Falling-sand game

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A user-created sandbox in the video game The Powder Toy PowderToy.png
A user-created sandbox in the video game The Powder Toy

A falling-sand game is a genre of video game and a sub-genre of sandbox games which typically utilize a two-dimensional particle or cellular automaton based game engine to simulate various materials interacting in a sandbox environment.

In falling-sand games, the user can interact with (e.g. place and remove) particles on a canvas which can interact with other particles in various ways, which can lead to complex emergent behaviour. [1] As sandbox games, they generally have an emphasis on free-form gameplay, relaxed rules, and minimal goals. [2]

Despite the name, falling-sand games typically contain a multitude of materials besides sand, often called "elements".[ citation needed ]

History

TitleYearPlatformDetails
Down fall1993Atari ST2 player falling snow [3]
Falling sand game2005JavaAlso called "Hell of Sand" or "World of sand" [4] [5] [6] [7]
wxSand2006WindowsThe first standalone version [8]
Powder Game2007Java, HTML5, Android, iOSMulti-platform with liquid simulation [9]
This is Sand2008FlashAdded changing the colour of the sand [10]
The Powder Toy 2010Windows, Linux, OS X, AndroidHas liquid simulation and Newtonian gravity [11] [9]
The Sandbox 2012Flash, Windows, Android, iOSA series of games, including some 3D versions [12] [13]
sand:box2015Android, iOS, Linux, WindowsFalling sand game with advanced digital circuit simulation. [14] [15] [16]
Sandspiel2019HTML5Popular web-based version [17]
Noita 2020WindowsA hybrid of "falling sand" style game with a Roguelike [9] [18]
Sandboxels2021HTML5Has hundreds of materials, life, and chemical reactions [19]

The first known popular example in the "falling-sand" genre was a web-based Java applet on the Japanese Dofi-Blog in 2005 [4] [5] which was later expanded and rehosted as the "Falling sand game", [5] which kick-started the genre as a trend and gave it its name. [20] [6]

The genre is not limited to free play canvas-style games; games such as the Powder Game contain additional mechanics, such as pressure based fluid simulation[ citation needed ] allowing for example water equalisation, and RPG elements such as controllable characters.

Noita blends the traditional sandbox physics with Roguelike RPG mechanics, with sophisticated playable characters and enemies. [21] [22] [18]

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References

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