Boids
AnimationArtificial lifeCanvas
Boids is classic artificial life program. It simulates a flock of birds by
creating a number of individual agents ("boids") that each follows a simple
set of rules that govern how each individual steers to maintain separation
from other boids, align their direction with other boids, and try to cohere
with the mass of other boids. From those simple rules very realistic flocking
behaviors, like those observed in real birds, emerge.
This is a much more open-ended project than Game of Life in that there are lots of experiments you can do with even simple boids. For instance what happens when you add obstacles in the space the boids occupy that they have to avoid. Or you can elaborate the boid world. What if, for example, you make two species of boids, a predator and a prey species, where predators try to get close to prey and prey try to avoid predators.