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Description: 
AGENTSHEETS allows you to build interactive simulations for the web. Agents can be programmed to do things like react to the mouse or other agents, speak, read web pages or play videos. Workspaces contain Agents that can interact with each other, play games and re-package information gathered from the web. Ristretto turns AgentSheets simulations into interactive Java applets. My 9 year old son designed a simple Pokemon simulation, and we built it together. It included as Agents several Pokemon characters and a Pokeball. The characters and ball moved randomly at different rates on the background. When one of the characters ended up next to a Pokeball it would say its name and the Pokeball would say 'Pokemon'. It took about a half hour to program (although I did spend a couple of hours the previous day trying out AgentSheets). Start a new project with File/New Project. Choose Gallery/New Agent to create a new agent. Draw the agent or use 'Grab screen' to copy an image anywhere on your computer screen - for example, this could be an icon or an image downloaded from the web. We used a web graphic to create a background of Pokemon balls and used Pokemon icons for the Agents' appearances. For each of the Agents, define its Behavior in terms of Conditions and Rules. This is done by simply dragging them from Conditions and Rules windows onto the Agent's Behavior window. To have the Agent move randomly every 5 seconds, pick the condition 'Every 2.0 seconds', and change the number to 5, then set the Action to 'Move randomly on' the background. A rule can be tested on an individual Agent to check its effect. It took us a while to work out how to delete rule mistakes - there is a tiny trash icon in the right bottom corner of the Behavior window. Conditions that can be used to define rules for Agent's behaviors include:
Actions that can be used in Behavior rules include:
There are also triggers for behaviors, the one most common being 'While running' (when the simulation is active). Others include mouse movement and Workspace tools whose effect can be programmed. Test the behaviors that you create on Agents in the worksheet at any time (by dragging the Behavior Rule onto the Agent) or run the simulation to see how all the Agents interact. Don't forget to compile the Agent's behavior before running the simulation - this happens when you close the Behavior window. The hardest part of my son's simulation was in spelling the spoken words phonetically so that they sounded right! A very good way to learn about the AgentSheets environment is to play with existing projects (you are also encouraged to share any that you create). Showcase projects include: Bridge Builder - remove bricks without collapsing the bridge Fish Tank - keep a fish tank without the mess Electric World - a circuit simulator for electric and magnetic flow How fast does Ice melt? - a simulation with different ice cubes To interact with showcase projects, for detailed AgentSheets documentation (including more simulation examples like Pacman), or to exchange agents with users around the world, look at User's Forum. Applet generation is very simple - just press the Ristretto button when your simulation is complete. An applet is generated, along with sample html code to run it. I had difficulty running some of the applets on my browser. This is a powerful tool for kids and adults to program web simulations. The learning curve is fairly short and the drag and drop interface makes it fast and easy to experiment with Agent behaviors. It allows the programmer to pay attention to how Agents should look and behave, rather than focussing on details. The Behavior exchange allows you to build on the work of others and create a complex simulation quickly. The download (works for 30 days) lets you run and inspect any existing AgentSheets projects and build new projects with up to 4 agents. My son is very intrigued by AgentSheets. He's having fun working on his Pokemon simulation and is learning about programming along the way! Download Details Requires: Filename: AS1_4_PPC.hqx, AS1_4_68k.hqx Filesize: 6.5 Mb Download Sites: [ HELP! I can't download! ] |  |
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