Falling-sand game
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A falling sand game is a term given to a subgenre of games known as particle simulation games. They allow the user to place particles of different elements on a "canvas". The particles can interact with other particles in various ways, and may be affected by gravity, in some games. Many complex effects may be achieved. Many versions of the Falling Sand Game have been written since its introduction in 2005.
History
The original game first appeared as a web-based Java applet on the Dofi-Blog (Japan) in 2005. Since then, many variations of the game have appeared, most notably Burning Sand and wxSand, which introduced user-created element sets, known as mods.
Examples
Falling sand games are generally browser-based, using Flash or Java. Examples include:
- World of Sand (2005, Java)[1]
- wxSand (2006, Windows) – wxSand allows for a larger sandbox.[2]
- This is Sand (2008, Flash)[3]
- The Powder Toy (2010, C++)[4]
- The Sandbox (2010, Flash)[5]
There is also a Steam/OSX/iOS/Android/Blackberry version of The Sandbox available through its homepage. [6]
Features
Although the various sand games have differences, they share many similar characteristics:
Platforms
wxSand, The Sandbox and The Powder Toy are the only downloadable game with a Macintosh version, other than the Java-based EnigmaSand. They may be able to be run in Linux using WINE. The browser games may be played on any computer with Java installed. The Sandbox has versions in Android, iOS, OSX, Steam (OSX & Windows) and Blackberry.
Tools
All games have adjustable pen sizes. Some allow the user to select different pen shapes. The pen is generally controlled using the mouse (Etch-a-sketch Sand is an exception).
Elements
Many falling sand games include multiple elements that are heavier or lighter than each other and can interact. For example, BHOL is a virtual black hole, creating a vacuum and sucking everything in and gargling it before swallowing it.
Sandboxes
Downloadable games also have the ability to save "sandboxes", or images that can be uploaded to image hosting websites and later downloaded and played in the game. PNG and GIF format are usually used; JPG is not due to its poor compression. The Sandbox has a crossplatform online gallery where people can share their creations.
Modding/Plugins
More commonly found in stand-alone downloadable games, mods or plugins can be created by making use of scripting[7] or by editing configuration files[8] that control the various types of particles, their physical properties and interaction rules.
Physics
Most sand games use very simple physics: particles either fall, rise, or are fixed, and may drift from side to side. The Powder Game and The Powder Toy are two of the few games with more realistic physics, including wind and pressure. The Powder Toy also includes heat and ambiental heat, newtonian gravity, and water equalisation. The Sandbox includes dynamic lighting, weather, temperature with room temperature support and multi particle elements.
Stickmen
In Powder Toy, there are stickmen. These are in the 'Special' section. If you place one down, it creates a "spawn point" where the stickman spawns when killed. These normally have 100 hp each, but this can be changed with the '!set life #' command. If something harms them, the number will go down. This number can be seen if you hover your cursor over it. Their heads will turn the color of the element they last touched. If killed, they will expel the element they last touched. Also, the user can press the "S" key and the down key to expel their elements for STK2 and STKM, respectively. If they don't touch anything and then get killed, they will expel dust. Powder Game also has a more primitive variation of the stickman.
Multi Particle Elements
The Sandbox has dozens of elements that are made of more than one particle. It even has controllable vehicles and AI controlled characters.
References
- ^ Carless, Simon (2005-12-24). "Welcome to the World of Sand". GameSetWatch. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
- ^ Quilty-Harper, Conrad (2006-02-15). "Falling Sand: The Sequel". Joystiq. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
- ^ Lowensohn, Josh (2008-07-07). "'This is sand' offers sweet reprieve for landlocked office drones". cnet. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
- ^ Simon (2010-06-24). "The Powder Toy". Powder Toy. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
- ^ onimatrix (2010-12-28). "The Sandbox on Kongregate". The Sandbox. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ onimatrix (2013-10-25). "The Sandbox Homepage". The Sandbox. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ Powder Toy Lua API
- ^ WxSand Modding Guide