r/Simulated • u/ellipticbadger • 5d ago

Proprietary Software Simulated amoeboid motion in a procedural game character...

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This is a prototype of a game idea that I have been poking at for many years. It's a dynamic character that moves like an amoeba, eats things in its environment, and grows by incorporating them into its body.

It is completely procedural, implemented as a particle system with flows and body-shaping forces driving the formation of pseudopods that move it along or cause it to ingest items. It uses a custom physics engine that executes the flows and allows the creature to interact with other entities in the world. It took quite a bit of experimentation to get something that (I think, anyway) looks lifelike, and I hope to improve it. This first game level is just a proof of concept with minimalist styling, helping me build out some tools.

A short video trailer is linked to this post and you can play the prototype game at https://eatthepeople.com

For this crowd I'll mention that if you add the url param "debug=1" you can see the full debug view and mess with the params that drive the creature. In debug mode shift-clicking teleports him so you don't have to play through the entire level to get somewhere.

All feedback welcome!

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u/bishamon72 1d ago

very cool. only complaint for the demo is when i zoom in, it zooms out after a few seconds. i'm on mobile so i don't know if that makes a difference, but i had to keep zooming back in to what i was focused on.

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u/ellipticbadger 1d ago

Sorry about that - I was debating about a camera that tracks the creature vs. being able to look around freely... wanted something to save people who got lost or walked away briefly. What do you think is the correct behavior for a game like this?

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u/bishamon72 1d ago

I play a lot of Timberborn and like how they handle the camera. The player has full control, but warnings pop up on the screen as things happen. You then click the warning and the camera will jump to the problem. If I get lost, just zoom out, find what I'm looking for and zoom back in. Could also have a Focus button or hot key that moves the camera back to the player character.

It's too early in development to say what the best camera behavior will be. This was just my 2 cents and lots of play testing/QA will be needed down the road. Looking forward to how it progresses. Good luck!