The same effect could be achieved by taking a low resolution image and each turn, making each pixel the color of a random neighbor. The only thing this has to do with the Game of Life is both can be simulated by copying one array to another and applying some simple rules.
Lisp Machines would have become cheap. Similar software divergence would happen. There would be an increased separation from normal people and programmers. Lisp would become a serious thing used by all programmers.
Or maybe another thing like UNIX would've replaced Lisp Machines quickly.
Why do people advocate Python and not a dialect of Lisp for beginners? Are prefix notation and parentheses really that terrible in exchange for a completely unified syntax?
When you show someone a mathematical formula using standard infix notation, and then want them to write a program to implement it, it's immensely helpful if the syntax of the language is close to the mathematical notation. Infix operators are a huge boon to readability for beginning programmers, especially those with some science/math background.
I believe Lisp is a good choice for beginners too, but it's two different approaches. Lisp is interesting for the theory behind it - you can introduce lambda calculus, parsers, AST, stacks while you teach the language, and the student will have a grasp of how the computer understands code. Python is a more hands-on approach - you just teach some syntax that reads like english and the student can put some libraries together and do something meaningful, the barrier is low and you get instant gratification, which is important to keep students motivated.
This is really cool, but I fully expect you to fail.
Something simple to say like emergent AI can be ridiculously complex in practice. I bet you really have all the experience you claim to have, but I still don't expect you to get very far.
You have quite a few descriptions of how the game will end up, but saying things like "it will be fun and all these other things" dismisses how you're going to make it that way.
I think the coolest promise was that the game would be deterministic.
I'm not sure if you have lots of experience making games, but in my experience games written from the ground up never really become complete games.
If you're not already, you may want to consider hiring a team or getting help developing this so that you can focus on the things you think you can do most effectively or that are most crucial to the final gameplay.
Anyway, I really hope this is going to be all you say it will be.
You are definitely right - the odds are severely stacked against me (and I say this with no hint of sarcasm). So why am I doing what I am doing? Well, I feel that someone has to try. Big companies don't seem to be trying much. Maybe I can rally enough of a team and financing that there is less risk, but I also want people to be aware of the risk.
Trust me, I doubt myself more than anyone else, every day, but at the same time I really just want to try, even if it means failing. :)
Even if the AI isn't 'emergent' or whatever overly ambitious goal you have, you still have a lot of stuff left that can make a great game. Hell minecraft AI is randomly generate monsters as you move and make them beeline towards you.
You're definitely right. A lot of people don't fully understand how difficult what he's trying to do here is - and there have been many, many teams trying to do what he's talking about and have failed. Not to say he won't succeed, just that if he does succeed it's a bigger deal than it sounds and would probably propel him into the league of the few programming giants. Here's hoping!
This is true, but I have also shot myself in the foot by perhaps making it seem like I'm taking on a bigger task than I actually am. Hopefully soon I can show more in detail what I have planned for AI, it is relatively simple overall. (In shorter words, I am building a very crude AI that just does a bit of deduction combined with score maximization, not something that can comprehend english sentences). :)
Sounds good. Sometimes a simple solution works much better than a complex one simply because it interacts with everything else really well and creates the impression that it's smart. Looking forward to seeing it. :)
