Creating an Animated Maze Solver with Python

My Animated Maze Generator & Solver

(Source Code: GitHub)

I set out to create a Python script that would visualize maze generation and solving algorithms as a clean, animated video. The project was a great learning experience in animation and performance, and I’m excited to share how it works.

What It’s Supposed To Do

The final script produces a high-quality MP4 video. It first shows Wilson’s Algorithm carving out the maze with orange particles. It then visualizes Dijkstra’s Algorithm flooding the paths with cyan particles to find the solution, which is finally highlighted with a bright red line.

The Technical Challenges

The main challenge was using a data plotting library for a complex animation.

Rendering the Animation

The animation was created by generating hundreds of individual frames with matplotlib. A key challenge was managing performance. To keep the animation smooth, I gave each particle a limited lifetime so it would disappear after a short time, preventing the script from slowing down.

Designing the Visual Effects

To make the visualization dynamic, I built a small particle system with different effects like trails and glowing pulses. I also used Python’s colorsys library to create smooth color gradients. This helps to represent the algorithm’s progress, such as showing the distance explored from the start point with changing colors.

What I Learned From This Project

• matplotlib is a highly versatile library that can be used for complex animations beyond simple plots. (I only knew till now it was for plotting charts :) )
• Good visual effects often come from carefully tuning many small parameters.
• Performance planning is essential when generating hundreds of video frames.

Conclusion

Got to learn some new things from here