Claude Heiland-Allen :: Puzzle
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▄█▄█ ▄█▄█ ▄█▄█ Sliding tile puzzles have existed for over a
▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ century. The 15-puzzle craze in 1880 offered
▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ a cash prize for a problem with no solution.
▄█▄█ ▄█▄█ ▄█▄█ In the Puzzle presented here the computer is
▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ manipulating the tiles. No malicious design,
▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ but insufficient specification means that no
▄█▄█ ▄█▄█ solution can be found; the automaton forever
▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ explores the state space but finds every way
▄█▄█▄█ ▄█▄█▄█ to position the tiles as good as the last...
Each tile makes a sound, and each possible position has a processing
effect associated with it. Part of the Puzzle is to watch and listen
carefully, to see and hear and try to pick apart what it is that the
computer is doing, to reverse-engineer the machinery inside from its
outward appearance. This Puzzle is implemented in Pd + GEM for video
and pdlua for the tile-control logic. The video is built using eight
squares, each coloured tile is textured with the whole Puzzle, which
gives an infinite fractal cascade. The control algorithm is a Markov
Chain that avoids repetition. Puzzle is Free Software under GNU/GPL.
Technical requirements for Puzzle are fairly
minimal: a computer, speakers or headphones,
video monitor or projector. Operating system
must have 3D-accelerated graphics drivers to
result in adequate performance. For example,
Puzzle was developed on a Pentium-M 1.6G CPU
with ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 GPU, and works
also on a Raspberry Pi 3 B with experimental
OpenGL, provided the resolution is kept low.
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