Starlings — a flock at dusk

At sunset, before they settle in the reeds for the night, starlings gather by the thousand and fly as one: the cloud stretches into ribbons, folds into balls, ripples with dark waves. Nobody leads it. Starlings recreates that sky: every bird only watches its seven nearest neighbours, in three dimensions, and the great moving shapes emerge on their own.

How to play

Tap the sky to scare the birds near your finger: they bank away, their neighbours bank a moment later, and a wave of fear sweeps through the flock like a dark shiver. Drag across the sky to become the falcon: the flock tears open in front of you and closes again behind. The toolbar changes the sky (dusk, dawn, storm) and the size of the flock, and releases a hawk that hunts on its own.

Why it's satisfying

Three local rules, separation, alignment and cohesion, are enough to produce a shape that looks choreographed. Because the flock is a thin sheet turning in depth, it darkens where you see it edge-on and thins out where it faces you: the same play of density that makes real murmurations so hypnotic. Each tap sends a ripple you can follow from one end of the cloud to the other.

About

Starlings is part of Alcy, thirty-four free contemplative micro-games on the web. Other flocks and swarms: Murmuration, Fireflies, Orchard.