A flocking simulation that combines the Boids algorithm with Pokémon sprites and advanced behavioral features. Autonomous boids follow simple rules to create emergent flocking patterns with complex interactions. Pretty neat stuff!
Note
Boids is an artificial life program, developed by Craig Reynolds1 in 1986, which simulates the flocking behaviour of birds, and related group motion. The name "boid" corresponds to a shortened version of "bird-oid object", which refers to a bird-like object
The Boids algorithm demonstrates how complex group behaviors emerge from simple local interactions. Each agent follows three rules:
- Separation – Avoid crowding neighbors
- Alignment – Steer towards the average direction of neighbors
- Cohesion – Move towards the center of mass of neighbors
These rules create the coordinated movement patterns seen in bird flocks, fish schools, and other natural swarms.
This implementation goes beyond basic flocking with several sophisticated behaviors:
- Predator-Prey Dynamics – Predators hunt prey while prey flee and form protective flocks
- Obstacle Avoidance – Boids navigate around environmental obstacles while maintaining flocking behavior
- Spatial Partitioning – Efficient neighbor detection for large flocks using spatial optimization
- Live Parameter Tweaking – Real-time adjustment of all behavioral weights and parameters
- Attack Behaviors – Predators can attack prey with cooldown periods and visual feedback
- Boundary Behaviors – Configurable world boundaries with bounce, wrap, or avoidance options
- Variable Group Sizes – Support for small intimate flocks to massive swarms of 1000+ agents
- Field of View Limitations – Realistic perception angles affecting neighbor detection
- Speed Variation – Different maximum speeds for different agent types
- Collision Flash Effects – Visual feedback for predator-prey interactions
git clone https://github.com/desaianand1/PokeBoids.git
cd PokeBoids
pnpm install
pnpm devVisit http://localhost:5173 to run the simulation.
pnpm build
pnpm previewThis work would not be possible without the teachings of my Evolutionary Computation professor, Dr. Jason Yoder (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)2, original research by Craig Reynolds presented at the 1987 ACM SIGGRAPH conference1 and cool demos I found across the Internet3.4.5.6.7
Artwork & assets are credited to the PMD Sprite Collab project and its contributors8 as well as Crusenho's Complete UI Essentials Pack9
Made with ✨ whimsy by Anand Desai
Footnotes
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Reynolds, Craig. Boids. 1986. https://www.red3d.com/cwr/boids/. ↩ ↩2
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Yoder, Jason. Google Scholar Profile. Accessed April 3, 2025. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pC0cZWsAAAAJ&hl=en. ↩
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Lague, Sebastian. “Coding Adventure: Boids.” YouTube video, August 26, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqtqltqcQhw. ↩
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Eater, Ben. Boids Demo. April 27, 2020. https://eater.net/boids. ↩
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Adams, Van Hunter. “Boids Algorithm.” Accessed April 3, 2025. https://vanhunteradams.com/Pico/Animal_Movement/Boids-algorithm.html. ↩
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Martin, Brett M., Ryan D. Winz, Luke J. McFadden, and Tor J. Langehaug. Distributed Boids Simulation: Performance Analysis and Implementation Challenges. Air Force Institute of Technology. In Proceedings of the 2023 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI), 780–785. 2023. Accessed August 8, 2025. https://www.american-cse.org/csce2023-ieee/pdfs/CSCE2023-5LlpKs7cpb4k2UysbLCuOx/275900a780/275900a780.pdf. ↩
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Roberts, Eric. “Stanford: Modeling Natural Systems - Boids Algorithm.” Accessed April 3, 2025. https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/soco/projects/2008-09/modeling-natural-systems/boids.html. ↩
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Köpcke, Marco, audinowho et al. PMD Sprite Collab. GitHub.com. Accessed April 3, 2025. https://github.com/PMDCollab/SpriteCollab ↩
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Crusenho. Crusenho's Complete UI Essentials Pack. itch.io. Accessed April 3, 2025. https://crusenho.itch.io/complete-ui-essential-pack ↩
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