This post is part of a series:

Previously: Visualization 1 Next: Visualization 3

This visualization builds on the previous. Structurally the cartesian grid has been turned into an isometric one, but this is more of an environmental change than a behavioral one.

Behavioral changes which were made:

When a live point is deciding its next spawn points, it first sorts the set of empty adjacent points from closest-to-the-center to farthest. It then chooses a number n between 0 to N (where N is the sorted set’s size) and spawns new points from the first n points of the sorted set. n is chosen based on: The live point’s linear distance from the center. A random multiplier.

Each point is spawned with an attached color, where the color chosen is a slightly different hue than its parent. The change is deterministic, so all child points of the same generation have the same color.

The second change is purely cosmetic, but does create a mesmerizing effect. The first change alters the behavior dramatically. Only the points which compete for the center are able to reproduce, but by the same token are more likely to be starved out by other points doing the same.

In the previous visualization the points moved around in groups aimlessly. Now the groups are all competing for the same thing, the center. As a result they congregate and are able to be viewed as a larger whole.

The constant churn of the whole takes many forms, from a spiral in the center, to waves crashing against each other, to outright chaos, to random purges of nearly all points. Each form lasts for only a few seconds before giving way to another.