Falling-sand game

A falling-sand game is a genre of video game and a sub-genre of sandbox games that typically use 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. As sandbox games, they generally have an emphasis on free-form gameplay, relaxed rules, and minimal goals.

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

History

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

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 playable characters and enemies.

List of falling-sand games

References