BattleBoids A procedural game based on real-time flocking behavior

Abstract

Flocking is a pattern of movement that can be observed in nature and emerges from the individual desires of the animals in the flock. These behaviours have been subject to research over past few decades, with one of the first papers on the subject being Craig Reynolds’ "Flocks, Herds, and Schools: A Distributed Behavioral Model". This project explores the development of a strategy game with flock versus flock combat based on the model presented in Reynolds’ paper. The Unity game engine and various optimization techniques are used to make the game run smoothly. The result is a game where two flocks of 500 units each can flock at 60 frames per second while fighting each other. Possible further performance and gameplay improvements are also discussed.