OVAL Space Technologies

Conway's Game of Life is a cellular automaton in which simple starting conditions can lead to complicated results. Not really a game, in you only enter the starting conditions, but fun to play nonetheless. The game is remarkable simple in how it works. Each cells lives( is on ) or dies( is off ) depending only on how many neighbor cells are alive. For Conway's Game of Life the rules are as follows:

Simple Rules of Conway's Game of Life:

• If a living cell has only 1 living neighbor cell, it dies.
• If a living cell has more than 3 living neighbors, it dies.
• If a living cell has 2 or 3 living neighbors, it lives to the next round.
• If a dead cell has 3 living neighbors, the dead cell is born into a living cell.

These simple rules are what lead to the amazing complexity you see in the game.
Learn More About Conway's Game of Life

---

The game starts in setup mode. You can change all the settings of the game in this mode and change any cells. Click or Drag the Mouse to set cells as alive or dead. The game screen starts with all dead cells. When finished setting some living cells, click "Done" to run the game.

'Size' When in setup mode you can change the total number of cells to 4 possible sizes, by clicking the 'Size' button. The minimum size is 32 by 32 cells, the maximum is 256 x 256 cells. Once you start clicking cells, or run the game, you cannot change the initial size anymore. You need to click 'Reset' to return to set up mode, to change the size.

'Stop' / 'Start' will pause and run the game. When paused you can change cells with the mouse like in set up mode.

'Reset' will kill all the current cells and return to the initial setup mode of the game. In cyclic mode this will randomize all the cells.

'Zoom' allows zooming to 7 possible values by clicking the button. 1x,2x,3x,4x,6x,8x and 10x the actual size.

'Grid' will display a grid over the cells. The grid can only be shown if the Zoom is greater than 2x.

'Color' This allows the colors used to be changed. Just click a color in the box to set it. Changing will cycle the colors or show only one color. By Count will set the color slightly different depending on the number on neighbors the cell has and the spread.

'Speed' Will change the game speed. The delay ranges from 25 ms to 800 ms.

'Rule' Allows you to enter you own rules for the game. You can change the rules for different modes either 2-D, 1-D or cyclic.

'Mode' will change the rules of the game. There are many modes, each with different rules. The rules are specified by the number of neighboring cells which allows the cell to survive and the number of neighboring cells which will cause a cell to be born. The rule for life is written as S23 B3. Some of the modes are:

• "Replicator" - given enough room, this will copy the starting cells repeatedly. S1357 B1357
• "Lines" - will spread lines from any lving cells over the entire game area. S8 B123.
• "Crystal" - a rule which produces explosive growth of fractal like images with symetrical starting cells. S23 B345678
• "Life" - the original Conway's Game of Life. S23 B3.
• "High Life" - a slight variation on life with an increased chance for a cells to be born. S23 B36.
• "Long Life" - another minor variation on the original. S5 B345.
• "34 Life" - A slightly different version of Life, which can grow explosivly if it gets too big. S35 B34.
• "2x2" - a simpler version with smaller still lifes at the end. S125 B36
• "Amoeba" - Amoeba like structures move around the game. S1358 B357
• "Bacteria" - Bacteria like patterns move around the game. S456 B34
• "Seeds" - small groups of cells spread over the game area. S0 B2
• "Move" - A game that dies off quickly but can still produce interesting patterns. S245 B368
• "Day and Night" - can form life like dead patterns in large patches of living cells. S34678 B3678
• "Coral" - forms coral like structures and patterns. S45678 B3
• "Stains" - Will generate solid stains from initial conditions. S235678 B3678
• "Diamoeba" - Will create diamond shaped forms. S5678 B35678
• "Walled Cities" - Can form solid boundaries with chaotic interiors. S23567 B3678
• "Cycle" - Changes the rule patterns as the game plays.
• "Umode" - A very simple rule leads to replication of patterns and mixing.
• "Custom" - Use the Custom Rule Entered with the Rule Button.
• "1-D" - Will allow you to simulate all 1 Dimensional Automaton. In 1-D mode you can only edit a single line, one dimension, and the line scrolls down over time. Clicking the Rule button, will allow you to enter any binary rule. 1-D mode is default to rule 120. All Elementery Cellular Automaton Rules
• "Cycle 1-D" - Will increment the rules in 1-D mode from 60 to 225.
• "Cyclic" - Will simulate cyclic automaton. Clicking the Rule button allow you to change the value of 'n'.

You can read a deeper explanation of all the different rules here: Life like Cellular Automatons or a more complete list here: List of Life Variations Producing Gliders

Most settings can be changed while the game is running or paused to create some intersting effects.

---

A simple shape to try in Life is called the F-Pentomino. This will generate many of the features you will read about in Game of Life articles, like Gliders which will slowly move in a diaganol line. It looks like this:


In Crystal mode try one of these shapes to start:


In 2x2 this shape will end by producing an occilator with a period of 14( it takes 14 cycles to repeat itself):


In Day and Night this shape is a period 11 occilator:


In Seeds mode this shape gives an idea why its called Seeds:


In High Life mode, this shape will self replicate and can be used to run a 1-D automaton inside a 2-D automaton:


Want more shapes to try? This link provides an alphabetical list of numreous patterns which have been explored in The Game of Life. Terms and Pattern Definitions for The Game of Life

---

This is my first attempt at programming John Conway's Game of Life. This version is using the new HTML 5 canvas element and javascript. It should run in any newer browser. Turning off the grid, reducing the size, single colors and reducing the zoom will all improve performance. I may add the ability to load and save preset games and figures in the future. The code is relatively efficient but I am sure it could be improved in many ways. I like the ability to change modes in the middle of the game, and the zoom feature was something new for me to code. I've always heard about this game but never really understood the fascination until I coded it. Absolutely amazing what such a simple program can draw.

If your interested in the source or a way to host the game on your own site, send me an email. As you can see after trying the program, it can be made to run like a small animated gif on a page.

---