Project info
- Developer Cameron Ayling
- Showcase year 2023
- Programme Computer Games Technology
Synopsis
I am programming a C++ library that can be built into any C++ based game, that will procedurally generate an environment to user specifications and fill it with plants and animals. The environment and biota are then simulated over time and compared against proven real-world predator-prey models to prove stability. It also has the capability to trigger a number of disruption events for the ecosystem such as wildfires, flooding and urban development. This is all encapsulated in a demonstrative application with a visual representation of the ecosystem simulated and tools to trigger the events that would normally be triggered by player actions in games.
Simulating Reactive and Resilient Ecosystems with Cellular Automata
I am creating and analysing the utility of a C++ library to procedurally generate and simulate a resilient ecosystem for games that want player actions to have accurate consequences in the player's environment.
Credits
'Simulating Reactive and Resilient Ecosystems with Cellular Automata' is a 2023 Digital Graduate Show project by Cameron Ayling, a Computer Games Technology student at Abertay University.
Project Motivation
I wanted to make something visually appealing for this project but I did not want to outsource an artist as I wanted the artefact to be wholly my own undertaking, so that I could showcase my skills. I also enjoy when games have real consequences to player actions that actually influence how a player can play the game, but knew that creating a full game during the allotted time on my own would be impossible. Therefore, I decided to build something that could slot into any game that could theoretically use it and demonstrate its applications in a way that a user could understand and potentially see the uses for in a real game. I also genuinely enjoy creating simulations. They can produce fun and interesting results at every stage of development and I knew that the fine-tuning that came with the project's intricacies when creating a stable ecosystem would produce fun results that I could create my own storylines for - such as when herbivores take over the world, completely dominating their predators in terms of population and I imagined that as a veritable ocean of rabbits.
Connect with Cameron
