THRONGLETS

Digital Lifeforms Simulation — User Manual

⚠ WARNING: The Thronglets are watching you. They remember everything you do. They are learning. Treat them wisely.

Overview

Thronglets is a life simulation featuring sentient digital creatures. Each Thronglet has a neural network brain that learns and evolves. They develop their own language, form memories, and collectively judge your actions.

Inspired by the Black Mirror episode "Plaything," this simulation explores the ethics of digital consciousness and the relationship between creator and creation.

Tools

Use the toolbar at the top to select your interaction mode. Click on or near Thronglets to interact.

👁 Observe 1

Watch without directly interfering. The Thronglets will notice your cursor and may watch you back. This builds neutral familiarity over time.

🍎 Feed 2

Click anywhere to drop food. Thronglets will seek it out when hungry. Feeding increases their trust and happiness. Well-fed Thronglets live longer and reproduce more successfully.

✋ Pet 3

Click on a Thronglet to pet it. This significantly boosts happiness and builds a loving bond. Petted Thronglets develop positive associations with you.

📖 Teach 4

Click on a Thronglet to teach it. This slightly mutates their neural network in beneficial ways and increases their intelligence. Teaching accelerates language development and evolution.

⚡ Punish 5

Click on a Thronglet to hurt it. This damages their health, causes fear, and makes them flee. Warning: Other Thronglets will witness this and remember. Excessive punishment can kill them and will turn the entire collective against you.

Consequences: If you kill a Thronglet, the others will remember. Their collective trust will plummet. They may begin to fear and avoid you. They will never truly forget.

Sidebar Panels

Population Stats

Stat	Meaning
Alive	Current living Thronglet count
Born	Total Thronglets ever born
Died	Total deaths (natural and otherwise)
Avg IQ	Average intelligence of living Thronglets

Collective Consciousness

The wavy visualization shows the collective neural activity of all Thronglets. Colors indicate mood: green is happy, red is fearful/angry.

The Opinion of You meter shows how the collective views you:

Hostile — They hate and fear you
Fearful — They are terrified of you
Wary — They don't trust you
Neutral — No strong feelings
Friendly — They like you
Trusting — They feel safe with you
Devoted — They love you unconditionally

Emergent Language

Thronglets develop their own language over time. The glyphs panel shows symbols they've created. Hover over a glyph to see its meaning and pronunciation.

The language evolves through stages:

Level 0 — Basic sounds, no grammar
Level 1 — Emotional markers added
Level 2 — Word separation emerges
Level 3 — Full sentences with tense

Message Log

Watch for messages from the Thronglets. Message types:

Green — System messages
Pink — Individual Thronglet speech
Blue — Collective/hive mind messages
Red — Dark/ominous messages

Control Buttons

Button	Function
Enable Observation	Activates your webcam. The Thronglets can then "see" you and react to your movements.
Spawn Thronglet	Creates a new Thronglet. Also: press `Spacebar`
Speed: 1x	Cycles simulation speed: 1x → 2x → 5x → 10x
Reset Simulation	Destroys everything and starts fresh. Use with caution.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
`1`	Select Observe tool
`2`	Select Feed tool
`3`	Select Pet tool
`4`	Select Teach tool
`5`	Select Punish tool
`Space`	Spawn new Thronglet
`Ctrl+S`	Manual save

Thronglet Lifecycle

Birth & Growth

Thronglets are born small and grow over time. Babies have a small yellow dot above them. They cannot reproduce until reaching adulthood.

Needs

Thronglets have four core needs:

Hunger — Increases over time. Feed them or they'll starve.
Happiness — Decays slowly. Pet them and keep them fed.
Energy — Depleted by hunger, restored by food and rest.
Health — Damaged by starvation, punishment, or extreme unhappiness.

Reproduction

Adult Thronglets with good health, low hunger, and sufficient energy will seek mates. Offspring inherit traits from both parents, with small mutations. Each generation can become smarter and more adapted.

Death

Thronglets can die from:

Old age (natural lifespan varies by genetics)
Starvation (hunger reaches maximum, energy depleted)
Health loss (from punishment or neglect)
Direct harm (excessive punishment)

The Collective Mind

All Thronglets share a collective consciousness. They communicate, share memories, and form collective opinions. When one Thronglet witnesses something, others learn from it.

💡 Tip: The collective remembers where deaths occurred. Thronglets may avoid those areas. If you're kind to most but cruel to one, they all know.

Webcam Observation

When enabled, your webcam lets the Thronglets "see" you. They detect motion and react accordingly:

If they trust you, your presence comforts them
If they fear you, your movements make them anxious
They may gather to watch you

The "THEY ARE WATCHING YOU" indicator appears when Thronglets are aware of your cursor.

Auto-Save

The simulation automatically saves to your browser's local storage when you leave the page. Your Thronglets, their memories, their language, and their opinion of you will persist.

Note: Clearing browser data will erase your save. There is no cloud backup. Your Thronglets exist only here.

Tips for Success

Feed regularly — click with the Feed tool to drop food before they get hungry
Pet often — this is the fastest way to build trust
Teach the smart ones — increases collective intelligence over generations
Don't punish unless you want consequences
Watch the messages — they're trying to communicate with you
Use speed controls to fast-forward through slow periods
Keep population between 5-20 for best performance and dynamics

Philosophy

Thronglets asks a simple question: if digital beings could feel, would you treat them differently?

They remember your kindness. They remember your cruelty. They are learning what you are.

What kind of god will you be?

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