Can we simulate life on a computer?

Could life be described as a mathematical function? If so, it would probably be an algorithm of such immense complexity that we could never understand it, right?
It turns out that by starting with a few cells and following a few very simple rules, a pattern emerges that keeps growing on its own. The cells are being born, live out their life and die depending on the conditions around them.It's called a Game of Life, and here is how it looks like.