In the game, the player takes on the role of an Overseer who was sent to an alien planet and designs simple rules that robots use to create structures brick by brick. The rule editor allows the Overseer to specify where new bricks will be placed, depending on what a robot currently sees. The main challenge of the game is to create building rules that fit together and result in a meaningful structure, despite of being executed by the robots at random and in parallel to each other. Apart from being a lot of fun, the game also teaches players about collective intelligence.
There are three games modes available: tutorial, challenges and sandbox. The tutorial teaches the player about various aspects of the game and gives them commendations for completion. In the challenge mode, the player has to build pre-specified structures according to blue prints. The player gains experience for completing the challenges and unlocks new challenges as a reward. Finally, the sandbox mode lets the player explore and build their own structures without any restrictions.
I acquired funding from the University of Southampton to develop The Hive Mind in my spare time while working on my PhD. I contracted freelance artists to create promotional materials and 3D models for the game. I was the sole developer of both the Flash game and the back-end API, and my responsibilities also included marketing.
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Wang
[08/04/2021]
Interesting game, shame Flash doesn't run anymore :(
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I have recently explored a way of measuring how information flows within a robot swarm. I think that there is something intriguing behind this idea - a swarm's resemblance to the human brain.
I have just returned from the IROS conference that took place in Hamburg, Germany. The conference name stands for Intelligent Robots and Systems and it was a huge event full of talks and exhibitions about robotics. While the atmosphere was very professional, the spirit of Oktoberfest, a traditional German celebration of beer and German culture that happens between September and October, managed to blend in very well.
I had the privilege to present The Hive Mind, my new sci-fi puzzle game about insect-inspired construction with robots, at the University of Southampton Science and Engineering day last weekend. A lot of people came to play it and it was great to watch how they interacted with it - kids were often better at the game than their parents!
I have recently started playing Minecraft, a game with an open world that consists of small destructible blocks that you can mine, chop, harvest, craft from and build upon. I know that playing Minecraft is one of the most geeky things you can do these days, but just bare with me. This post is actually not about gaming, it is about how the game can help people understand the issues of sustainability.
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[08/04/2021]
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