How to Make Your Own Random Generator

One of the most useful tools a writer can have are random generators. You can find just about any kind of random generator as simple as choosing a number to choosing a plot outline. The possibilities are endless! They're fun to use, and they're fun to make. While there are a number of sites that let you use their random generators, there aren't a lot of sites that let you make your own, and the few that do may not let you do much at all. Some sites let you create a small number of tables with lists and the generator chooses each subject in those lists, but what if you need more tables of lists to choose from?

Creating a random generator all on your own on your own site is one way, but you would need knowledge in HTML, CSS, PHP, and javascript to create a generator from scratch. HTML and CSS alone can be plenty complicated for the average person. Well, luckily, there is a middle ground.

I've found two ways of making random generators that work for me. One way is very simple, easy, and fast to do, but the results tend to be too simple, and can be predictable, while the other method is somewhat complicated and time consuming when making it, the results can be as detailed as you need them to be and with only a push of a button you can get numerous different results that can't be predicted.

Let's start with the first method.

.Gif Random Generators:

For this method, all you'll need is a some sort of image program like Photoshop, Adobe, or GIMP. GIMP's free, and this has more than enough features for making random generators, so if all you want to do is make a visual and creative random generator, I wouldn't waste the money buying Photoshop. Of course, if you want to share your random generator, you'll also need to upload it to sites like Tumblr, Photobucket, or any site that support gif images. Of course, you could also use MS Paint, and then upload the stills onto a site and make it a gif from there, but having GIMP makes it simpler without the extra steps.

If you don't know what "gif" is, they're basically moving images, much like movies you watch in theaters or at home except they're on a smaller and simpler scale. In order for a movie to show a bouncing ball, there has to be still images of a ball in various positions shown one after the other. You can make a gif using still images and stacking them one after the other, and then put an amount of time the still images are shown.

This is what makes these kinds of random generators predictable. The still images are shown in the order that you choose, and only in that order. In other words, if I can figure out the list of words you used for the generator, and then figure out the order, all I'd have to do is count in my head and wait for the opportune moment to click and drag the image to get the result I want. That being said, if you don't plan to cheat, these kinds of generators can still be useful for those simpler circumstances.

To make a gif, I'll refer you to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-9_HwRcd1A

Keep in mind that this is an old video, and GIMP has been updated, so things appear different and features have been moved, but the steps remain pretty much the same. So watch that video, unless you already know how to make a gif, and then come back here and I'll give you an idea of what the frames should look like.

First, from Tumblr, here are some examples: http://characterdesigninspiration.tumblr.com/geninfo

Click on any one, and you'll see the title of what the random generator's about, maybe some instructions which consist either of clicking and dragging, or of taking screenshots, and then the individual categories of individual traits quickly flipping from one to the other to the next.

The title image doesn't have to be a gif because it isn't moving, so when saving the image, .jpg, .jpeg, or .png. You could use .gif, but it's up to you. (This site explains when to use which: http://www.sitepoint.com/gif-jpg-png-whats-difference/). This goes the same for the instruction image if you choose to have it. Of course you don't necessarily need a title or an instruction image, but I think it makes your random generator more recognizable as your own creation.