Falling-sand game
Falling-sand games are a genre of video games. They are a type of sandbox game characterized by moving particles of varying materials.
Mechanics
Falling-sand games typically consist of a pixel grid where the particles are placed. As time progresses, the particles are moved by either cellular automata or particle physics simulation.
Despite the name, falling-sand games usually have more materials than just Sand or Dust. These are sometimes referred to as "elements". They can be other powders, liquids such as Water, solids such as Wood, or a large range of other kinds of particles.
The specific mechanics vary from game to game. Some have advanced fluid, heat, or gravity simulation. The games often contain Fire and burning mechanics, as well as interactions between particle types.
History
The earliest known example of a falling-sand game was a Japanese web-based Java applet called "すなめ地獄", also known as Hell of Sand or World of Sand, released in 2005.[1] Earlier games such as the 1993 Down Fall by Andrew Sage used a cellular automaton similar to falling-sand games, but this was an arcade game and not a sandbox game.[2]
List of falling-sand games
This list will always be incomplete, as people make many of their own takes on the genre all the time, either as passion projects or technological tests. Notable innovations are listed in the "Details" column.
| Title | Year | Platform | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down Fall | 1993 | Arcade | Multiplayer falling-snow game |
| Hell of Sand Falling Sand Game World of Sand すなめ地獄 |
2005 | Web browser | Multiple materials |
| wxSand | 2006 | Windows | First standalone sandbox version; Moddable |
| X Falling Sand | ???? | Windows | Dropdown menus for spouts[3] |
| Pyro Sand | ???? | Windows | Advanced explosions[4] |
| NEW Sand | ???? | Windows | Interesting tree growth[5] |
| Powder Game | 2007 | Web browser, iOS, Android | Fluid simulation; Multiple sequels; User saves |
| Thisissand | 2008 | Web browser | Artistic |
| Project Sand | ???? | Web browser | |
| websand | ???? | Web browser | Very simple demo[6] |
| The Powder Toy | 2010 | Windows, Linux, Mac, Android | Large grid; Newtonian gravity |
| Powder Game 2 | 2011 | Web browser, iOS, Android | More materials; Improved physics |
| The Sandbox | 2012 | Windows, iOS, Android | Microtransactions; Detailed particles; Tutorials |
| sand:box | 2015 | Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android | Mobile |
| The Sandbox Evolution | 2016 | Windows, iOS | More materials; More microtransactions |
| Sandspiel | 2019 | Web browser | Wind simulation; WebGL; Custom element maker[7] |
| SandPond | 2019 | Web browser | 3-dimensional; YouTube series[8]; SpaceTode behavior system |
| Noita | 2020 | Windows | Open-world roguelike; Player character |
| Grainy particle.jar |
2021 | Windows | Non-pixel particle simulation[9] |
| Sandboxels | 2021 | Web browser, Windows, macOS, Discord | Complex interactions; Chemistry; 500+ elements; Behavior grid[10][11][12] |