It's certainly an experimental method, so I'm not quite sure how it'll turn out (but it's getting there). I agree about the details - although of course it's important to have a proper structure to the world and narrative, as it gives context to the details. My aim to build a thematic structure, and then to bring it alive through the details. Things like light placement, color, room shape, prop placement, and the overall mood of each section should all work to build an interesting world.
We even have generators that make tiny little stories out of the props - a campfire might have candles and tomes next to it (signs of a ritual), or maybe utensils and dishes (signs of a traveler's meal). Not to mention, the actual gameplay of movement and combat is intended to be its own world of intricacy (the other guys are working on that).
I'm not aiming to explicitly generate narratives of characters and dialogue and words. Rather, the system generates the feeling of narratives. Rising action, conflicts, an interesting flow of emotions, pacing the intensity, etc. The player can fill in the details themselves, as they (not their character) are the protagonist, exploring the world and going on a journey of discovery and mastery.
My thinking is that what it lacks in human touch, it makes up for in mystery. Knowing that it's a unique world that no human has ever set foot upon before is genuinely exciting, and gives a real desire to explore. It's like that feeling you got the first time you played Minecraft, and found some amazing outdoor environments and knew your eyes were the first to see it - but then as you played over and over you saw the patterns and it lost the magic. My goal is to capture the first feeling, and to hide the second effect with not patterns but processes, generating things based on a thematic goal in mind.
We even have generators that make tiny little stories out of the props - a campfire might have candles and tomes next to it (signs of a ritual), or maybe utensils and dishes (signs of a traveler's meal). Not to mention, the actual gameplay of movement and combat is intended to be its own world of intricacy (the other guys are working on that).
I'm not aiming to explicitly generate narratives of characters and dialogue and words. Rather, the system generates the feeling of narratives. Rising action, conflicts, an interesting flow of emotions, pacing the intensity, etc. The player can fill in the details themselves, as they (not their character) are the protagonist, exploring the world and going on a journey of discovery and mastery.
My thinking is that what it lacks in human touch, it makes up for in mystery. Knowing that it's a unique world that no human has ever set foot upon before is genuinely exciting, and gives a real desire to explore. It's like that feeling you got the first time you played Minecraft, and found some amazing outdoor environments and knew your eyes were the first to see it - but then as you played over and over you saw the patterns and it lost the magic. My goal is to capture the first feeling, and to hide the second effect with not patterns but processes, generating things based on a thematic goal in mind.