A Processing app to (mainly):

• Import Golly's RLE files containing Cellular Automata(CA) (precisely Conway's Game of Life one) and visualize them
• Customize the CA's graphical appearance using a customizable dynamic vector Grid
• Create, draw and export new RLEs
• Export the graphical result vectorialized! (pdf)

Golly Vectorializer was designed and developed as a support tool enabling graphic designers to work with Golly's CA in vector graphics.

At the moment, Golly Vectorializer can parse and draw on grid the provided CA first generation only.

Given this static snapshot on grid, through the app widgets you can customize the generation — made of active and inactive cells.

For instance you can crop the viewport, add columns/row, and even change the status of each containing cell.

You can also stretch or widen the cells, filling them with colors according to a customizable palette, randomly or using a probability distribution function. It is possible to color neighbor active cells by the same color, according to a notion of proximity.

• Standard: golly_vect-beta1-osx-no_java_embedded.zip [mirror] sha1:1b206e41f2199d1cd487191d3ed7938b36f1713d
• Java7 Embedded: golly_vect-beta1-osx-java_embedded.zip (mirror only) sha1:032ef7cfce25966b1f0f65bc77797b6c4eee7bd3

• 32bit: golly_vect-beta1-win32.zip [mirror] sha1:cb12390764232834ff8fe5baa75895d8688da225
• 64bit: golly_vect-beta1-win64.zip [mirror] sha1:cb7c2d51c3f36110532be1310269cd7e7d6eadaa

• 32bit: golly_vect-beta1-linux32.zip [mirror] sha1:d73de7a23f764b5483d796fc3d767ff609ce1cdd
• 64bit: golly_vect-beta1-linux64.zip [mirror] sha1:ff6dc46881f20b89794f8bf1f5a4b5625142d301

• Giuseppe Lobraico
• arranger1044

Special thanks to Marika Mastrandrea and Michele Bozzi who are the designers that originally contacted the authors to work togheter on an identity design project for TrackZero, a self-sustaining organization.

The identity theme naturally felt under topics such as self-organizing complex systems and artificial life. The main objective was to convey the idea of a live, bottom-up, holistic structure in a generative design way.

Some of the produced graphical artifacts can be found here, here and here [links temporary unavailable].

The software delivered exceeded the original requirements and maybe skipped some of them... but, judging from the results, we personally don't regret that. :)

Golly Vectorializer is released under the GPLv3 License.