Logistics:
Project 2: “Queen, version Valentine” applet.

Woo-hoo! Got my applet to work. Here’s my poor quality video anyway (the cursor isn’t visible though):

Instructions:

There are three modes to choose from–Breeder, Hunter, and Prey. In each mode, the user assumes the named role.

Breeder Role:
Click to spawn a heart organism. Organisms follow wander and flock behavior.

Hunter Role:
Click to destroy nearby organisms. Organisms follow flee behavior from cursor location (no flocking, they just scatter).

Prey Role:
Click to place food for the organisms at a location. The organisms will follow seek and flock behavior to each set piece of food. The food will grow smaller as they devour it, and organisms will grow the more food they eat (organisms have a maximum growth size).

Inspiration:

Mostly I wanted to experiment with Craig Reynold’s behavior models, shown here. I also wanted to create a piece that the user could interact with, rather than a piece that just ran and simulated something organic.

Experience:
The hardest part of this project was determining how I wanted the organisms to interact during the different modes. I borrowed a lot of code from Daniel Shiffman, but, in order to manipulate his code, I also had to relearn a lot of calculus and vector arithmetic. I also learned about a very useful Processing class called PVector…very, very useful and awesome and made this project a whole lot easier.

Originally, I was going to use pigeons for the organisms, bread crumbs for the food, and a hawk for the hunter, but decided to change it to a Valentine’s Day theme (got the idea during the critique on Monday, hehe). I sent it to my family members and friends and they all really, really enjoyed it! Especially if they were up too late and thus easily amused.

Overall, I’m happy with the way it turned out. There are a few glitches, but I think it’s charming (although a little cheesy). And, it gives a very interesting perspective on how organisms flock, swarm, and scatter. I did learn a lot about something I otherwise wouldn’t have known until a boss or something asked me to simulate a heard or a large amount of organisms. And, again, I feel better prepared for simulating another organic aspect of the world.

Hooray for being cheesy, again (although it’s true, and I did have a lot of fun with this! :D).

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Looking Outwards–Manipulating Simulated Organic Life with Music:

Some Examples…

Magnetosphere revisited (audio by Tosca) from flight404 on Vimeo.

Nova (audio by Helios) from flight404 on Vimeo.

I’m very interested in this…and wondering if I could combine these behaviors with the flocking, seek, and wandering behavior I worked with during Project 2. I’m seriously considering creating a final project around this idea instead–and maybe getting my own audio from a music major friend who would be interested in this (so that I could make a video that looks aesthetically pleasing since I would be able to control the aspects of the audio with my friend).