Tag Bots
Agent Algorithm
If a tag agent is "it", he will try to touch whichever non-"it" agent is closest to him. When that contact is made, the agent he touched is "it". If a tag agent is not "it", he will not accelerate unless he sees an agent that is "it", in which case the non-"it" agent will accelerate away from the agent that is "it". Additionally, when an agent is tagged "it", its maximum speed decreases by 20% (the speed is restored upon losing "it" status) and it must wait 10 time cycles before accelerating; this is to prevent two agents getting locked together repeatedly tagging one another.
Pseudocode
if there are visibleAgents
distanceToClosestOpp = infinity
for all visibleAgents
if visibleAgent.it != it
if distanceTo(visibleAgent) < distanceToClosestOpp
closestOpponent = visibleAgent
distanceToClosestOpp = distanceTo(visibleAgent)
if(it)
accelerate towards closestOpponent
else
accelerate away from closestOpponent
else
set acceleration to zero
Observed Behavior
As predicted, the observed behavior is much like that of children on a playground playing the same game.
If the Agent Sight is set low, the behavior resembles that of random particles. If the agents can see far, then they tend to crowd along the walls and in the corners cowering away from the "it" agents, much like you would imagine zebras in a cage doing if you introduced a lion to the cage. If you have a lot of agents, this "crowding in the corners" pattern is much more pronounced.