Maze Raider

Coming Soon

Maze Raider is currently in development. Check back soon!

What You’ll Build

Pac-Man style maze chase. Navigate corridors, collect pellets, avoid enemies.

You guide your character through a maze filled with collectibles. Ghosts hunt you down using different AI behaviours. Clear the maze before they catch you. This game teaches tile-based graphics and introduces pathfinding — skills that underpin countless games.

Why This Game?

After sprites in Starfield, Maze Raider teaches you the other half of C64 graphics: custom character sets. The maze is built from redefined characters, not sprites. You’ll learn:

• Design and install custom character sets
• Build tile-based maps from character data
• Detect tile collisions (walls, pellets, power-ups)
• Implement pathfinding AI (introduction to A*)
• Create ghost AI behaviours (chase, scatter, flee)

By the end, you’ll understand how to build any tile-based game on the C64.

Skills You’ll Master

• Character graphics — custom character sets
• Tile-based maps — screen layout from data
• Tile collision — reading screen memory for walls
• Pathfinding AI — introduction to A* algorithm
• Enemy behaviours — different ghost personalities
• Level data — screen-based level storage
• Level editor concepts — designing for extensibility

Prerequisites

Complete Game 2: Starfield first. You’ll need the collision detection and game loop skills from that game.

Time Investment

64 units at 60-90 minutes each. Roughly 64-96 hours total, spread across 4 phases.