Maze Runner as a Game

03/20/15

So, back when it was in theatres, I saw the Maze Runner, which was pretty good except for the ending, and teenage drama nonsense that I've come to expect in movies like these. It occurred to me while watching, though, that while it was an okay movie, the setting would make an excellent video game.

The start is perfect, the player is placed mysteriously into the center of this maze. In the center there is shelter, food, and just general safety. There is one place to exit, and that exit is a huge maze. There is a day/night cycle. At night, the only safe place is the center, and the entrance to the maze seals when night arrives.

The maze holds many secrets, and changes every night. During the day, its static. At night it is changing and also filled with things that hunt the player. Living through the night is possible, but difficult without the right resources.

The goal of the game would be to escape the maze, of course, and along the way various tools and resources would come together to make that possible.

I wonder how hard an mvp of this would be. I guess I would start with a maze generator and a means to traverse that maze. I actually have access to maze generator code via old micromouse stuff.

Maybe I'll explore this idea via an actual game soon.