Game of Life in Excel – Final version

—– 2006-12-12 UPDATE ——
Finally turn in the Game of Life project for MS&E 207 – Interactive Management Science class. Despite the class not being too difficult, I do feel that the materials is very much practical, namely the various useful modelling techniques and Excel skills. I am glad I selected this class.

Click here for the final version of Game of Life.

The final version is a big upgrade from the previous version, with improved interface, additional user-controlled parameters, more and better arranged information, and user error preventative measures. To reiterate upon what I’ve said, this project is my first extensive use of Excel+VBA, and I have to say it’s gratifying and result is satisfying. Last word, Excel+VBA can be quite a powerful tool with the to build models for presentation and convey important messages to audience (and perhaps even impress superiors), if used correctly. Hopefully I will make use of them in the future.
—– 2006-12-12 UPDATE ——

As I just wrote, I spent sometime on homework. The piece of homework I done is called the “Game of Life”, which is based on the concept of cellular automaton. The concept involves a set of cells, which based on some mathematical rules, will live, die, or spread. It is interesting to see how the pattern develop. And in the original “Game of Life”, the rules are…

• If a cell is alive…
1. and has 1 or less neighbors, it dies of loneliness
2. and has 4 or more neighbors, it dies of overcrowding
3. all other cases, the cell survives
• If a cell is dead…
1. and it has exactly 3 neighbors, it’s given life

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So about what I did: I created an Excel spreadsheet that does just what the game says, AND a little bit more. My excel spreadsheet allows users to modify the numbers in the rules, adding a layer of fun! haha, j/k, I actually just think it’s a pretty neat spreadsheet to share, and I learned some VBA in the process. You can download the file below, enjoy!

Download “Game of Life” excel file here