# GameOfLife
The program I have created is a clone I made from the ground up of the popular  
Conway's Game of Life game.  

***Please Note The Following:***
* This is just a little side project to work on my optimization skills and mess  
  around with different patterns in Conway's Game of Life.
* ***IMPORTANT: Requires Java 8 and Windows***
  * You can download Java 8 here: [JAVA 8 JRE](https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jre8-downloads-2133155.html)

## A little bit about the game
If you have never heard of the "Game of Life", developed by John Conway in the  
early 70's, I suggest that you check out the wikepedia page listed here:
[Game of Life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life). It is a fun little game   
that replicates cell automation. Below I will list some fun patterns to get you  
started.    

## Patterns
### Still Patterns
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Game_of_life_block_with_border.svg/66px-Game_of_life_block_with_border.svg.png) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Game_of_life_beehive.svg/98px-Game_of_life_beehive.svg.png) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Game_of_life_loaf.svg/98px-Game_of_life_loaf.svg.png) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Game_of_life_boat.svg/82px-Game_of_life_boat.svg.png) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Game_of_life_flower.svg/82px-Game_of_life_flower.svg.png) 
### Oscillating Patterns
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Game_of_life_blinker.gif) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Game_of_life_toad.gif) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Game_of_life_beacon.gif) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Game_of_life_pulsar.gif) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/I-Column.gif) 
### Spaceship Patterns *(AKA - Patterns that move on their own)*
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Game_of_life_animated_glider.gif) 
![alt text](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Game_of_life_animated_LWSS.gif)   
### *These are not all the possible patterns but a few ones that are used alot*

## To Run
### QuickStart
1. **Download Repository**  
2. **Open Repository folder**
3. **Run the first-start.bat file (This step only necessary once.)**
4. **Run the run.bat file (This is how you will access the game from now on. Steps  
1-3 no longer needed)**  
  
### Manually Start
1. **Download Repository**  
2. **Open command prompt and navigate to repository folder**
3. **Enter the following commands:**
> **cd gameoflife**  
> **javac GameOfLife.java**  
> **javac Main.java**  
> **jar cmvf manifest.mf ../GameOfLife.jar ./\*.java ./\*.class**  
> **cd ..**  
> **java -jar /GameOfLife.jar**  
4. **After doing steps 1-3 the game should have already ran once. The next times  
that you wish to run the game just follow steps 1-2 and enter the following command:**  
> **java -jar /GameOfLife.jar**  

## Using the Application
**What can you to in the application?**
* Click the start button to start time  
![](./pictures/start-example.png
* Clicking the stop button will stop time (**I suggest editing cells in this mode, then starting to see what your pattern does!**)  
![](./pictures/stop-example.png
* You can click on a square to make it "alive cells"(Black squares) or "dead cells"(White squares)  
![](./pictures/alive_cell-example.png ![](./pictures/dead_cell-example.png