Afalling-sand game is a genre ofvideo game and a sub-genre ofsandbox games which typically utilize atwo-dimensionalparticle orcellular automaton basedgame 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] Assandbox 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]
The first known popular example in the "falling-sand" genre was a web-basedJava 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 thePowder Game contain additional mechanics, such as pressure based fluid simulation[citation needed] allowing for example water equalisation, andRPG elements such as controllable characters.
Noita blends the traditional sandbox physics withRoguelike RPG mechanics, with sophisticated playable characters and enemies.[7][8][9]
| 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 andNewtonian 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] |
| Sandspiel | 2019 | HTML5 | Popular web-based version[21] |
| Noita | 2020 | Windows | A hybrid of "falling sand" style game with aRoguelike[13][9] |
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