For me, because of the algorithm and implementation, plus they have clients for different platforms with open-source code. Plus you can explore other cellular automatas.
My favorite for anyone interested in cellular automata optimization is Golly (http://golly.sourceforge.net/). It uses the Hashlife algorithm, which can simulate enormous patterns by caching repeated blocks. While other implementations might be prettier, Golly's ability to run complex patterns at incredible speeds makes it the go-to for serious exploration.
The interesting part here isn't the color - it's the temperature range (-15°C to 65°C) and massive 75" size. This could enable practical solar-powered information displays at bus stops and other public spaces.
That's true; we implemented such a mechanic for one of the math educational games, and even if it looks interesting in theory and short iterations, playtests show it's boring and has no challenge.
The market reality is that these "simple" ad games would have terrible retention. I've prototyped similar mechanics - they get boring after 15 minutes. Base builders/FPS games have proven engagement cycles that keep players (and revenue) coming back.
Check itch.io - you'll find honest implementations of these concepts.
This seems like it could be useful for game engines—continuous 3D scene updates from RGB input sound a lot like dynamic world streaming. Could this be practical for real-time asset generation or scene reconstruction in games?
> So no other country in the world can write code as good as wherever you are from?
I didn't say this -- I think it's your take. Even more -- I'm such an "outsource" software developer who is working for US and EU companies. My take is that overusing outsourcing in the long term, you can lose local education because "we can just hire from ... so why do we need to teach ours?" -- I saw it already, even on an "in-country-scale" level.
I'm biased about this game as the first Civilization was the first game I saw on PC beyond ZX Spectrum. So now there are a lot of discussions in the game dev community about whether it is ok to publish such a raw game or not. Yes, not all of Sid's games were perfect at the start, but for me, Sid Meier was always the " quality stamp, " so I think they should be more careful about this release.