Assignment 8 – Afra Binjerais

Concept

My concept is inspired by fireworks. I wanted to explore how this week’s vehicle demonstrations could be transformed into something more artistic, which I initially found challenging. When I first think of vehicles, I usually imagine something literal like cars, so it took some time to shift my thinking toward a more abstract approach. I used the flow field example from class as a starting point and built on it to create a system that feels more expressive.

A highlight of some code 

behaviors(flow) {
// explode outward first
this.seek(this.target);

// soften near destination
this.arrive(this.target);

// drift like smoke/wind after burst
if (this.life < 55) {
this.follow(flow);
}
}

seek(t) {
let desired = p5.Vector.sub(t, this.pos);
desired.setMag(this.maxSpeed);

let steering = p5.Vector.sub(desired, this.vel);
steering.limit(this.maxForce);

this.applyForce(steering);
}

arrive(t) {
let desired = p5.Vector.sub(t, this.pos);
let d = desired.mag();

if (d < 60) {
let m = map(d, 0, 60, 0, this.maxSpeed);
desired.setMag(m);
} else {
desired.setMag(this.maxSpeed);
}

let steering = p5.Vector.sub(desired, this.vel);
steering.limit(this.maxForce * 0.8);

this.applyForce(steering);
}

follow(flow) {
let desired = flow.lookup(this.pos);
desired.setMag(this.maxSpeed * 0.7);

let steering = p5.Vector.sub(desired, this.vel);
steering.limit(this.maxForce * 0.6);

this.applyForce(steering);
}

This is the part I’m most proud of because it is where the vehicles stop being just particles and start behaving like fireworks. Instead of using only one steering behavior, I combined three different ones so each particle goes through stages of motion.

First, seek() pushes each vehicle outward toward its explosion target, which creates the initial burst. Then arrive() slows the particle as it gets closer to that target, so the explosion doesn’t feel too mechanical or constant. After that, once the particle’s life drops below a certain point, follow() lets it drift with the flow field, which makes it look more like smoke or sparks being carried by air.

Sketch

Milestones 

• I combined the flow field with a basic explosion system. Vehicles are created at a point and use seek to move outward, while still being influenced by the flow field. The visualization is simple to focus on the behavior before adding artistic styling.https://youtu.be/0gokb2LBqo0
• I added arrival behavior, particle lifespan, and fading trails so the explosion becomes more natural and starts to resemble fireworks instead of just moving points.

https://youtube.com/shorts/n8gWaY6BZCA?feature=share

Reflection and ideas for future work or improvements

This assignment made me think about vehicles in a different way, because when I first hear “vehicle,” I usually imagine something literal like cars and that’s why it was hard at first to think of a concept. I used vehicles as abstract moving particles to create a firework system, which helped me see them more as agents following rules rather than physical objects. I was able to build motion that feels more expressive and dynamic. In the future, I would like to push this idea further by adding more variation in the explosions and refining the overall visual style.