In Second Life, users trade goods through a basic permission system that involves copying, transferring, and modifying items. However, it was challenging to create self-replicating objects that couldn't be cloned by users.
The goal was to develop a method for automatic and secure data/object transfer between an object and its copies, laying the groundwork for the creation of lifelike creatures.
- Introduced a novel technique for breeding 'curious chickens'.
- Equipped lifeforms with AI for complex behaviour to enhance user/object interaction.
- Developed pathfinding algorithms for 3D environment navigation.
- Implemented 'genetic traits' inheritance to engage collectors and breeders.
- Mimicked natural ecosystem: Lifeforms require user-provided food and care.
The project sparked a boom, followed by 26 teams, creating the still-thriving 'Breedables' market.
An additional product simulating corn cultivation with randomly iterative growth algorithms. The harvested corn feeds the sionChickens.
Linden Labs / Second Life nominated sionChicken for the 2010 Linden Prize. Users bred and auctioned unique varieties, positively impacting the SL economy.
Limitations of the Second Life scripting language LSL, exclusive owner rights, and the mysterious proliferation of products in SL presented obstacles. These limitations led to the development of sionLife.
The continuation project 'sionLife' (not included in this repository ) had the following features:
- Integrated artificial intelligence and 3D pathfinding for realistic creature behavior.
- Developed a complex reproductive system echoing natural genetics.
- The use of dynamic 3D mesh generation algorithms accurate visuals.
- Incorporated a 3D printing feature through i.Materialize for tangible virtual creations.
- Stimulated the ecosystem by providing an auction system for lifeforms.
- Utilized Google App Engine (Java) cloud services for effective scalability.
More about sionLife can be found here.
- O'ReillyTV, "THE PLIGHT OF THE DIGITAL CHICKEN by Patrick Davison"
- New World Notes, "Virtual Chickens (Briefly) Added 60K Paying Users To Second Life's Economy"
- 2010 Linden Prize Finalist: SionChicken
The play guide for the sionChicken Project can be found here.
sionChicken © 2009 by Richard Bogad is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ or CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The code for the latest version v12 of the sionChicken Project can be found here.