Behavioral Animation

Like "particle systems", "behavioral animation" is another vague term which refers to a number of techniques. Also like particle systems, behavioral animation is used to control the motion of many objects "automatically". The primary difference is in the objects being animated. Instead of simply procedurally controlling the position of tiny primitives, motion is generated for "actors" with orientations, "current state", and interactions.

Behavioral animation has been used to animate flocks, schools, herds, and crowds. All of these require interaction between a large number of "characters" with relatively simple, rule-based motion. Fabric can also be simulated using behavioral techniques.

Example 1: single beast, static object repulses, food attracts
Code - Movie

Example 2: multiple beasts, repulse plus center attract
Code - Movie

Example 3: multiple beasts, repulse, center attract, turn limits
Code - Movie

Example 4: same as 3, plus stochastic elements
Code - Movie

Example 5: dynamic target (simple flock/herd/school)
Code - Movie

Example 6: tag -> beasts with dynamic state
Code - Movie

The particle system example has been modified below to handle the orientation of the actors, as well as the interactions between them:

Source Code


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