A real-time artificial-life simulation that runs entirely in the browser. Creatures live on procedurally generated terrain, hunt for food, reproduce, and pass on heritable traits — so foraging, clustering, and boom-and-bust population cycles emerge on their own instead of being scripted. Built with TypeScript and rendered with PixiJS (WebGL).
Status: experimental and a work in progress. Fun to watch and tinker with, but behaviors and internals are still changing.
- Creatures carry heritable traits that drift over generations through reproduction and selection
- Procedural terrain (grassland, forest, water) shapes where food grows and how creatures move
- Emergent behavior — foraging, clustering, predator/prey population swings — arises from simple per-creature rules, not global scripting
- Real-time PixiJS/WebGL rendering with a pannable, zoomable camera and a live minimap
- Live HUD with per-species counts, generation, and a population graph; spawn and paint tools for tinkering with the world
TypeScript, Vite, and PixiJS. The simulation runs in a Web Worker so rendering stays smooth. The source is split into focused modules under src/:
sim— the simulation engine: creatures, evolution, terrain, and the update looprender— PixiJS renderingui— on-screen controls and readoutsaudio— sound feedback
Requires Node.js 18 or newer.
git clone https://github.com/HouseofTyrell/EcosystemSimulator.git
cd EcosystemSimulator
npm install
npm run devThen open the local URL Vite prints (usually http://localhost:5173).
To build and preview a production bundle:
npm run build
npm run previewI wanted to see how far simple, local rules could go toward producing lifelike behavior. No global choreography — just creatures reacting to their surroundings, and watching the ecosystem find its own balance or fall out of it.
MIT — see LICENSE.