Solving 8 Puzzle Game Using A* Unity

The content introduces the 8-Puzzle game and its integration with A* pathfinding in Unity, discussing the puzzle's history, complexity, and heuristic search methods. It outlines the project to develop an interactive 8-Puzzle game using Unity and C#, with a focus on implementing core functionality and integrating pathfinding algorithms, particularly A*.

The setup includes creating a Unity 3D project, configuring the main camera, importing assets, and establishing a UI for puzzle interaction. It details the implementation of the Puzzle State class in C#, which represents puzzle states and includes methods for manipulating tiles and calculating the Manhattan distance. The project also involves implementing pathfinding algorithms like Dijkstra, A*, and Greedy-best-first search, culminating in applying the A* algorithm to solve the game while facilitating interactive gameplay through the UI.

The 8-Puzzle is a classic sliding tile game consisting of eight numbered tiles and one blank space arranged in a 3x3 grid. The objective is to rearrange the tiles from a random initial state into a specific goal configuration using legal moves (up, down, left, right). Despite its apparent simplicity, the puzzle presents a rich problem space ideal for demonstrating AI and heuristic search strategies.