so_long

A 2D game built in C using MiniLibX as part of the 42 school curriculum.

42 School Project — 2025

Overview

so_long is a simple 2D game where you control a dolphin navigating through underwater mazes. Collect all the fish and reach the exit (a circle of dolphins) to win — but watch out for the patrolling eels!

Assets

Element	Sprite
Player	Dolphin
Collectibles	Orange fish
Exit	Circle of dolphins
Walls	Bricks / Seaweed / Waves (top row)
Enemies	Eels (bonus)

Features

Mandatory

• Map parsing from .ber files
• Path validation (ensures map is completable)
• Smooth viewport scrolling for large maps
• Movement counter displayed in terminal

Bonus

• Animated sprites (player, collectibles, enemies, decorations)
• Patrolling eel enemies that end the game on contact
• Dynamic wall decoration (waves on top row, seaweed columns)
• On-screen move counter
• Win/lose animations and messages

Building

make          # Build mandatory version
make bonus    # Build bonus version
make install  # Clone and build MiniLibX
make play     # Play through all maps sequentially

Usage

./so_long maps/1-tutorial.ber
./so_long_bonus maps/3-fear.ber

Controls

Key	Action
W / ↑	Move up
A / ←	Move left
S / ↓	Move down
D / →	Move right
Esc	Exit game

Map Format

Maps are .ber files composed of:

Character	Element
1	Wall
0	Empty space
P	Player start (exactly 1)
C	Collectible (at least 1)
E	Exit (exactly 1)

Maps must be rectangular and fully enclosed by walls.

Dependencies

• MiniLibX (cloned automatically with make install)
• X11 development libraries

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install libx11-dev libxext-dev