Flocking Behaviour as Demonstrated in a Tower-Defense Game

Abstract

The research on flocking behaviour pioneered by Craig W. Reynolds has been applied in both movies and video games. However, flocking is seldom used in the video game genre of Tower Defense. Thus, the main purpose of this project is to develop such a game and apply flocking behaviour as a core element in the gameplay. The game is realised with the Unity game engine. The project is comprised of three main activities. First, to create a serviceable video game with dynamic 3D-graphics and audio. Second, to implement and compare different solutions for efficiently simulating flocking behaviour in a correct manner. Third, to design the gameplay with flocking in focus and reward the player for taking advantage of it. Playtesting of the game shows that the majority of people who tried to play the game without regard for the flocking lost. Conversely, almost all the people who played the game with the flocking behaviour in mind managed to win. The end product1, albeit just a proof of concept, succeeds in showing the potential in the idea of altering Tower Defense gameplay by applying flocking behaviour.