The GAME of LIFE (GoL) is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. It is ‘played’ on an infinite two-dimensional grid of square cells; that used for Clarisse is constrained by screen-size. Each cell exists in one of two states: alive or dead. The game evolves in discrete steps called generations. At each step, every cell's status is updated simultaneously based on the states of its eight immediate neighbours - horizontal, vertical, and diagonal - and obeying the 4 rules below. In Clarisse, when a triggering event occurs, i.e. two or more ‘planets’ are eclipsed by the ‘moon’, the planets’ co-ordinates determine the initial seeding pattern for the ensuing GoL in response to a mouse-click. Each cell is assigned a musical pitch. The audio output reflects the life created - if you have the audio ON.
The 4 rules are:
UNDERPOPULATION: Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies.
SURVIVAL: Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next generation.
OVERPOPULATION: Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies.
REPRODUCTION: Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell.
During GoL, patterns emerge which are categorised by their behaviour over time. Their taxonomy is extensive and complex. Here are some basics.
STILL LIFE. Constant and stable. Patterns that do not change from one generation to the next and are in a state of stable equilibrium. Examples are: Block, Beehive, Loaf, Boat.
OSCILLATORS. Cycle through states periodically, forming patterns that return to their initial configuration after a fixed number of generations (the period). Examples: Blinker (period 2), Toad (period 2), Pulsar (period 3).
SPACESHIPS. Move and are periodic and mobile. They form patterns that translate themselves across the grid over a set number of generations, maintaining their shape while changing position. Examples: Glider, Lightweight Spaceship.
METHUSELAHS. Expand and evolve long-term but are initially unstable. Small, initial patterns evolve into a large number of generations and stabilise into a mix of still lives, oscillators, and spaceships. Examples: R-pentomino, Acorn, Diehard.
“From so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” Charles DARWIN: ’On the Origin of Species’