I think that doing the entire RPG might be a bit much for a beginner, but you could break it down into smaller projects - think of them as 'prototypes' for the full RPG - and they'd be manageable.

For example, you could write a program that, when run, generates a random room description. It's a great opportunity to look into procedural content methods like L-systems, and then you can start exploring ways of making neighboring rooms related to each other (instead of each one being a completely separate and random style, light level, etc).

Well, imagine you're writing a guide for somebody else on how to methodically come up with the description of a room.

1. First, say how big the room is, and how light/dark it is.


2. Say what the walls, floor, and ceiling are made from. Leave them out if they're not interesting.


3. Say whether there are doors/windows in the room, and what they are like.


4. Say what furniture is in the room, and whereabouts it is.

"The room is big and bright, with wooden floorboards and plastered walls painted lilac. One large window is on the wall; the window is closed. In the corner of the room is a small wooden table."

That numbered list is an example of a simple algorithm designed to be carried out by a person. You could translate the same algorithm into something designed to be carried out by a computer by translating it into a programming language - and you'd likely need to break it down into simpler steps too, like "choose a random number; if it = 1 then roomSize = 'big' else roomSize = 'small';" and so on.

Of course, that algorithm would lead to some fairly dull and repetitive room descriptions; it also could lead to problems by, say, picking garden furniture for an indoor room. You could use an approach like L-Systems to 'grow' a room using a basic grammar - if the room contains a table, it should contain matching chairs, etc.

You could also experiment with rearranging the order in which you say things - maybe if you were to describe two things that are the same colour one after another, you can link them more effectively ("the cream walls blend smoothly into the large hearth") or create contrasts ("the green vase stands out against the red walls"); you could also try organising things such that your description 'sweeps' across the room in some path, e.g. furniture described in left-to-right order, and things in/on furniture described with the furniture ("a large cabinet adorns the left wall; on it a small lamp sits. At the back of the room hangs a portrait of the late Baron Skifflepuss."). There are many different techniques you can experiement with, but for the most part you find them by considering the patterns one can find in descriptions of rooms.

Using the 'random' module.