About
My_Hunter is a personal remake of the classic Duck Hunt, developed in C with CSFML during my first-year graphics module at Epitech. Beyond simply cloning the original, I designed new systems (dynamic difficulty, scoring combos, point-for-perk trades, gravity‑driven trajectories) and produced all visuals in pixel art.
Recognition
- Awarded “Best My_Hunter” across three academic years.
- Selected and showcased during Epitech’s Open Days to represent the module.
This project was my first end‑to‑end solo production and a strong proof point of my ability to design, build, profile, and ship a complete game loop under real constraints.
Project Info
- Role: Game / Gameplay Developer
- Team Size: Solo
- Time Frame: 2 weeks
- Language: C
- Engine / Library: CSFML (C binding of SFML)
🎮 Introduction
The goal was to reinterpret Duck Hunt in my own way while keeping the core gameplay (shooting targets on screen). I designed new mechanics to make the game more dynamic and engaging:
- Unlimited shots, but missing a target reduces your score.
- Kill streak rewards: hitting 5 targets in a row without missing increases the bonus points per kill.
- Progressive difficulty: new enemies are introduced as the player’s score increases.
- Bonus system: every 1000 points, players can trade points for perks such as an extra life, a freeze ability, or other power-ups.
This project allowed me to strengthen my gameplay programming skills, while exploring pixel art animation and procedural difficulty scaling.
🧠 Gameplay Mechanics
Enemy Movement
Enemies spawn from the bottom of the screen and follow a parabolic trajectory using a gravity system. Once killed, they reappear after a random delay and from random positions, keeping the gameplay dynamic and unpredictable.
Shooting System
- No ammunition limit for a more accessible and arcade-like experience.
- Penalty for missed shots to encourage precision.
- Combo mechanic: after 5 consecutive hits, each subsequent kill grants bonus points, rewarding skillful players.
Bonus & Difficulty System
- Every 1000 points, a bonus trade is proposed (extra life, freeze spell, etc.).
- At predefined score milestones, new enemy patterns and behaviors are introduced to gradually increase the challenge.
🎨 Visual Design
Color Palette
To maintain a consistent aesthetic, I chose the RESURRECT 64 palette (soft pastel tones). Dominant colors include blues, grays, and reds, creating a modern yet retro visual style.
Art Style
Being a fan of pixel art, I designed all visuals in a retro style. This included hand-animated sprites for:
- Idle animations for enemies
- Death animations
- Game over screen transitions
This work helped me gain valuable experience with 2D sprite animation pipelines and visual polish for game feedback.
📤 Download
You can download and try My_Hunter directly on GitHub:
👉 My_Hunter – GitHub
📚 What I Learned
This project was not only a technical challenge but also a complete introduction to game development, teaching me how to handle the full pipeline of a game, from concept to release. Key takeaways include:
- Designing and balancing custom gameplay mechanics from scratch.
- Managing an end-to-end development process (concept → design → coding → testing → polish).
- Using CSFML for 2D rendering and real-time interactions in C.
- Creating pixel art animations with consistency and clarity.
- Unifying visuals and audio to create a coherent player experience.
- Optimizing memory usage and file size to stay within technical constraints.
Being selected as the best My_Hunter across three years at Epitech validated my work and motivated me to further develop my skills in gameplay programming and technical creativity.