Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/online-games

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Falling-sand game

Video game genre

Video game genre

A falling-sand game is a genre of video game and a sub-genre of sandbox games which typically utilize a two-dimensional particle or cellular automaton based game 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. As sandbox games, they generally have an emphasis on free-form gameplay, relaxed rules, and minimal goals.

Despite the name, falling-sand games typically contain a multitude of materials besides sand, often called "elements".

History

The first known popular example in the "falling-sand" genre was a web-based Java applet on the Japanese Dofi-Blog in 2005 which was later expanded and rehosted as the "Falling sand game", which kick-started the genre as a trend and gave it its name.

The genre is not limited to free play canvas-style games; games such as the Powder Game contain additional mechanics, such as pressure based fluid simulation allowing for example water equalisation, and RPG elements such as controllable characters.

Noita blends the traditional sandbox physics with Roguelike RPG mechanics, with sophisticated playable characters and enemies.

List of falling-sand games

TitleYearPlatformDetails
Down fall1993Atari ST2 player falling snow
Falling sand game2005Javaurl=http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2005/12/welcome_to_the_world_of_sand.phptitle=Welcome to the World of Sandwork=GameSetWatchdate=2005-12-24author=Carless, Simonaccess-date=2011-06-21archive-date=2011-09-26archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926061423/http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2005/12/welcome_to_the_world_of_sand.phpurl-status=dead}}
wxSand2006WindowsThe first standalone version
Powder Game2007Java, HTML5, Android, iOStitle=From falling sand to Falling Everything: the simulation games that inspired Noitaurl=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/10/10/from-falling-sand-to-falling-everything-the-simulation-games-that-inspired-noita/journal=Rock, Paper, Shotgundate=10 October 2019last1=Coxfirst1=Mattaccess-date=5 January 2021archive-date=15 November 2019archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115005845/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/10/10/from-falling-sand-to-falling-everything-the-simulation-games-that-inspired-noita/url-status=live }}
This is Sand2008FlashAdded changing the colour of the sand
The Powder Toy2010Windows, Linux, OS X, AndroidHas liquid simulation and Newtonian gravity
The Sandbox2012Flash, Windows, Android, iOSA series of games, including some 3D versions
sand:box2015Android, iOS, Linux, WindowsFalling sand game with advanced digital circuit simulation.
Noita2020Windowstitle=Sand Physics Go Wild in Noitaurl=https://techraptor.net/originals/coverage-club-noitawebsite=techraptor.netdate=14 December 2019access-date=6 January 2021archive-date=8 January 2021archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108185908/https://techraptor.net/originals/coverage-club-noitaurl-status=live }}

References

References

  1. "making sandspiel".
  2. (16 July 2009). "The History and Theory of Sandbox Gameplay".
  3. "DOFI-BLOG どふぃぶろぐ".
  4. "Overview".
  5. "Time Killer: The Sand Game (It's Great Fun)".
  6. "Falling Sand Game".
  7. (5 April 2019). "Noita: a Game Based on Falling Sand Simulation".
  8. "Noita wiki - Falling Sand Game".
  9. Atari mania. "Down fall".
  10. Carless, Simon. (2005-12-24). "Welcome to the World of Sand". GameSetWatch.
  11. Quilty-Harper, Conrad. (2006-02-15). "Falling Sand: The Sequel". Joystiq.
  12. (10 October 2019). "From falling sand to Falling Everything: the simulation games that inspired Noita". Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
  13. "Digital Play: This Is Sand".
  14. (3 September 2010). "Explosive fun for students".
  15. "the sandbox".
  16. (28 May 2019). "The Sandbox gaming platform receives $2.5m investment".
  17. Corcobado, Miguel Ángel. (2018-01-24). "Ciencia divertida a través del móvil". El País.
  18. Hasan, Mehedi. (2021-07-17). "10 Best Sandbox Games For Android To Make Your Own Fun".
  19. (2023-11-27). "みんなペイントマーカーは持ったな！アメリカ発祥のスポーツ「ペイントボール」を体験できるFPS登場―採れたて！本日のSteam注目ゲーム3選【2023年11月27日】".
  20. (14 December 2019). "Sand Physics Go Wild in Noita".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

online-games java-platform-games flash-games simulation-video-games video-game-genres cellular-automata-in-video-games computer-related-introductions-in-the-1990s computer-related-introductions-in-the-2000s
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Falling-sand game — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report