Project Title:

Conway's Game of Life using C

Project Overview:

Conway's Game of Life is a cellular automaton created by mathematician John Conway. It is a zero-player game, meaning its progression is determined by its initial state, and it evolves automatically based on a set of rules. The game simulates the behavior of cells on a grid, with each cell being either alive or dead. The rules determine how cells live, die, or reproduce, and the game runs in iterations or "generations."

Key Features:

• Grid Representation: The game uses a 2D grid (e.g., 40x40 cells) where each cell can either be alive or dead. The grid is displayed using text characters (like O for alive cells and . for dead cells).
• Game Rules: The cells evolve based on the following rules:
• Birth: A dead cell with exactly three live neighbors becomes alive.
• Survival: A live cell with two or three live neighbors stays alive.
• Death: A live cell with fewer than two or more than three live neighbors dies.
• User Input: Players can manually set the initial configuration of the grid by marking cells as alive.
• Generation Updates: After each generation, the grid is updated based on the game rules, and the process repeats until a termination condition is met (e.g., no change in the grid, or the grid stabilizes).
• Visualization: The grid is printed on the console in each generation to show the progression of the game.

Technologies Used:

• C Language: The core logic for implementing the game rules, grid management, and iteration through generations.
• Arrays: To store the current state of the grid and its previous states.
• Loops: To handle the updates and evolution of the grid across generations.
• Console I/O: For displaying the grid on the terminal or command line.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understanding how to implement cellular automata and simulating complex systems with simple rules.
• Using arrays and loops to manage a 2D grid and update its state.
• Implementing game logic for evolving states based on neighbor interactions.
• Optimizing the game to run efficiently, even for larger grids.
• Handling user input and making the game interactive.

Possible Enhancements:

• Larger Grid Sizes: Increase the size of the grid to allow for more complex patterns and behaviors.
• Pattern Initialization: Provide predefined initial configurations like Glider, Pulsar, and other famous patterns from the Game of Life community.
• Graphical Interface: Use libraries like SDL or OpenGL to create a graphical version of the game.
• Speed Control: Allow the user to adjust the speed of generations updating.
• Save and Load States: Implement functionality to save the current state of the game and load it later.
• Auto-Pause: Add a feature to pause and resume the game or step through generations manually.