🧬 GameOfLifeEncryption

GameOfLifeEncryption is a reversible, deterministic encryption algorithm that creatively combines the classic XOR cipher with the evolving patterns of Conway’s Game of Life — implemented entirely in 32-bit x86 Assembly using AT&T syntax.

This project was created as a college-level systems programming assignment, and demonstrates efficient use of low-level operations, bit masking, and memory-optimized data storage.

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🔐 How It Works

1. 🔑 XOR Cipher

• The input plaintext is converted into binary using ASCII encoding.
• A keyword (also in binary) is repeatedly XORed against the plaintext to produce a ciphered bitstream.
• The keyword loops as needed to match the input length.

2. 🧬 Game of Life Grid Transformation

• The XORed binary is seeded into a 2D matrix where each bit represents a single cell.
• The matrix evolves over N generations according to the Game of Life rules.
• The final matrix state becomes the encrypted output.

3. 🔁 Reversibility

• The process is completely deterministic and reversible.
• Using the correct keyword and generation count, the original plaintext can be decrypted from the final matrix.

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🧠 Memory & Performance Highlights

• 🔲 Bit-Level Matrix Storage
  Every single bit in memory represents a cell in the Game of Life grid — drastically reducing memory usage.

• 🎯 Mask-Based Bit Manipulation
  Bit masks are used to efficiently set, clear, and check individual bits within bytes.

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🧾 Assembly Structure

This repository contains three .s files, each representing a different version of the program:

File	Description
generation.s	Only runs the Game of Life logic and prints the final grid.
generation_encryption.s	Adds XOR encryption and decryption of words using a keyword.
generation_decryption.s	Full program with file input/output, keyword, and evolution.

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⚙️ Compilation Instructions

Make sure you have GCC with 32-bit support installed:

sudo apt install gcc-multilib
Then compile using:

bash
gcc -m32 -no-pie file.s -o output_binary

📜 Game of Life Rules

The Game of Life is a "zero-player game" created by mathematician John Conway. Each cell on a 2D grid is either alive (1) or dead (0) and evolves based on its neighbors.

Rules:

Birth: A dead cell with exactly 3 live neighbors becomes alive.

Survival: A live cell with 2 or 3 live neighbors stays alive.

Death:

Fewer than 2 neighbors → dies (underpopulation)

More than 3 neighbors → dies (overpopulation)

The result is complex, emergent behavior from very simple rules.

🔗 Learn more on Wikipedia Or Play the Game Yourself

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life

https://playgameoflife.com/

🧪 Project Purpose

This project was developed as part of a college systems programming course, to:

Explore the fundamentals of low-level programming

Implement efficient bit-level memory handling

Understand cellular automata as computational models

Combine theoretical concepts with practical encryption