Master Thesis Project

This is the project I made for my final disseration of the Master of Science in Computer Game Technologies at Abertay University (Dundee, UK).

The aim of this project is to study the dynamics of a simple predator-prey ecosystem composed of carnivores (red cubes) and herbivores (blue cubes). Specifically, the goal is to determine whether it is possible to achieve a stable ecosystem (as described by the Lotka-Volterra model) through the use of an hybrid Fuzzy Logic - Genetic Algorithm architecture.

To better balance the populations dynamics, two safe zones have been introduced. Represented by the red and blue area, they represent two zones in the world where only predators and prey respectively are allowed to enter, and reproduce without risk of predation from the other species.

The study produces a promising framework for the simulation and examination of population dynamics and interactions. Although the project achieves its goal of developing a predator-prey ecosystem with realistic interactions, the use of this model in a videogame environment is discouraged unless the project requires the development of a mathematically accurate habitat simulation. In general, it is safe to say that the Lotka-Volterra model is too unstable, as it does not take into account all the random factors that could unbalance the simulation.Furthermore, the Genetic Algorithm causes the predator-prey populations to evolve too efficiently, causing one of the population to die, and therefore a failure of the system. More informations on the project and the results is described in my Thesis Dissertation.

Still, the simulation itself is a interesting tool to carry out experiment regarding predator-prey simulations.

- Controls:

• WASD -----> moveposition of the camera
• Mouse right click + Mouse movement ---------> Look around with the camera