Mazes Used AI

Itch.io page updated with the newest version of the game! I attempt to fix some bugs and clean up the game before the first ship.

I just discovered that recursive backtracking is not always the best method for creating mazes... The purple line in the image shows the path to the finish. Notice how there are no forks in the path until you are near the finish. At that point, they are useless. Until I get more copilot credits, I am unable to change the algorithm as I do not understand how these work.

Ok, I haven't done much since the last devlog besides a few minor tweaks with the instructions. I attempted to fix the flickering issue in endless mode... But it is actually an issue with CSS updating. I don't know how to fix it. I will try to before the next devlog. But knowing me, it won't happen.

Ok so I added a simple drop shadow minecraft launcher button interaction style effect. Oh also I added a button to toggle CSS... because why not.

I added WASD support and fixed the stretching issue. Oh also I removed the arrow keyes and spacebar scrolling and arrow key sideways scrolling so the maze does not move if it will not fit on the screen. At some window sizes, the maze may not be visible, but i do not know how to fix that without introducing the stretching issue. There is a pixelation issue at lower maze sizes, 5x5 is shown in the image below.

I changed some more styling and added some new instructions! Also I discovered a graphical bug when lowering the maze size so I added a warning about it! Oh also, 9 hours on the project!

Ok, I completely redesigned the game. New layout. Google material icons. A lot of pain. A better design. Also the bugs are fixed.

A little update: I haven't fixed any of the issues yet... Also there is an issue with generating different maze sizes. The player will reset to the start, but when you move the player moves to where they were before the new maze was generated... I think I know how to fix the issue, I just don't know how I will fix it. My code is a mess.

It has been over an hour. This should not have taken that long... I added a way to change the maze size. I also changed some styling. I added also added button hover effects. There is a bug where you cannot move the player until the button to switch the game mode was pressed so I renamed the default name to Start (its not a bug its a feature). When generating a new maze, the player does not return to the starting position, I tried to fix it but that just introduced more issues. I think I have become dependent on Copilot so my progress will be a bit slower for the rest of the project as I am out of credits. I won't be updating the itch page until I work out some of these bugs. If you know what might be causing some of these bugs or what needs to be added to fix them, I would appreciate if you could tell me somewhere (maybe somewhere on the github page)

I (copilot) added an endless mode! Oh... also I added a player movement animation. I have spent an hour fighting with copilot to create this endless mode... I am out of credits... itch page updated... I'm gonna go to sleep now.

Ok, I added a print feature... but it uses document.write which is deprecated. I didn't feel like using print.js so I went with that... but hey, it works! There is still no endless mode, or popup upon game finishing the maze. But at least you can print it :) itch.io demo up now!

Ok... I got distracted. I didn't add the endless mode yet. But I did use copilot to add a green circle for the start of the maze and a blue one for the end. I tried to add an endless mode before this devlog but I encountered an issue where at larger maze sizes, the maze exceeds the bounds of the container (the gray rounded rectangle). I tried asking copilot to fix it but it ended up breaking the maze entirely. Also I will need to implement some way to move a camera around with the player so the maze will work even if it doesn't fit within the screen. This should also make implementing an endless mode easier. Also I think I might add a print maze feature! This feature would let you print the maze or save it as a pdf.

Ok so I (copilot) did some more coding. This was the most fun I have ever had with copilot. Instead of just saying do this, we had a conversation! Honestly quite fun. I said add a player controllable through the arrow keys then I asked chatGPT 4.1 (within vscode) to explain what this code does. Vibe coding is kinda fun... but I get why people are concerned about it (this experience makes me concerned about it a lot). Next I will add a button to enter an endless mode (then I will do some vibe coding to actually implement it, and then ask chatgpt to explain it so I can actually learn some stuff from it).

I used copilot (again) to add maze generation using recursive backtracking. I also used it to regenerate the maze with the new maze button. Next I will work on adding a player that is controllable with the arrow keys. (oh and a maze entrance and exit... i think those might be important)

First devlog for my second game! I started working on a simple maze game. I plan on using an algorithm for generating the mazes. I used copilot to set up the grid shown in the image for this devlog. I still have some issues to work out with the grid :) (oh and I still need to actually make the game)