Falling-sand game
Video game genre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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
The first known popular example in the "falling-sand" genre was a web-based Java applet on the Japanese Dofi-Blog in 2005[3][4] which was later expanded and rehosted as the "Falling sand game",[4] which kick-started the genre as a trend and gave it its name.[5][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.[7][8][9]
List of falling-sand games
| Title | Year | Platform | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down fall | 1993 | Atari ST | 2 player falling snow[10] |
| Falling sand game | 2005 | Java | Also called "Hell of Sand" or "World of sand"[3][4][6][11] |
| wxSand | 2006 | Windows | The first standalone version[12] |
| Powder Game | 2007 | Java, HTML5, Android, iOS | Multi-platform with liquid simulation[13] |
| This is Sand | 2008 | Flash | Added changing the colour of the sand[14] |
| The Powder Toy | 2010 | Windows, Linux, OS X, Android | Has liquid simulation and Newtonian gravity[15][13] |
| The Sandbox | 2012 | Flash, Windows, Android, iOS | A series of games, including some 3D versions[16][17] |
| sand:box | 2015 | Android, iOS, Linux, Windows | Falling sand game with advanced digital circuit simulation.[18][19][20] |
| Noita | 2020 | Windows | A hybrid of "falling sand" style game with a Roguelike[13][9] |