Inspired by Conway’s Game of Life, A Sound Herd is a world of autonomous sound creatures that live by a set of rules, established by me. The video below is an excerpt of a herd. (note: you must have decent headphones or speakers to pick up the bass sounds).

How It Works:

A world begins with a few creatures in place. A creature has two objectives in life: reproduce, and eat. Each creature has a set of attributes given to them when they are born:
-their sound (a note, derived from the phrygian mode in key E)
-color (corresponds to their sound)
-age (affects the duration of a note)
-expected life span
-speed (affects their ability to seek out food)
-size (the volume of their projected note)

Sound:
There are five actions that make creatures emit a sound, each sound played in a different voice:
-Birth (play their note +2 octaves)
-Death (a lengthy note)
-Reproduction (plays their note +1 octave)
-Eating
-Heartbeat (a regular tone to state their presence)

Additional Rules:
-The herd self regulates and doesn’t allow breeding if they are too large.
-Any two creatures may reproduce except for two cases: they have already reproduced together or they have a parent/child relationship
-A creature can only have two babies.
-When they aren’t looking for food, they are just exploring the space
-When a creature is infertile (either too young or has already had two babies) it is a solid color. Otherwise, they flicker colors.
-When they eat food, they are able to live longer.