Build a Maze Runner Game
with AI & Scratch

What You'll Build

In this guide, you'll create a maze game in Scratch — with a player character that moves using arrow keys, walls that block your path, and a goal that triggers a win message. The best part? VizAI generates all the code for you in one single prompt, and then you get to design your own maze!

What is VizAI?

VizAI (vizai.dev) is an AI tool that turns plain English descriptions into ready-to-use Scratch code blocks. You describe what you want, and VizAI generates the blocks — then you download and drop them straight into Scratch.

How This Guide Works

This project has two parts: first, we'll use one VizAI prompt to generate all the game logic — player movement, wall collision, and win detection. Then, you'll unleash your creativity and draw your own maze right inside Scratch's backdrop editor.

What You'll Need

• A free account on scratch.mit.edu

• A web browser (Chrome or Firefox works best)

• Visit vizai.dev — free users get 3 generations to start

• That's it! No downloads, no installation needed.

Get Ready: Plan Your Maze Game

Before we generate any blocks, let's understand what our maze game needs. A little planning goes a long way!

What Does a Maze Game Need?

Let's break the game into its main parts:

• A Player — a small sprite that moves with arrow keys

• Walls — black-colored barriers that block the player's path

• A Goal — a green-colored area that triggers a win when the player reaches it

• Collision Detection — the game checks if the player is touching a wall or the goal

The Key Idea: Color-Based Collision

Here's the clever trick: instead of building complex wall objects, we'll simply draw the maze on the backdrop using specific colors. The code will detect when the player touches black (wall — blocked!) or green (goal — you win!). This means you can draw any maze shape you want, and the game logic stays the same.

How to Use VizAI

• Go to vizai.dev in your browser.

• Find the text box that says "Describe what you want to create".

• Type (or paste) your prompt and click Generate Code & Blocks.

• Wait a moment — your Scratch blocks will appear on the right!

• Click Download .sb3 to save the project file, or Download .sprite3 to save just the sprite.

• In Scratch, use File > Load from your computer to import the .sb3 file, or right-click the Sprite area and choose Upload Sprite to import the .sprite3 file.

Generate the Player Blocks

With just one prompt, VizAI will generate all the game logic — player movement, wall collision, and win detection. Let's do it!

Step 1 — Type This Prompt into VizAI

Step 2 — Download and Import

After VizAI generates the blocks, download the .sb3 file (full project) or the .sprite3 file (sprite only).

• For .sb3: In Scratch, go to File > Load from your computer and select the downloaded file.

• For .sprite3: In Scratch, right-click the Sprites panel (bottom right) → Upload Sprite → select your file.

Step 3 — What Do the Blocks Do?

VizAI generated one block stack that handles everything. Here's what each part does:

Initialization — setting up the game

• when clicked — starts everything when you press the green flag.

• set playerX to 0 and set playerY to 0 — places the player at the center of the stage. You can change these numbers to set a different starting position!

• set moveStep to 5 — controls how many pixels the player moves with each key press. A smaller number makes the player move slower (and the game harder!).

• set gameOver to 0 — a flag that tracks whether the game has ended. 0 means still playing.

• go to x: playerX y: playerY — moves the sprite to the starting position.

• show and switch costume to costume1 — makes the player visible with the right appearance.

Movement — arrow key controls

• if key up arrow pressed → change playerY by moveStep — moves the player up.

• if key down arrow pressed → change playerY by -moveStep — moves the player down.

• if key left arrow pressed → change playerX by -moveStep — moves the player left.

• if key right arrow pressed → change playerX by moveStep — moves the player right.

Collision — walls and the goal

• go to x: playerX y: playerY — after reading key presses, the sprite moves to the new position.

• if touching color black? — checks if the player is on a wall. If yes, it reverses the last move so the player bounces back. This is what makes walls solid!

• if touching color green? — checks if the player reached the goal. If yes, it sets gameOver to 1 and says "You win!" for 2 seconds.

Draw Your Own Maze!

This is where you become the game designer! VizAI generated the game logic, but the maze itself is all yours. Let's draw it in Scratch's backdrop editor.

Step 1 — Open the Backdrop Editor

• In Scratch, look at the bottom-right corner of the screen where it says Stage.

• Click the Stage panel, then click the Backdrops tab at the top left (next to Code and Sounds).

• You'll see a blank white canvas — this is where you'll draw your maze!

Step 2 — Draw the Walls

• Select the Rectangle tool from the toolbar on the left side.

• Set the fill color to black (#000000) — this is critical! The game code detects black as walls.

• Draw the outer border of your maze — a large rectangle around the edges of the stage.

• Now draw inner walls to create paths. Leave gaps for the player to walk through. Make sure paths are wide enough for the sprite!

Step 3 — Draw the Goal

• Switch the fill color to green.

• Draw a small green rectangle or circle at the end of your maze — this is the finish line!

• Place it somewhere that requires navigating through the maze to reach.

Step 4 — Set the Player's Starting Position

By default, the player starts at the center of the stage (x: 0, y: 0). If that's inside a wall, you have two options:

• Move the wall: Make sure the center of the stage is inside an open path area.

• Change the start position: In the code blocks, change set playerX to 0 and set playerY to 0 to coordinates that are inside an open area of your maze. Hover your mouse over the stage to see the x and y coordinates in the bottom right!

Your Completed Game!

That's it — your Maze Runner game is done! Here's an example of what the finished project can look like:

Make It Even Better!

Here are some fun ideas to level up your maze:

• Add a timer: Use VizAI to generate a countdown timer (just like in the Whack-a-Mole guide!) and challenge yourself to finish before time runs out.

• Multiple levels: Draw different maze backdrops and switch to the next one when the player reaches the goal.

• Collectibles: Add small colored dots along the path and use VizAI to generate score-tracking blocks.

• Make it pretty: Add decorations using colors that aren't black or green — those won't affect the gameplay!

The VizAI Prompt

Save this prompt — or share it with a friend who wants to build their own maze!

Chapter 2 — Maze Player Blocks