About Into the Thicket

What is Into the Thicket?

Short clip of Into the Thicket
Short clip of Into the Thicket

Into the Thicket is a forest simulation and zen-management game being made by me, Nick Camillo. It is the second, more ambitious iteration of an interactive art piece that I made in 2012.The grand plan is still in flux, but the overarching concept is to tend to the denizens of a unique, digital thicket as you grow a tree over a period of time. Sort of like a tamagotchi, except instead of looking after the health of a single creature, you're trying to optimize for the greater good of the ecosystem.

Click here to try any of the versions

What's in the game now?

Flora 🌳 🌱 🌲 🌿 ☘️

Grasses 🌾

  • grow on collision with sunlight
  • spread to nearby cells
  • provide food for ants

Mushrooms 🍄

  • grow in absence of light
  • eventually spread spores at maturity
  • provide food for Ants

Ivy 🍃

  • grow on collision with sunlight
  • spread to nearby cells
  • provide food for Ants

Moss :moss:

  • grow on collision with sunlight
  • cannot survive unless underneath obstacle

Flowers 🌼

  • grow on collision with sunlight
  • provide food for Ants
  • attract Bees

Fauna 🐛 🐝 🪲 🐸 🦆

Ants 🐜

  • seek food for their colony
  • provide food for Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers 🦗

  • seek food
  • keep Ant population in check

Bees 🐝

  • pollinate flowers

Flies 🪰

  • fly around near water

Slugs 🐌

  • eat everything
  • leave hydrating trail of slime

Obstacles 🥔 🍂

Rocks 🥔

  • block Ant line of sight and pathing
  • cause light to refract
  • reduces dehydration rate of cells underneath

Twigs 🍂

  • block Ant line of sight and pathing
  • cause light to refract
  • reduce dehydration rate of cells underneath

Systems 💦 🌞 ☁️

Light 🌞

  • Sun moves across the sky and emits light rays
  • provides light for photosynthesis
  • causes dehydration

Hydration :cloud_with_rain:

  • Streams and puddles provide constant hydration to adjacent cells
  • Cells evaporate water over time into the sky which creates clouds
  • Clouds rain on the world, providing hydration to cells underneath
  • Cells bleed hydration to adjacent dryer cells

What's next on the agenda?

Systems

Control

  • Player can control individual creatures to learn about their behavior

Fauna

Ants

  • defend their colony from other colonies
  • dispose of dead

Bees

  • bring pollen back to their hive

Flies

  • lay eggs in water

Frogs

  • catch flies and bees and ants