Play Video Life Online

Game Overview

Video Life is one of those weird little Atari 2600 experiments that makes you go, "Wait, they actually released this?" It's basically Conway's Game of Life but on your TV—you plop down some pixel blobs and watch them grow, die, or do unpredictable things based on simple rules. No points, no levels, just you messing around with digital proto-life.

The first time I tried it, I spent way too long just drawing random shapes to see what'd happen. Some patterns fizzle out immediately, others start crawling across the screen in ways that feel almost intentional. It's more of a tech demo than a game, but there's something weirdly hypnotic about it if you're into emergent behavior or early computing concepts.

Definitely not for everyone, but if you've ever wondered what a 1981 version of a screensaver would look like on an Atari, here's your answer.