I have a game that generates a random level map at the start of the level. I want to implement some way to save and load the level.

I was thinking maybe XML would be a good option for saving all the variable, then it would be easy for me to build something that can parse that XML and generate the exact same level.

But XML is probably overkill for my needs. I remember back in the day with the old Sega console that didn't have the ability to save your game (I think the Worms game did it too), that they would give you a bunch of character that you could write down. If you punched in that string later on, it would load the exact level.

Would a "level string" be a good option? Would it be some kind of "base60" conversion? How would I implement this?