This project has been created as part of the 42 curriculum by glieuw-a and ydimitra.

A-Maze-ing

Description

A-Maze-ing is a maze generation and visualisation project. The goal is to generate random mazes from a configuration file, solve them, and display them in an interactive graphical window. The maze contains a hidden "42" pattern made of fully walled cells.

The project is split into two parts:

• mazegen — a reusable Python package for maze generation and solving
• display — an interactive visualiser built on top of miniLibX (mlx_CLXV)

Instructions

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• miniLibX (mlx_CLXV 2.2)

Create venv

make venv

Start venv

source .venv/bin/activate

Installation

make install

Build package

make build

Run

make run

or directly:

python3 a_maze_ing.py config.txt

Controls

Key	Action
1	Regenerate maze
2	Toggle solution path
3	Cycle colour theme
4 / ESC	Quit
+ / -	Zoom in / out
Arrow keys	Pan

Config file format

WIDTH=40          # maze width in cells
HEIGHT=30         # maze height in cells
ENTRY=0,0         # entry point (x,y)
EXIT=39,29        # exit point (x,y)
SEED=42           # random seed (optional, random if omitted)
PERFECT=True      # True = perfect maze, False = maze with loops
OUTPUT_FILE=maze.txt  # output file path

Resources

• Maze generation algorithms — Wikipedia
• Python packaging guide
• miniLibX documentation
• mypy documentation
• Python packaging — pyproject.toml
• setuptools documentation

Maze Generation Algorithm

This project uses a recursive backtracker (depth-first search).

How it works

1. Start at cell (0,0), mark it visited
2. Shuffle the 4 directions randomly
3. For each unvisited neighbour, remove the wall between them and recurse
4. Backtrack when no unvisited neighbours remain

Why this algorithm

• Produces perfect mazes by default (one path between any two cells)
• Simple to implement and understand
• Generates mazes with long, winding corridors which are visually interesting
• Easy to extend for imperfect mazes by removing extra walls after generation

Reusable Package — mazegen

The mazegen package is available as a standalone pip-installable package.

Installation

pip install mazegen-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl

Usage

from mazegen import MazeGenerator

mg = MazeGenerator(width=40, height=30, seed=42)
mg.generate(perfect=True)
path = mg.solve((0, 0), (39, 29))
mg.write((0, 0), (39, 29), path, "maze.txt")

Build from source

pip install build
python -m build
# or
uv build --out-dir .

Team and Project Management

Team

• glieuw-a - maze generation algorithm, solver
• ydimitra - package structure, display

Planning

• Week 1: maze generation and file format, visualiser
• Week 2: display, package, Makefile, README, testing

What worked well

• The recursive backtracker was straightforward to implement
• The display pipeline (tiles, overlays, MLX) came together cleanly

What could be improved

• More maze generation algorithms (Prim's, Kruskal's)
• Adding animations
• Better display of the maze (adding depth)
• A player mode where you navigate the maze yourself

Tools used

• Python 3.12
• miniLibX (mlx_CLXV)
• mypy + flake8 for type checking and linting
• uv for package management
• Claude (Anthropic) — used for code review, debugging, explaining concepts, docstrings, and refactoring suggestions throughout the project