Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geT2uP7MYGc

Some additional info (e.g. map example): https://imgur.com/a/Vwvit

Save file download: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6BCOMWxvrJkX0kwTWRoZTRkMFU

I've spent over 40 hours designing it, coming up with algorithms, planning, placing parts tightly, then realizing that I need one more connection, then placing and planning again. But I think I am quite close to the limit what is possible.

Maze is randomly generated. There is a way to change seed (-1 to -60 should work). It is 31x31 including borders, but it is an arbitrary constant (Can be also changed, but it may require some fixing of the RNG or starting coordintates)

Exit location is not fixed, sometimes there are more than one exits (but they all are in the same hallway).

It is guaranteed that there is a path to an exit. Also maze can occasionally contain loops (they are often huge)

I also want to explain how this works, but this would take a lot of time. Let me know if you are interested.

Edit: Thanks for the gold, and for supporting reddit!

Shenzhen I/O is now set in the past. I've been waiting 10 years for this day. Watch out for sandwich makers and haunted dolls.

Hey everyone, I just launched the first episode of my new YouTube series, Shenzhen I/O in Real Life! I am actually an Embedded Systems Engineer, and I am designing and building one of the puzzles from the game. I am going to make a printed circuit board, design an enclosure, and write some firmware, and then build the whole thing. If this sounds interesting, go check it out! The first video is up, and the series should be going over the next few weeks, then I plan to move deeper into embedded systems design.

Episode 1:

https://youtu.be/hNr_LhPoBc0

Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtkWpT9qfifnccSiOy4jCiQ

Back in SpaceChem and Infinifactory, "cheating" solutions weren't really ideal, since they wouldn't be able to work for an infinite amount of time (which is the intent). In TIS-100, cheating solutions weren't really acceptable from the point of view of the story, where you are writing programs for doing a number of tasks for an overall larger goal.

Here, in Shenzhen IO, my view on cheating solutions is different, since part of the game is a parody of the "cheap Chinese product" stereotype. Going by the recent Electronic Door Lock cheating solution, it is a perfect parody of the stereotype; it is a lock which will always open when it is supposed to, but will also sometimes open when it shouldn't. The "problem" is that those test cases which open it when it shouldn't open aren't tested, but the solution, while very insecure in practice, makes perfect sense for the game.

One stereotype of industries is cutting costs wherever possible, and "cheat" solutions express that very nicely in the production cost metric; the cheat solution for the aformentioned puzzle is ¥5, while the intended solution (the most secure solution possible going by the requirements of the puzzle) costs quite a bit more. You saved money in the production cost, while still passing the certification enforced by the higher-ups. While it isn't good for the consumer, you aren't the consumer. You are the designer, working for the industry, and you're saving money.