Conway's Game of Life, also known as Life is a cellular automaton devised by John Horton Conway (rest in peace). It's a zero-player game, meaning that after creating the initial configuration, it requires no further input. It's a really interesting example of emergent behavious; based on a few simple rules, complex phenomena occurs. It's similar to us; we are more than the sum of the cells that compose us. Oh and fun fact, Life is Turing complete and someone has made a computer in the game (check links below).
(Made for Chinese New Year 2022):
Chinese.New.Year.Conway.mov
- Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies, as if by underpopulation.
- Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next generation.
- Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies, as if by overpopulation.
- Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell, as if by reproduction.
(Examples taken from Wikiepdia)
Block
Loaf
Blinker (period 2)
Pulsar (period 3)
Glider
Heavy-Weight Spaceship (HWSS)
Gosper Glider Gun (It indefinitely shoots out gliders)
Here are some interesting videos or links made by other people on the subject:
- Video containing a lot of cool stuff: https://youtu.be/C2vgICfQawE.
- Play it online: https://playgameoflife.com/.
These honestly blow my mind:
- Digital Clock in Conway's Game of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NDAZ5g4EuU.
- Programmable Computer in Conway's Game of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8unMqSp0bFY.
- Conways' Game of Life in Conway's Game of Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5-iIeKXE8.
- Tetris in Conway's Game of Life: https://codegolf.stackexchange.com/questions/11880/build-a-working-game-of-tetris-in-conways-game-of-life.