Vendian is an artificial life simulator. The creatures are simple Lisp programs competing for food and reproduction. [more]
The world is full of food, represented by green pixels. Brighter green means more food. Vendians eat food to gain energy, and if they collect enough, they can reproduce. A simple creature might be:
(if (> (food-here) 0) (begin (eat) (if (> (my-energy) 700) (fork 30) nil)) (if (> (food-ahead) 0) (move) (turn-random)))
Move toward food, eat it, reproduce when fat enough. When a creature forks, its code is copied to the offspring — but with errors. Parameters change, expressions get duplicated or deleted, random code appears. Mostly this kills the offspring. Sometimes it creates something better.
Color indicates genetic lineage — similar colors share ancestry. Gray cells are obstacles.
Controls: Drag to pan • Scroll to zoom • Click creature to inspect • Space to pause
The early bird who catches the worm works for someone who comes in late and owns the worm farm.