A modern typesetting tool as an alternative to TeX. The clear syntax is not a lot more complicated than markdown yet it supports a lot of typesetting features, scripting, math symbols, etc. The syntax is certainly a huge improvement comparing to the obscure TeX. I may give it a try when there is an Emacs mode for that.

An interesting approach towards procedurely generated level/room/dungeon: specify various constraints and use a solver to place the objects on the tiles.