messagemaze - A Python package for generating custom message mazes

Introduction

messagemaze is a Python package for generating message mazes - a type of maze where a solution path spells out a message. With this package, you can easily create and customize your maze game with unique messages.

The package contains various modules to generate and visualize generating process. You can use built-in algorithms or create your own to generate mazes, and use the drawing tool to customize the solution path.

To get started, simply install the package using pip and follow the instruction below. The package also includes an ipython notebook with basic usage examples to help you get started.

We hope you enjoy using messagemaze and look forward to seeing the creative message mazes you come up with!

Contributors

This work was done as part of the course Introduction to Artificial Intelligence - IT3160E at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Team members include:

• Nguyễn Lân Cường
• Phạm Tiến Sơn
• Phạm Vũ Huyền Trang
• Đào Văn Tùng
• Bùi Thanh Tùng

Installation

All the modules are included in a package called 'messagemaze' which can be installed using pip. It is recommended to first create a virtual environment by running the following command in the directory of the project:

Linux/MacOs/Windows:

$ python3 -m venv venv

Then activate the virtual environment by running the following command:

Linux/MacOs:

$ source venv/bin/activate

Windows:

$ .\venv\Scripts\activate.bat

Then install the modules using the following command:

$ pip install -e .

It will automatically install all dependent libraries required (there is one in this project which is the pygame). The dot . indicates that the command is run from the directory of the project.

Usage

After the module was successfully installed, you can try open the ipython notebook runner.ipynb which introduces basic usage of the package (make sure to open it in the environment you previously installed the package in).

List of Modules

• cell.py: contains the class Cell with methods to add walls and remove walls
• maze.py: contains the class Maze with methods to generate a maze and to display it
• message_path.py: contains the class MessagePath with methods to generate a message path
• random_path.py: contains the function RandomPattern to generate a random path connecting two points in a rectangular grid
• draw_pattern.py: contains the function DrawPattern which allows users to draw a pattern - the desired solution path of a maze on a rectangular grid
• combine.py: contains 2 functions to combine a list of Maze objects to create another Maze object, horizontally and vertically
• maze_viz.py: contains the class Visualizer contains methods to save the maze as a picture and to display the maze in a window
• algorithms.py: contains 3 algorithms to generate the maze given a rectangular grid - a blank Maze objectcor a Maze object with only solution path generated from MessagePath
• visualize_algorithms.py: contains 3 algorithms as above but were modified for visualization purpose