's well worth going back to watch now that it's freely available via the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or XRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.