JonathanRyan.org

I read XKCD, a brilliant web comic, regularly. Recently I decided to write a simple simulation based on one of his older comics. Here is an excerpt showing exactly what I simulated:

I threw the simulation together in JavaScript rather quickly, so it isn’t at all elegant and nice looking. However, it is still a lot of fun to play with. Your character runs towards the mouse, and the simulation stops when you are caught. Refresh with F5 to start again.

Version 1 has momentum, and feels strange to control. It is possible to get the raptors to constantly circle around you, since they can’t turn fast enough once to get you they are up to speed.

Version 2 has much more agile raptors. They can turn and stop instantly, but still need to accelerate to get to speed in a new direction. This one proves for certain that RAPTORS ARE SCARY! My best time so far is 2.8 seconds.

Eventually, I would love to implement a version with floorplans using the rules from the last problem in the linked comic, but I doubt I’ll get around to playing with that for a long time.