What is 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 🌱
- 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 🌧
- 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