Problem & Context
A puzzle game built entirely from handcrafted levels eventually runs out of content. I wanted Maze Escape to keep producing new, solvable challenges without feeling random or careless.
Maze Escape: Pathbound
Original cross-platform game, adapted into a browser playtest.
Maze Escape: Pathbound is a .NET MAUI game built around procedural generation, progression systems, and long-term extensibility. This page separates the original app from the browser adaptation so visitors understand what is authentic to the shipped project and what was rebuilt for the web.
What is on this page
- The Maze Escape: Pathbound game and its design direction.
- A browser adaptation with daily runs, progression, unlocks, and powerups.
- Visual references pulled from the original maze work.
Approach
I built a recursive backtracker maze generator with a flood-fill solver that checks for solvability and minimum path length before a maze reaches the player. On top of that, I added daily mazes, unlockable worlds, and key-collection mechanics without tying those systems to any one layout.
Technical Details
.NET MAUI runs the shared UI across iOS, Android, and Windows from one codebase. The generation and validation code is pure C# with no platform dependencies, which made it easier to test in isolation. World themes and difficulty curves live as data, not hardcoded engine logic, so I can add content without rewriting the generator.
Outcome
Maze Escape shipped as a complete cross-platform game and became one of my clearest examples of separating core generation logic from player-facing progression. The stable part is the contract for generating and validating mazes. The changing part is everything layered on top.
Key Details
- Recursive backtracker generator with flood-fill solvability checks
- One C# codebase runs on iOS, Android, and Windows through .NET MAUI
- World themes and difficulty curves are data-driven
- Key collection adds a second routing objective for the player
The Real Game
Maze Escape: Pathbound
The full cross-platform release. Built with C# and .NET MAUI, with the complete progression system and app architecture the portfolio references. Play it at mazeescapepathbound.com.
- Native project architecture and full game implementation.
- The source of truth for the actual Maze Escape: Pathbound experience.
- Best for seeing the real codebase rather than the web adaptation.
Browser Demo
Svelte browser adaptation
Built for this portfolio so visitors can play immediately without installing the app. Shares the same generation and progression ideas, rebuilt for the web.
- Playable directly on this site.
- Adds daily streaks, badge history, world goals, unlocks, cosmetics, and powerups.
- Intended as an interactive demo, not a replacement for the original codebase.
Screenshots
Visual references from the original maze work
These images help ground the browser adaptation in the visual and structural ideas behind Maze Escape: Pathbound rather than presenting it as a disconnected web minigame.
Browser Demo
Play the website adaptation
This adaptation focuses on the systems that translate well to the web: seeded dailies, progression, unlockable worlds, cosmetic variation, and lightweight powerups layered over generated mazes.
Playable Demo
MazeEscape: Browser Adaptation
Use arrow keys or WASD. Daily mode is seeded by date. World goals unlock powerups that carry into later runs.