Signal: Genesis

Game Lore

A century after the apocalypse, the Earth's surface is stripped of oxygen, leaving humanity to cling to life underground. However, the people of the old era left behind a secret laboratory containing a "Biochemical Compound" capable of bringing the planet back to life. To prevent theft, the Founders constructed a lethal "Ecological Lock" using mutated flora. These plants cycle between life and death following the rules of Conway's Game of Life. Only the living plants can form a safe, insulated path.
Players take on the role of the pathfinder robot, "Unit-0." Guided by a human researcher, you will use the "Evolve," "Eradicate," and "Revive" commands to manipulate the plants' life signals. Amidst the dead underground ruins, you must calculate the grid to carve a path toward the core compound vault, igniting the green hope for humanity's return to the surface.

Gameplay Overview

The player takes on the role of a robot. By using different abilities to trigger changes in the "life signals" of special mutated plants within the lab, the player carves out a safe path to reach the target destination and clear the level.

How To Play

Conway's Law

1)Any dead cell with exactly 3 live neighbors becomes a live cell in the next iteration. (Reproduction)
2)Any live cell with fewer than 2 live neighbors dies. (Underpopulation / Loneliness)
3)Any live cell with 2 or 3 live neighbors lives on to the next generation. (Survival)
4)Any live cell with more than 3 live neighbors dies. (Overpopulation)

Movement

You can click on a grid outside the Life Evolution Zone, if a safe path exists, the robot will automatically pathfind and move to the destination.

Skills

You can intervene in the life signals by clicking on the ability icons and selecting a target on the grid (if a target is required)
Evolve
Does not consume energy. Upon activation, all Life Evolution Zones in the level will undergo one iteration of evolution according to the rules of Conway's Game of Life.
Eradicate
Costs 1 Energy. Upon activation, the player selects a living target within the Life Evolution Zone and forces it into a dead state.
Revive
Costs 1 Energy. Upon activation, the player selects a dead target within the Life Evolution Zone and forces it into a living state.

Notes

You can access your Notes by clicking the button in the top-right corner. It records the rules of the Game of Life, Unit-0's abilities, and classic life signal patterns that unlock as you progress. If you ever get stuck, checking these patterns might just give you the inspiration you need!

Demo Video

【【LD59】Signal: Genesis——我们基于康威生命游戏做了一款解谜游戏……】 https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV16udCBhEoi/?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=aef3e44ba1f8fdccf47b60e136d4ed19

Play Now!

https://statuesque-licorice-dcf4d3.netlify.app/
https://stiam-wu.itch.io/signal-genesis

Known Issues

Some dialogues may not display correctly under certain circumstances.
The WebGL (HTML5) version might display a black screen when entering full-screen mode.
If you encounter any game-breaking bugs, try......
!>restarting the game and pressing CapsLock on the Level Selection screen. This will unlock all levels so you can quickly get back to where you left off!