Swimbots: Free Evolution Sim Game for iPad by Linden Alum Jeffrey Ventrella, Ported by Karl "Qarl" Stiefvater

Swimbots is a free artificial life game for the iPad created by Jeffery Ventrella, a former Linden engineer who developed Second Life's much-beloved flexi-prims, and has been doing innovative work in avatar interaction before and since. The game is an iOS port of Ventrella's earlier game Gene Pool (read more about it here), "a virtual Darwinian Aquarium where you can witness evolution unfolding before your eyes." (Trailer after the break.) What's more, it was ported by fellow Linden alum Karl "Qarl" Stiefvater. Wish I owned an iPad to try it out myself, but if you do, you can -- get it here, and please share your gameplay experience in Comments.

Thanks to Aemeth Lysette for the tip! And speaking of iPad games, I'm writing a book on game design for iOS, Facebook, and the Web, so if you know of other projects on those platforms I might want to include (especially if they have an SL origin) please get in touch.

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Comments

[qarl]

Jeffery's genepool is quite literally profound.

these little mechanical beasts, with no brains at ALL, teach themselves how to swim via the power of evolution. give them enough time and they make themselves more and more aerodynamic - swim with the most efficient movements. some discover flapping, some discover slithering, most invent swimming techniques that no human could ever imagine.

and all of this comes from the smallest programming - eating, mating, and a little bit of underwater physics.

[Dizzy Banjo]

Ha I have this running on my iPad infront of me as I work .. creatures are just learning to swim.. oops I just killed one. Its great! Would be great if each one developed its own sounds / melody as it evolved.

[Hamlet Au]

I see a collaboration between Dizzy and Ventrella in the future. :)

[Marie Weaver]

Darwin's theory always amazed me by its unbelievable facts and evolution process. But it's true that only that life can survive who is fit to live there. I am enjoying this game and learning so many new things about how two creatures come across and evolves, how they fight for food and how they survive themselves from the other creatures.