Games from Nothing: Black & White Exercise #3 — Atoms

When I started making this game, I decided to start by coding three circles which each had three circles rotating around them (using translations). I wanted the movement and position of the circles to remind the player of the “Twist” rides you find at carnivals and amusement parks. When I coded those circles, I realized that they kind of resembled atoms – the three center circles were nuclei, and the rotating circles were atoms. I decided to abandon my former idea in favor of creating a basic animated atom. This was the result:

Screen Shot 2014-12-08 at 7.25.10 AM

The “electrons” circle their nuclei using a circular motion code. To make it appear as though the atoms are whirring slightly, the nuclei slowly move around the screen using a random motion code. I decided to make the objects more obviously reference atoms by adding slightly transparent strokes around the center, which makes the electrons’ paths easier to follow. I think that I’m satisfied with the assignment because I accomplished what I set out to do, but I keep getting the nagging feeling that it’s missing something…

Author: Annie Flynn