Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
In this chapter, we discussed the definition of
complex systems
and showed how
gameplay emerges from them. We described the continuum between strictly ordered
systems and entirely chaotic ones and showed that emergence takes place some-
where between the two. Three structural qualities of complex systems contribute
to emergence: active and interconnected parts; feedback loops; and interaction at
different scales.
We used cellular automata as an example of simple systems that can produce emer-
gence, and we described how tower defense games work like cellular automata.
Finally, we introduced Fromm's categories of emergence, which are produced by
different combinations of feedback loops and interactions among the parts of a
system at different scales.
1.
Revise some of Wolfram's rules as shown in Figure 3.2 so that some of the eight
possible combinations shown produce a different outcome from Wolfram's original.
Using graph paper and a pencil, start with a single occupied cell and apply your new
rules repeatedly down the page. How do the results differ from the ones in the
figure?
2.
Conway's Game of Life is set on a rectangular grid and uses rules that modify a
cell based on the state of the eight cells around it. On a hexagonal grid, each cell has
six neighbors rather than eight, and on a triangular grid, each cell has only three
neighbors. Try devising Game of Life-like rules for a hexagonal or triangular grid
and see what results you get.
