A couple of years ago I was looking for a job that was more technical. I could potter about a bit in HTML and CSS, and I had done enough CodeAcademy courses to be dangerous in Javascipt, but I didn't have any proof of my expertise. I needed Code Examples. I banged out a few simple ones, such as the classic Fizz Buzz and some text manipulation functions that flipped around all the letters in words or tested if a word was a pallindrome or whatever. Little frivolities. It was only after I simulated the shuffle of a deck of card that I was reminded of something a bit more substanial. Something that'd be a real, interesting challenge to code.
This was Conway's Game of Life, and my version can be found here: www.danielwinters.co.uk/conway
This is the updated version, however. To find the old version, you must venture over to www.danielwinters.co.uk/conway-old.
After the update I wanted to just write about exactly what I have changed, and why I've changed it.
Writing Updates
One of the main things I noticed is that the page seemed quite overwhelming at first. I made the following changes in an attempt to introduce the concept in a gentler way, and hopefully
encourage the user to stay around longer to fully understand the imposing simulation at the top of the page.
After these changes I added a reference to the Pulsar pattern at the top of the page, that could lead users to the wider world of Conway's Game of Life. Also, it demonstrates just how that wide world is. So wide that large patterns like this have not only been discovered, but have be given proper names that deserve proper credit.
I've toned down the 'play around!' sentence a bit, and have elborated on the features of the simulation a bit more beneath this. The initial tone was more playful, but on reflection I found it didn't really match the more refined nature of the simulation, and also came off as pandering. Finally, at the bottom of the page I've added a memorial to John Conway himself, who sadly passed away due to COVID-19. I wanted this to be as tasteful as possible.
Code Updates
- Reduced the amount of generations you can simulate from 50 to 10 - This is to prevent the user from having to sit there for around 20 seconds watching a very uninteresting simulation.
- Added ability that stops simulation should the cells get stagnant e.g. no cells can die or be created - When testing it I ran into multiple simulations where cells would devolve into static patterns that could not be changed. Sitting there and watching a 'still life' was quite boring, so I made sure to prevent this from happening going forwards.