labyrinth

Create labyrinths with Python

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Examples

Different Sizes

  

Low and Large Laziness Setting

  

Vertical or Horizontal Direction Bias

  

ASCII Maze

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Usage

>> python ./labyrinth.py -h
Usage:
labyrinth.py [-s <side_length>] [-r <root_factor>] [-l <laziness>] [-b <bias>] [-c <colormap name>] [-o <output file>] [-h]

Builds a random labyrinth using an automatic, random iterative wall growing algorithm.
There are two parent roots (outer walls). Sub-roots grow from these parent roots so long as there is enough room to grow in.
As both root families aren't allowed to touch, the maze is guaranteed to be a perfect maze (single and unique solution).

Depending on the -o parameter (see below) the labyrinth is shown in a window, saved as image or output to the terminal

-s:  size / side length in squares. Must be odd and below 256. Default: 63
-l:  laziness in range [0, 1] defines the laziness of direction change. A higher number leads to more straight lines. Default: 0.7
-b:  direction bias. Value between -1 and 1. -1 is a large bias in up-down direction, +1 in left-right direction. 0 means no bias. Default: 0
-r:  root_factor defines the maximum relative maximum length of a root the labyrinth walls get built of in each iteration. Normally this doesn't need to be adapted. Default: 1.3
-c:  colormap name for the pyplot. See the matplotlib documentation. Default: viridis
-o:  specify a filepath string including filetype ending. With no output file a pyplot windows opens. Specify '-o stdout' for terminal output. By default a plot window is shown.
-h:  print this help

Algorithm

Builds a random labyrinth using an automatic, random iterative wall growing algorithm. There are two parent roots (outer walls). Sub-roots grow from these parent roots so long as there is enough room to grow in. As all sub-roots are connected to the parent roots and both root families aren't allowed to touch, the maze is guaranteed to be a perfect maze (unique solution, no loops and no inaccessible areas). Allowing only two-cell growth in each direction, sawtooth artifacts are removed and the maze complexity is increased. Each root only grows up to a specific length. The rate of direction changes and directional bias are controlled by parameters.

See the commented program code for more details.

I came up with this algorithm, but maybe it already exists somewhere else.

Requirements

The required libraries are numpy and matplotlib. A python version above 3.10 is recommended.

Similar Tools

• Lapyrinth by Baptiste Blasquez.
• lapyrinth by William Dye.