Random number generators are hugely significant in the modern age, and yet most of us don’t even realize they’re present or notice their impact on our everyday lives.
The role of RNG is so multifaceted and far-reaching that we owe it to ourselves to understand what it is and where it applies, especially as gamers.
The basics of RNG
As the name suggests, RNG is a method of randomly generating a number or a series of numbers, and throughout history this has been achieved in different ways.
A set of dice is a straightforward manual example. With each roll, the outcome is randomized by the physics of each die being thrown, and coming in contact with a surface.
Digital random number generation is more common today, with complex algorithms producing pseudo-random outcomes based on complex mathematical equations.
There are even RNG systems which use quantum mechanics to come up with more genuinely random outcomes, and this is a field which is constantly being worked upon by the brightest minds in the world.
The uses of RNG
There are a multitude of examples in which RNG is brought to bear on all sorts of interactive experience, such as:
Online casinos using a random number generator to shuffle cards
While even an average person can learn how to shuffle the casino way using a physical deck of cards, in the context of online gambling it’s clearly necessary for software to take care of this.
RNG ensures that the cards in a digital deck are properly shuffled with a suitable degree of randomness, so that they can then be dealt in all sorts of web-based casino games, from poker to blackjack and beyond.
Multiplayer games using RNG to determine item drops
We’re all familiar with the concept of grinding certain areas of MMORPGs like WoW in order to earn particular types of loot. Part of this process is knowing that different items have different drop rates, with rarer goodies being less likely to appear, and so taking longer to acquire.
RNG is at play here, since a game needs to know whether or not to cough up loot with each NPC you defeat. That’s why it often feels like a roll of the dice as you plow through orcs or take on raid bosses time and again in games like The Elder Scrolls Online, because you are literally relying on luck to beat the odds.
Action games use RNG to determine projectile trajectories
If you’re playing a modern FPS, you might assume that every kill you get is purely down to your own skill.
However, the reality is that most developers use clever tricks to make you feel more empowered, and to overcome the limitations of the control systems we use.
While a modicum of auto-aim isn’t uncommon in action titles, RNG also comes into play in simulating the way that projectiles fly through the air. This is an attempt to replicate the randomness of reality, in which tiny changes can alter how bullets move and whether they hit their targets.
All games rely on RNG to remain exciting and fresh
Video games rely on randomness more than you’d think, and in every conceivable way. The main aim of introducing randomness is to keep the player interested, and to better replicate the real experiences that many virtual titles are trying to convey.
There’s certainly some controversy surrounding RNG, because it detracts from the relevance of skill in certain games. But the truth is that without it, gaming would be much duller.