TECHNOSPHEREby: Jane Prophet, Gordon Selley, and Mark Hurry
TechnoSphere is a 3D simulation of an environment populated by virtual creatures that are either carnivores or herbivores. They chase or evade each other, eat, grow, mate and produce offspring that are variants of the parents - babies can sometimes be seen near the adults. Users create their own creatures; after the creatures are released into TechnoSphere, users can look at the view through their eyes as they roam around. The mix of body parts determines each creature's fitness for survival. TechnoSphere uses an artificial life program whose complex rules determine the activity of the virtual ecosystem. As well as modeling simple evolution, the piece provokes questions about artificial life and virtual beings. Each creature's behavior is slightly different, and is affected by chance interactions between it, its environment and other creatures. General behavior patterns may emerge, but it is difficult to predict what will happen from moment to moment. Each creature will however eventually die. TechnoSphere III was commissioned by the National Musuem of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford UK, as a permanent installation for their WiredWorlds Gallery.
