Conway's Game of Life in Pygame

This project implements Conway's Game of Life, a cellular automaton simulation, using the Pygame library.

Description

Conway's Game of Life is a zero-player game where cells on a grid evolve based on a set of rules. This project visually simulates these rules, allowing you to observe the dynamic patterns that emerge.

Features

• Visual Simulation: Displays the evolving cells on a Pygame window.
• Adjustable Grid Size: The grid dimensions are determined by SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, and CELL_SIZE in constants.py.
• Random Initialization: The grid is initialized with random live and dead cells.
• Game of Life Rules: Implements the classic rules for cell survival, death, and birth.
• Color Variety: Live cells are displayed in randomly chosen colors from the COLORS list.
• Exit on Escape: The simulation can be exited by pressing the Escape key.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• Pygame (pip install pygame)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/joshGilstrap/Game_Of_Life

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd <your_project_directory>

3. Run the game:

   python main.py

Usage

• The simulation will start automatically.
• Observe the evolving patterns of live and dead cells.
• Press the Escape key to exit the simulation.
• Close the Pygame window to exit the simulation.

Code Explanation

• constants.py:
  • Defines constants for screen dimensions (SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT), cell size (CELL_SIZE), grid dimensions (GRID_WIDTH, GRID_HEIGHT), and colors (BLACK, WHITE, RED, GREEN, BLUE, CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, COLORS).
• main.py:
  • create_grid(): Initializes the grid with random live (1) or dead (0) cells.
  • draw_grid(): Draws the cells onto the Pygame screen, using random colors for live cells and a black outline.
  • update_grid(): Implements the core game logic, applying the rules of Conway's Game of Life to create the next generation.
  • count_neighbors(): Counts the live neighbors of a cell.
  • The main loop handles events (QUIT, K_ESCAPE), updates the screen, and controls the simulation speed.

Constants

• SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT: Dimensions of the Pygame window (defined in constants.py).
• CELL_SIZE: Size of each cell in pixels (defined in constants.py).
• GRID_WIDTH, GRID_HEIGHT: Number of cells in the grid (calculated in constants.py).
• COLORS: List of colors used for live cells (defined in constants.py).

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you have any ideas for improvements or new features, feel free to submit a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.