4 ms·

Show HN: Conway's Game of Life, but with a gallery of other peoples patterns

62 points by Dave_Bruwer 3y ago

This is my spin on Conway's Game of Life. I have added the ability to create an account, save grids that you have discovered, and browse the gallery of grids saved by other people and replay them. This project has served as a sandbox for me to practice various aspects of developing a comprehensive web application from scratch. This was my first time developing a full scale web app with [almost] all the features you would expect. I know it is nowhere near perfect in its current state, but I feel it has reached a point of diminishing returns, and therefore my time is better spent focussing on other projects with more potential. I may continue to develop this project further in the future just for fun.

Dave_Bruwer 3y ago
The default view starts with a randomly generated grid. If you want a blank grid, just click on the "shuffle" button at the bottom to turn off the random grid.
- davidivadavid 3y ago
  Might benefit from a stand-alone reset button, looked for that feature immediately and couldn't figure it out.
epiccoleman 3y ago
One the topic of Game of Life, this is one of the coolest things I've ever seen: https://oimo.io/works/life/ https://oimo.io/works/life/ The blog post that explains it is truly mind-blowing stuff. https://blog.oimo.io/2023/04/10/life-universe-en/ https://blog.oimo.io/2023/04/10/life-universe-en/
- therein 3y ago
  > https://oimo.io/works/life/ https://oimo.io/works/life/ Okay, this is not far off from a DMT breakthrough conceptually. A little hard to explain but consider normally you are looking at a fractal very closely and thinking that's all that matters and everything there is to exist. You don't normally realize how closely you are shoving your face into that fractal but then you move your head a little further and then realize you forgot all of that existed.
- JackFr 3y ago
  Simulation hypothesis is true!!!
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Dave_Bruwer 3y ago
  Oh wow that is INSANE! I have seen a youtube video on this, but didn't have the link to it. Thanks for sharing!
- lloeki 3y ago
  Going continuous is also fun: Lenia: https://chakazul.github.io/lenia.html https://chakazul.github.io/lenia.html https://levelup.gitconnected.com/playing-with-lenia-a-continuous-version-of-conways-game-of-life-a26a5a7f1680 https://levelup.gitconnected.com/playing-with-lenia-a-contin... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-97RhAZhXI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-97RhAZhXI A nice demo: https://chakazul.github.io/Lenia/JavaScript/Lenia.html https://chakazul.github.io/Lenia/JavaScript/Lenia.html Smoothlife: https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.1567 https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.1567 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJe9H6qS82I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJe9H6qS82I
- ProllyInfamous 3y ago
  The entire Oimo.io website/portfolio is simply incredible. The main landing page is absolutely trippy AF. It appears this is a Japanese student hobby-coding — wow! Particularly impressive links to check in his /works/ : 1) The recursive link to the works page (incredible zoom-in reset loop) 2) Sea of Papers (look up at the sun!) — this is a great web.GPU render/test 3) Wired Runner (a really fun, well-rendered webgame) 4) Bubbles — I spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME with this stupidly-simple artwork.
digging 3y ago
One thing I wish I had realized: clicking "save grid" sets the current configuration as the seed state, such that clicking reset will only take you back to the grid as it was the moment you tried to save, and the original configuration is lost. This is true even if you don't actually save. A really nice QOL feature would be click-dragging to draw lines/curves. Anyway I'm finding this quote fun. Many CGOL doodad apps that I see don't actually allow configuration of a seed state, but have one preconfigured or randomly generated; I found them incredibly boring (to be fair, they were probably made for reasons other than actually playing the GOL). It wasn't until recently when I did more in-depth reading about what CGOL actually is that I realized that the entire point and the fun of it is inventing/discovering initial configurations that lead to certain outcomes. And here comes an app that lets me save them and find inspiration from others. Nice work!
- danwills 3y ago
  Golly comes with lots of example patterns and also uses 'hashlife' (as long as you leave it enabled!) so can go very fast and really huge: https://golly.sourceforge.io/ https://golly.sourceforge.io/ And if you're into that I'd definitely recommend 'Ready' which is a similar project (originally a fork of the Golly code) but for Reaction-Diffusion simulations using OpenCL instead: https://github.com/GollyGang/ready https://github.com/GollyGang/ready I've contributed some fun experiments to Ready, they're in Patterns/Experiments/DanWills. There are visual examples on my youtube as well. If anyone wants to help out with the Houdini importer I'm working on, please send me an email.
vax425 3y ago
I love it! I’m also pretty excited about Game Of Life. I made this: https://digitalhorology.etsy.com/listing/1644589175 https://digitalhorology.etsy.com/listing/1644589175
m3kw9 3y ago
[flagged]
- _factor 3y ago
  For me, I like how a simple algorithm that can be written in a couple lines, with a simple pattern, can expand into a very long pattern essentially out of thin air. This is one prime example: https://conwaylife.com/wiki/Methuselah https://conwaylife.com/wiki/Methuselah It also looks very organic which I’m sure appeals to an intersection between bits and bytes and reality.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
daemonk 3y ago
I wrote this one a long while back with react and d3.js: https://damiankao.github.io/life/ https://damiankao.github.io/life/
kmoser 3y ago
FirebaseError: Quota exceeded
- Dave_Bruwer 3y ago
  Yeah I cant even get into my firebase dashboard for that app, haha.
- Dave_Bruwer 3y ago
  The 50K document reads per day limit for firestore was reached. It is now the start of a new 24 hour cycle so lets see how long the next 50K lasts haha. I am not sure how much of the 50K reads is inefficiencies in the number of requests I am sending every time someone visits the gallery view, or if it is just a true reflection of the traffic to the page after posting here...
1494701116 3y ago
[flagged]
majikandy 3y ago
Loving the semi confusing retro control buttons, not dissimilar to my first ever stack CD player. Sitting there playing with the buttons that are doing things in certain situations and you’re still not quite sure what it is doing but you like it.

62 points by Dave_Bruwer 3y ago

Dave_Bruwer 3y ago

The default view starts with a randomly generated grid. If you want a blank grid, just click on the "shuffle" button at the bottom to turn off the random grid.

davidivadavid 3y ago
Might benefit from a stand-alone reset button, looked for that feature immediately and couldn't figure it out.

epiccoleman 3y ago

One the topic of Game of Life, this is one of the coolest things I've ever seen: https://oimo.io/works/life/ https://oimo.io/works/life/ The blog post that explains it is truly mind-blowing stuff. https://blog.oimo.io/2023/04/10/life-universe-en/ https://blog.oimo.io/2023/04/10/life-universe-en/

therein 3y ago
> https://oimo.io/works/life/ https://oimo.io/works/life/ Okay, this is not far off from a DMT breakthrough conceptually. A little hard to explain but consider normally you are looking at a fractal very closely and thinking that's all that matters and everything there is to exist. You don't normally realize how closely you are shoving your face into that fractal but then you move your head a little further and then realize you forgot all of that existed.
JackFr 3y ago
Simulation hypothesis is true!!!
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Dave_Bruwer 3y ago
Oh wow that is INSANE! I have seen a youtube video on this, but didn't have the link to it. Thanks for sharing!
lloeki 3y ago
Going continuous is also fun: Lenia: https://chakazul.github.io/lenia.html https://chakazul.github.io/lenia.html https://levelup.gitconnected.com/playing-with-lenia-a-continuous-version-of-conways-game-of-life-a26a5a7f1680 https://levelup.gitconnected.com/playing-with-lenia-a-contin... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-97RhAZhXI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-97RhAZhXI A nice demo: https://chakazul.github.io/Lenia/JavaScript/Lenia.html https://chakazul.github.io/Lenia/JavaScript/Lenia.html Smoothlife: https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.1567 https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.1567 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJe9H6qS82I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJe9H6qS82I
ProllyInfamous 3y ago
The entire Oimo.io website/portfolio is simply incredible. The main landing page is absolutely trippy AF. It appears this is a Japanese student hobby-coding — wow! Particularly impressive links to check in his /works/ : 1) The recursive link to the works page (incredible zoom-in reset loop) 2) Sea of Papers (look up at the sun!) — this is a great web.GPU render/test 3) Wired Runner (a really fun, well-rendered webgame) 4) Bubbles — I spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME with this stupidly-simple artwork.

digging 3y ago

One thing I wish I had realized: clicking "save grid" sets the current configuration as the seed state, such that clicking reset will only take you back to the grid as it was the moment you tried to save, and the original configuration is lost. This is true even if you don't actually save. A really nice QOL feature would be click-dragging to draw lines/curves. Anyway I'm finding this quote fun. Many CGOL doodad apps that I see don't actually allow configuration of a seed state, but have one preconfigured or randomly generated; I found them incredibly boring (to be fair, they were probably made for reasons other than actually playing the GOL). It wasn't until recently when I did more in-depth reading about what CGOL actually is that I realized that the entire point and the fun of it is inventing/discovering initial configurations that lead to certain outcomes. And here comes an app that lets me save them and find inspiration from others. Nice work!

danwills 3y ago
Golly comes with lots of example patterns and also uses 'hashlife' (as long as you leave it enabled!) so can go very fast and really huge: https://golly.sourceforge.io/ https://golly.sourceforge.io/ And if you're into that I'd definitely recommend 'Ready' which is a similar project (originally a fork of the Golly code) but for Reaction-Diffusion simulations using OpenCL instead: https://github.com/GollyGang/ready https://github.com/GollyGang/ready I've contributed some fun experiments to Ready, they're in Patterns/Experiments/DanWills. There are visual examples on my youtube as well. If anyone wants to help out with the Houdini importer I'm working on, please send me an email.

vax425 3y ago

I love it! I’m also pretty excited about Game Of Life. I made this: https://digitalhorology.etsy.com/listing/1644589175 https://digitalhorology.etsy.com/listing/1644589175

m3kw9 3y ago

[flagged]

_factor 3y ago
For me, I like how a simple algorithm that can be written in a couple lines, with a simple pattern, can expand into a very long pattern essentially out of thin air. This is one prime example: https://conwaylife.com/wiki/Methuselah https://conwaylife.com/wiki/Methuselah It also looks very organic which I’m sure appeals to an intersection between bits and bytes and reality.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

daemonk 3y ago

I wrote this one a long while back with react and d3.js: https://damiankao.github.io/life/ https://damiankao.github.io/life/

kmoser 3y ago

FirebaseError: Quota exceeded

Dave_Bruwer 3y ago
Yeah I cant even get into my firebase dashboard for that app, haha.
Dave_Bruwer 3y ago
The 50K document reads per day limit for firestore was reached. It is now the start of a new 24 hour cycle so lets see how long the next 50K lasts haha. I am not sure how much of the 50K reads is inefficiencies in the number of requests I am sending every time someone visits the gallery view, or if it is just a true reflection of the traffic to the page after posting here...

1494701116 3y ago

[flagged]

majikandy 3y ago

Loving the semi confusing retro control buttons, not dissimilar to my first ever stack CD player. Sitting there playing with the buttons that are doing things in certain situations and you’re still not quite sure what it is doing but you like it.