Holy Cow Productions

Where Do The Ants Go?

2D Social Experiment (Experience)

Project Info

Role: Gameplay Programmer, UI/UX Programmer
Platforms: PC
Engine: Unity Engine

About

THREE CHANNEL INTERACTIVE VIDEO INSTALLATION (DIMENSIONS VARIABLE)

If the ant hill is the internet (or the brain)

and each individual ant is a single byte of data (or a neuron)

what place does the individual ant/data point/thought have

on the outcome of the colony/fabric of the internet/workings of the brain?

Audiences can enter a large-scale sculpture of an anthill to interact with a digital colony of ants that live within an immersive video game inside. Using real time inputs, “players” within the anthill make choices that affect the behaviour of the individual ants and the collective outcome of the colony.

Built in the imagination of the cult video game minecraft and referencing algorithms that are inspired by ant behaviours, the project attempts to bring together the natural world, the human mind and tech to offer a possibility to step back, observe patterns and perhaps re-set.

What I've Learnt & Did!

Unique Experience (Dhaka Art Summit, 2023)

This project, a social experiment written, designed, and conceptualized by Afrah Shafiq for the Dhaka Art Summit 2023, presented unique technical challenges.

Ant Colony Simulation:

Simulated the behavior and routines of 50 individual ants using a combination of state machines and modified NavMesh agents for a top-down 2D perspective.
Implemented a tile-based digging system integrated with NavMesh to allow ants to explore new areas.
Developed AI for ant interactions, enabling them to influence the overall colony through a simple state machine.

Multi-Input and Display Mechanics:

Adapted and modified custom DLLs to handle input from two separate mice within a single game instance.
Utilized Unity's display system to manage three separate screens.
Created an on-screen keyboard for touch screen input.

Game Loop and Data Collection:

Optimized the game to run 24/7 without interruption, addressing garbage collection issues and preventing crashes through extensive profiling.
Implemented a data collection system to track user interactions and input for each game loop.
Utilized binary formatters, JSON, and CSV files to store, modify, and retrieve data, enabling the game to evolve with different endings based on player choices.

GAME INFO

Game Link

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