137 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
137 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
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PROPAGANNIHILATE
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================
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INTRODUCTION
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------------
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Propagannihilate visits the asteroid Xirxoman, where the Game of Life (as
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written up in a cover story in Scientific American many years ago) is
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played out in real life.
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This game was written on the Apple //GS using Orca/C. It can be played by
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one or two players. It's not an action thriller, but it can be exciting in
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its own way -- kind of the way chess is.
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GETTING STARTED
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---------------
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Click on the PROPANN application icon. Read the introduction. THIS IS
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REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF! Click on "next page" to turn the page, or click
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on the "skip game" to skip directly to the game.
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PLAYING THE GAME
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There are three ways of playing PROPAGANNIHILATE, corresponding to the three
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major models of the origin of life. They are:
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DARWIN CREATION DIVINE INTERVENTION
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In all these three, the playing area is populated by two species: "bluons"
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(represented by blue arrows), and "maruons" (represented by red arrows).
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They propagate, mutate, and compete for territory, with the inevitable con-
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clusion being that one species survives while the other is annihilated.
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Start the game by clicking on one of the three model options.
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DARWIN MODEL
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------------
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The Darwin model says that the origin of life was an accidental freak of
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nature. But once life was established, species propagate according to
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physical and natural laws, with the fittest surviving.
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In the game, four seed cells appear at random locations in the colony. They
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propagate until one species is annihilated. There is no input at all from
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the players. Sounds fascinating, doesn't it?
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CREATION MODEL
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--------------
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The Creation model holds that there was in fact some kind of purpose to the
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origin of life, but life is still bound by laws of nature that we maybe can
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understand but certainly can't change.
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First, elect to have two players, or one player against the computer. The
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first player always plays red; the computer or second player play blue.
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In the game, the player or players are asked to place four seed cells,
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two of each species, by clicking on empty cells in the playing area. Then
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you sit back and watch to see how wisely you chose as they spread out over
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the colony until, again, one species is annihilated. The nice thing is that
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you can go check the turkey, take a shower, whatever, and not lose any play-
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ing time!
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DIVINE INTERVENTION
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-------------------
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The Divine Intervention model maintains that God's will dictates not only
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the origin of life, but also every major event in our collective lifetimes.
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Presumably the two species are of different religious beliefs, because each
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one has its own Supreme Being.
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This is the version that you actually have to stick around and play along
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with your computer. There are several variations in how you can play Divine
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Intervention. You specify the number of generations which pass before an
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intervention can take place, and you also specify the level of intervention
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that can occur. The three possible levels are:
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KILL CREATE KILL + CREATE
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First, elect to have two players, or one player against the computer. The
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first player always plays red; the computer or second player play blue.
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You will be asked to place the seed cells, as in the Creation model.
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Then, after the specified number of generations have passed, one player and
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then the other will be asked to modify a cell. The KILL level allows you to
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kill any living cell in the colony by clicking on it. You can kill cells
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of either species, fertile or infertile. The CREATE level allows you to
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create a new individual of your species by clicking on an unoccupied cell.
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The KILL + CREATE level allows you to do either of these things -- but at
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this level it will take a very long time before one species is actually
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wiped out. You may need to change the criteria for winning the game -- for
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example, who has the most living cells after 200 generations have passed.
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To pass on your modification turn, click on the arrow in the dialog area
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above the playing board.
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NOTE: The computer has been programmed to play "smart" when the KILL level
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has been selected. In the CREATE or KILL + CREATE levels, the computer
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essentially reverts to a Darwinian or random player.
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INTERRUPTING THE GAME
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At any time, you can interrupt the game with the following keyboard inputs:
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Apple-P -> Pause Apple-N -> New Game Apple-Q -> Quit
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PROPAGATION RULES
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Here are the rules that govern the birth, death, reproduction, and mutation
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of both bluons and maruons. These rules may be different from the "Life"
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rules you are familiar with in other games.
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* Each individual is represented by an arrow pointing left or right. Fer-
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tile individuals are represented by colored arrows; infertile individuals
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are represented by white arrows in a colored background. A fertile indi-
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vidual can give birth to children in adjacent unoccupied cells in an upward,
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downward, and forward direction. No child can be born in a vacant cell that
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is behind the fertile cell. If two or more members of the same species are
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adjacent to a vacant cell, regardless of whether they are fertile or infer-
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tile, no child of that species can be born into that cell.
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* When a vacant cell is bordered by exactly one fertile cell of each spe-
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cies, and the cell is not behind either fertile cell, then the species with
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current _"priority" successfully reproduces into that cell. Priority alter-
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nates with each generation.
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* The two species are "invisible" to each other. Thus, if the species with
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priority was not able to reproduce into a vacant cell because it had two or
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more adjoining members, the other species can still reproduce into that cell
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if it has one and only one adjoining fertile cell.
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* The original individuals in the colony, and their children and immediate
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decendents, have a life span of two generations, with a fertility span of
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one generation.
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* When a child is born into the farthest column in its direction of propa-
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gation, it mutates. Its life span is increased by two generations, its
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fertility span is increased by one generation, and its direction of propa-
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gation reverses. No original individuals (or newly created individuals in
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the Divine Intervention model) can be placed into this column.
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* When a new individual is created in the Divine Intervention model, it
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assumes the same life span, fertility span, and direction of propagation as
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the highest level of mutation yet to have appeared for that species. |