A browser-based evolutionary simulation with emergent behavior
I’ve been working on a browser-based evolutionary simulation as a personal experiment. Organisms adapt to environmental pressure over time, and there are no explicit goals or scoring, the system is open-ended and runs continuously. I built this mainly to challenge myself and to explore how to surface simulation behavior and statistics in a way that stays readable rather than overwhelming. As a side effect, it’s also something my kids enjoys watching run. Curious what resonates and what doesn’t, and happy to answer questions about the design or tradeoffs.
Does the same job
all alternatives →- DADarwinio: An Attempt at an Evolution Simulator2023 · github.com · ▲5
We made this for our school project. I think we went a little too ambitious.
- AGA Genetic Algorithm I wrote in JavaScript to evolve "Hello World"2010 · puremango.co.uk · ▲109
- TATeaching a Dinosaur to Jump: Rust, WebAssembly, and Neural Evolution2025 · fulgidus.github.io · ▲8
What began as a lightweight programming experiment quickly transformed into a deeply engaging technical exploration into the realms of neuroevolution, game physics, and browser-based simulation. My original goal was modest: replicate the "Chrome Dino" game using a performant and modern web stack. However, the project evolved far beyond expectations. The twist? I wanted the dinosaur to teach itself to jump.
- AUA US Evolution Simulator2022 · us-evolution-simulator.andrew.gr · ▲7
- MAMulti-Agent Market Simulator for Studying Emergent Trading Dynamics2025 · aitradingsim.com · ▲7
I built this simulator to study how simple trading agents interacting with an order book can create emergent patterns—volatility, clustering, even chaos—without any external shocks. It’s meant as both a research toy and teaching tool. You can run different strategies, adjust configs, and watch dynamics evolve. Curious to hear feedback from the HN crowd on features/dynamics you’d like to see added.
More life & fun this month
the category →- TL
Life & fun · 10d ago · louisabraham.github.io
Photosynthesis fires two of your iPhone
Life & fun · 28d ago · photosynthesis.camera
SoloUno▲310Take control of hair pulling, nail biting & skin picking
Life & fun · 28d ago · solouno.io
Scroll through all 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 reachable Rubik's Cube permutations.
Life & fun · 26d ago · everycube.alen.is
Hi HN, I built Eigendrum, a web tool that solves the 2D wave equation for arbitrary shapes so you can hear what they sound like as drums. How it works: * Solves -∇²u = λu using finite element analysis (Kφ = λMφ) on a triangle mesh. * Validated to <0.1% error against closed-form solutions for circles (Bessel zeros) and rectangles. * Sound model factors in strike location, Rayleigh damping, and mallet width. * Includes Kac drums I & II to demonstrate identical sound spectra from different geometries. * No frameworks, build steps, or dependencies. Repo and tests:…
Life & fun · 27d ago · baselashraf81.github.io
Launched alongside, January 2026
the whole month →- IN
Hey HN! I wanted to share something I built over the last few weeks: isometric.nyc is a massive isometric pixel art map of NYC, built with nano banana and coding agents. I didn't write a single line of code. Of course no-code doesn't mean no-engineering. This project took a lot more manual labor than I'd hoped! I wrote a deep dive on the workflow and some thoughts about the future of AI coding and creativity: http://cannoneyed.com/projects/isometric-nyc
AI · Jan 2026 · cannoneyed.com
Automatic AI-powered code reviews the moment you open a PR
Dev tools · Jan 2026 · kilo.ai
