Psychedelic Game of Life

This visualization implements Conway's Game of Life with a psychedelic twist:

• Vibrant color cycling based on cell position and time
• Improved performance using optimized algorithms and requestAnimationFrame
• Interactive controls to reset the simulation or toggle color effects
• Click to toggle cells and drag to paint new living cells
• Mesmerizing trail effects creating an infinite tunnel-like visual experience

The Game of Life

Conway's Game of Life is a cellular automaton devised by mathematician John Conway in 1970. It follows simple rules:

1. Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbors dies (underpopulation)
2. Any live cell with two or three live neighbors lives on
3. Any live cell with more than three live neighbors dies (overpopulation)
4. Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbors becomes alive (reproduction)

Features

• Psychedelic Visuals: Cells are rendered with position-dependent colors that cycle over time
• Visual Trails: Previous frames are preserved with a fading, zooming effect creating a sense of depth
• Interactive Controls: Reset the grid, toggle color effects, or disable trail effects
• Drawing Mode: Click and drag to create patterns
• Optimized Performance: Uses canvas for rendering and efficient algorithms for grid updates

How To Use

• Click on any cell to toggle its state
• Click and drag to draw living cells
• Use the Reset button to generate a new random pattern
• Toggle the Colors button to enable/disable the psychedelic color cycling
• Toggle the Trails button to enable/disable the trail effect

Technical Implementation

This visualization uses:

• D3.js for DOM manipulation and event handling
• HTML5 Canvas for efficient rendering of thousands of cells
• requestAnimationFrame for smooth animation performance
• Module architecture separating game logic, rendering, and initialization
• Visual echo effect using canvas composition techniques

Enjoy the hypnotic patterns that emerge from simple rules!