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Kiss The Sky

Kiss The Sky is a browser-based indie video game. At its heart is a programmatic replica of Mendelian genetics, and the gameplay is based on real-time Darwinian selection. You can either compete to breed a flower that reaches the sky, or let ambient mode play out for hours or days or weeks.

Every year, flowers bloom and bear seeds that carry a combination of their own genes and the genes of the flowers that pollinated them. In spring, seedlings sprout and compete for the sunlight they need to grow. New plants with genes for the broadest leaves and the tallest, strongest stalks thrive. The rest wither or topple over to die in the shadows. When summer arrives, healthy plants bloom flowers whose colors are determined by the most dominant genes they carry for petal hue and brightness. But things are always changing. No year is quite like the last. With every new generation, a few genes mutate to produce new traits that have never existed before, and that may change the species forever.​​​​​​​

Your goal is to breed a bright red flower that reaches all the way to the sky. Tap or swipe to eliminate any unwanted plants; leave only plants with genes that might produce the tallest stalks and the reddest flowers in the next generation. When there are no red flowers, keep plants with flowers whose colors are closest to a bright red color. Then watch for mutations of hue and brightness until you've yielded a beautiful red bloom. Keep plants with the strongest stalks, even if they're short. Keep plants with the tallest stalks, even if they're weak. Don't forget to keep some plants with the broadest leaves as well. When your population cross-pollinates to yield a new leafy plant with a tall, strong stalk, eliminate the rest and let the new species propagate until new mutations arise yet again.

More by Matthew Main

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