All About Primordial Life 2.0

by Jason Spofford

The Environment

Primordial Life 2.0 creates a rectangular environment containing biots which struggle for survival within its borders. The environment provides a constant light source which biots with green can absorb and turn into chemical energy. The amount of energy a biot can absorb from the environment is directly related to the total length of green lines. Green lines are the only method a biot can extract energy from the environment. The environment continuely mixes biots up, causing them to collide more or less randomly. It is these collisions that allow for biots to interact.

Red Predators

Biots with red lines are considered predators. The strength of a biot predator is determined by the total length of red lines. The more red, the more damage it can inflict on blue or other red biots. The more red, the more energy it can steal from green biots. You'll see green biots turn yellow when they are successfully attacked. Red lines cost energy to maintain. If too many biots are red, the amount of energy lost in collisions reduces the number of biots supportable by the environment. In general, red on red collisions are the most expensive.

Blue Defenders

Biots with blue lines have shields with which to defend themselves. The strength of a biot defender is determined by the total length of blue lines. The more blue, the more strongly it can defend itself against red biots. Blue biots can not steal energy from green biots. During a red on blue collision, when all else is equal, biots with blue suffer half as much damage as their red counter parts.

White Injectors

When sexual reproduction is enabled, and a biot reaches maturity, some of its green lines may turn white (as prescribed in its genetic code). If a white line touches another biot anywhere, a copy of that biots genetic code is injected into the other biot. Now, when the other biot gives birth, it will use a random selection of the foreign genetic code, as well as its own to produce children. The last biot to inject its genes into another biot before it gives birth is the "father." In this manner, evolution by crossover is supported. In fact, with a sufficiently large population, you can turn off mutations altogether and watch your biots evolve with crossover alone (be sure to use sexual reproduction only).

The Genetic Code

All biots have a fixed length genetic code. There are 64 genes in total. Each gene describes a lines color, orientation and length. Certain genes have special meaning detailing how many lines a biot has, its symmetry, whether it has mirrored or radial symmetry, how many children it should have and whether or not it should disperse its children after they are born.

Reproduction

Biots can reproduce by sexual or asexual means. You can allow the two methods to compete with one another, or select just one. As mentioned previously, sexual reproduction requires fertilization as well as energy. With both methods of reproduction, their is a small chance that certain genes will suffer a mutation. These mutations may help, or hinder their children. Mass extinction is always a possibility.