Prey Behavior through Influence Maps Alicia Yeargin CS380, Fall 2011

How the idea came together… Big Cat Diary + Old, Useless Prototype = Idea.

What does a herd of prey do?

What does a herd of prey do? (According to Video Games) Research into the subject showed that animal AI more often than not consisted of random wandering behaviors. Hey, where ya going? I dunno, lol.

What does a herd of prey do? (Really.) Credit: Wildebeest herd, Flicker, h_savill

What does a herd of prey do? (Step 1) Migrate in a direction.

What does a herd of prey do? (Step 2) SOME migrate in a direction. SOME eat.

What does a herd of prey do? (Step 3) SOME migrate in a direction. SOME eat. SOME face different directions.

What does a herd of prey do? (Step 4) Run when theres a predator.

What it is (in my implementation)… The blue represents attracting forces (negative values). The red represents repulsing forces (positive values). 2D grid of values, ranging from -2.0 to 2.0.

What I do (in my implementation)… Simply have x, y for position and x, y for direction. They start in a random direction and read from the map. An array of particles serve as the representation for prey.

What this does (in my implementation)… Individual points move uniquely from one another. Each points path across the map is different each time. Creates guided randomness. (Unpredictable + Logical)

How I used this (in my implementation)… Used wall of blue to mimic migration. Used special green squares to mimic stopping and eating. Used walls of red to mimic herding.

A special case (in my implementation)… A special predator mode can simulate predator presence. Added in a trail of repulsing red squares to mouse. The map can be changed in real time to alter behavior.

You may have the best-looking environments…

…but you need something to make it feel ALIVE…

…and something else to make it BELIEVABLE.

End.