Procedural Synthesis: gaming's fountain of youth?

The above image is from .kkrieger, a game that with Unreal graphics less than 97 kilobytes in size ... for the entire game. So what is its secret? A technique known as procedural synthesis (or procedural generation) that, in a nutshell, uses clever and complex algorithms to make graphics, as opposed to pre-set artwork made by a design team. Thus, the procedural graphics are run by the processor and improve (or degrade) with the CPU speed. An example of a game based off this idea is Will Wright's Spore.

What if all games were made with procedural synthesis in mind? That's the question that About.com's Aaron Stanton is proposing. If a game is made entirely using algorithms, could an older console game look vastly improved
on a next-generation machine? Imagine Ocarina of Time looking like Twlight Princess.

While theoretically beneficial to consumers, it would be a logistical nightmare for developers and publishers. If Madden 2007's graphics and realism continued to improve with each generation and processor upgrade, what incentive could EA give for us to buy future annual installments? Stanton outlines the other issues associated with procedural synthesis, so be sure to check them out — it is an interesting read.

[Thanks, Jake Sartori]