Falling Sand Game

When looking at the many branch patterns we discussed in class, I couldn’t help but remember a game I played a few years ago. This one was called Falling Sand. It is a complete game of emergence, as there is no progression. All one does is add different types of particles and see how they interact. The interaction that relates to out subject matter is that between the Water and Plant. Water is blue and falls down until it leaves the screen. Plant is green and stays in the same place on the screen. When a blue particle touches a green particle, it stops and turns green, making the plant “grow”. The branching pattern occurs when you place a spout (light blue) above a plant. The spout stays still, but produces water at a seemingly random timing.

The water falls and hits the plant, making it grow. The spots that get more water grow faster and expand, cutting off water to lower parts. This can be furthered by segmenting the spout (as seen in the image) or can be minimized by starting all points at the same time. Here’s the link to try it out yourself:

http://fallingsandgame.com/sand/pyro.html