Developing permaculture simulation game

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by Veganarchy, Jul 10, 2011.

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Developing permaculture simulation game

  1. play it for entertainment

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  2. use it as an experimental/design tool

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  3. use it as an educational tool for children

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  4. use it as an educational tool for myself (and/or friends)

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  5. use it as an educational tool for my adult students/clients

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  6. use it to share my experiences with the world/future generations (in a reusable database)

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  7. use it to lookup specific information like plant traits and proven techniques

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  8. I wouldn't use it, because I prefer real life

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  9. I wouldn't use it, because I have to/want to use my current methods/tools

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  10. I wouldn't use it, because I'm not that interested in gardening/permaculture

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Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Veganarchy

    Veganarchy New Member

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    I recently started working on a game to simulate the challenges and techniques of permaculture and also a bit about sustainability and self-sufficiency.

    The game will also be usable as a serious tool for designing, experimenting and educating, and be useful for cooks and dietists.

    It is platform-independent, free and open source.

    It will simulate:
    - growth and individual components of plants, with detailed environmental interactions
    - beauty of nature in 3d, animation based on wind etc. (later on also sound)
    - insects/animals/fish in a bit less detail (at least for now)
    - human needs and desires on the psychological and physical level (especially nutrition)
    - chemicals and physics/geography (water density/flow, soil composition, erosion, wind, sunlight, etc.)

    There will be different game modes, based on elements taken from The Sims, SimCity, Age of Empires, FarmVille, Spore and Second Life.

    I know the information that will have to be put into it is overwhelming. My solution for this is "crowd-sourcing" and an adapted version of a knowledge database that I developed a couple of years ago as my BSc project.

    It means that any user can easily add information within the game without being a computer expert, and this knowledge will then be automatically available to (and reviewable by) all other users of the game/tool. It's like wikipedia except mostly graphical and formalized.

    The graphics and sound will be generated by algorithms like L-systems, which further reduces development time and increases realism.

    It will also incorporate a bit of randomness, to simulate the challenge of dealing with unknown species, new varieties and yet unknown inter-species interactions.

    In the beginning the game will be too simple for permaculture design, but still inspirational and fun to play. If enough people with permaculture experience join and add their experiences, the game will become more realistic over time. This also means that the game will never really work the same; this is quite a new element in gaming that I hope will further promote the use by people (especially children!) who never heard of permaculture and take supermarkets for granted.

    Virtualization of permaculture creates some interesting abilities:
    - rapid design, experimentation, sharing and education
    - no costs, no limits
    - ability to go back in time and do something different, then go back to current time and see the results
    - re-simulate an earlier design, with the system now having updated, more realistic knowledge
    - create beautiful graphics and movies
    - let the computer help you with getting the nutritional value you want out of the garden, and with seasonal/daily planning
    - export specific information from the database to put in graphs for research and presentations
    - more competitiveness (in a good way): multiple people could for instance start with the exact same seeded garden and conditions, and then see later who used the most effective and efficient methods
    - ability to bend the rules of nature a bit, just for fun and artistic creativity
    - automatically share the outcome of the simulation with the community, to for instance get a list of (newly invented) successful techniques and guilds
    - avoid potential negative effects that an artificial garden and newly introduced species can have on the environment

    Please feel free to share your opinion and ideas here. Don't forget to fill in the poll.

    Obviously everyone is welcome to test the game and add information once the first alpha version comes out, which I expect in 6-8 weeks or so (I work full-time on this). The project is managed at:

    https://sourceforge.net/projects/permasim/
     
  2. Pakanohida

    Pakanohida Junior Member

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    GOOD LUCK!! :D :clap:
     
  3. Lumbuck Thornton

    Lumbuck Thornton Junior Member

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    One game might be like a "Permaculture Monopoly" where pretty much everything is worked out by throw of the dice and then you decide whether to buy the plant or not. You get to pick up "chances" that could be positive or negative. When other players throw the dice they might land on your plants and you get to "sting" them for some "fruit".

    Maybe instead of the "Bank" you have a barter system or a different form of currency that things equate to.

    I think you have hit on something here. When designing an electronic graphic game it is important to get into the details and the science and this can be done to many different levels. Permi has lots of permutations - maybe getting to chose from a selection of the most obvious ones might help. This might start off as a game but I suspect it could be the ideal tool to then move on to more advanced designs by running simulations and models. I am sure some really interesting designs will flow from it.
     
  4. Lumbuck Thornton

    Lumbuck Thornton Junior Member

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    I reckon you might loose some people in the first line about "simulating self sufficiency" - many people percieve this as hard work and alternative.

    Maybe marketing it as "How to play the most important game in the world - a game that might as well be real between you and life - where the player gets to find out whether humans can survive on this planet for much longer by being smart with what they plant and how they manage it. You are what you eat. There are others in the world that are not being responsible in the world about where and how they source your food - this game lets you take it into your own hands. This game sets the example for what humans could be like if they really tried and it is a game I hope most of the players can win and get to succeed at otherwise our planet is in trouble....
     
  5. Lumbuck Thornton

    Lumbuck Thornton Junior Member

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    If you want a theme or challenge to set as part of the game then this might be an option....

    https://forums.permaculture.org.au/...ng-and-Distorting-the-Zones&highlight=lumbuck

    I guess I am encouraging permaculture to go beyond being just a food supply and mind and body challenge but also an environment in which to relax and exist - an atmosphere.
    I think we need to come up with some new types of shelter structures to spend more time close to plants but in a modern, comfortable and safe existance.
     
  6. Lumbuck Thornton

    Lumbuck Thornton Junior Member

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  7. Wolf_rt

    Wolf_rt Junior Member

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    I selected entertainment, though i would use it as a design tool, once i was comfortable the 'game' was sufficiently deep.

    Very nice idea, though i feel you're going to have issues balancing it, especially if the connections/relationships rely on user input.

    Having said that, having a program that could help with companion planting effects/negative effects, and area of these effects, would be a godsend.

    Super glad to see this is an open source project..
     
  8. S.O.P

    S.O.P Moderator

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    So, for non-techies, how can someone be involved with this project?
     
  9. MrAdventure

    MrAdventure New Member

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    Hi there,

    Is this project still progressing? I'm looking on Source Forge and not seeing any updates this year.

    Since it's not looking like it, I'll post mine and hope I'm not hijacking if your project is still going. I have a Permaculture sim I'm working on now as well. You can find it at https://www.eco-villa.com

    That site is mostly a developer site. There is a version of the game on there, but it's very basic. There is a lot of work to do before it becomes fun. I am now at a point where I can accept volunteer help, I have a source control server set up, legal junk out of the way, etc.

    I have put thousands of dollars into assets from the Unity Asset Store, so we are developing very little new systems and instead modifying and integrating existing ones.

    As opposed to yours, this is intended as a commercial project because I would like to be able to build giant domes later on.

    Please take a look at the website and see if you would like to contribute to a fun game that teaches Permaculture could save the world.

    Take care,

    Victor
     

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