What is RNG in Gaming?
Despite having been a key component in gaming for decades, the concept of Random Number Generation, or RNG, is one which is often overlooked. Playing a major part in many aspects of many games, the idea itself is easier to understand than you might think. Useful when implemented properly, and frustrating when implemented poorly, we look at what RNG is and where you have probably seen it.
The basic idea of RNG is that it is a process used to insert a degree of randomness into a game. As video games operate through code, this takes the form of a number or set of numbers. These are taken from algorithms specifically designed for the task at hand, with some leaning in one direction or another based on a variety of in-game factors.
“A Roulette Wheel – Must Link to https://” (CC BY 2.0) by ThoroughlyReviewed
In the real world, the best example of this could be seen in a casino game like roulette, such as those hosted at https://casino.betfair.com/c/roulette. European roulette has 37 different sections, and with one ball, this creates the odds of each section receiving the single ball as 1/37. This doesn’t mean the player necessarily has those odds, however, as wider bets such as odds or evens can modify their chances to get the best of this random selection.
In role-playing games (RPGs), one of the more common ways this appears is through the concept of random critical hits. Critical hits have a certain base chance of occurring as dictated by an RNG roll on every attack, with each successful crit dealing increased damage. As with roulette, players will seek to increase their own critical payoffs.
“diablo-3” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by 22860
This could occur through the use of items or abilities that increase the base critical chance, which modifies the RNG algorithm to skew in their favour, or by increasing overall critical damage. While the latter would not change the RNG, it would increase the payoff in a situation of a successful RNG roll. The exact best choice here can be directly calculated by those with the knowledge, as these fans have done with Diablo 3 – https://d3resource.com/critcalc/.
RNG also commonly appears when players collect loot. In this situation, RNG will be run against a set loot table, with the rarity of drops depending on the generosity of RNG’s invisible hand.
Often facing more opposition is the effect that RNG can have in games like first-person shooters. These are games where players tend to place more of a premium in skill on an even playing field, so having damage or critical hits that incorporate RNG can add a confounding factor into the mix.
“Team Fortress 2” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Andrew*
The random critical hits in Team Fortress 2, as detailed in their official wiki on https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Critical_hits, received considerable criticism for this reason. No matter how much skill you had in this game, or how well you were doing, all it took was for one shot to roll the wrong RNG and you could be gibbed and sent back to the spawn room.
The takeaway from this is that RNG is not an inherently good or bad thing, it is how they are implemented and a player’s own wants from their experience that make it desirable or not. If you know a game incorporates heavy RNG in a way you don’t like then it might be best to ignore it. Take it from us, losing a thirty-minute game because of a last-second random critical is not as fun as it sounds.
