Project·2025

Exoplanet Survivors

Top-down action game prototype with waves, cycle phases, loot drops and terminal-based upgrades.

Exoplanet Survivors – project image 1
Exoplanet Survivors – project image 2
Exoplanet Survivors – project image 3

Context & Implementation

A 2D top-down action prototype built in C with raylib. The player defends a base against enemy waves. A structured gameplay loop moves from waves to a base phase and into a new cycle, while XP, gold and silver are collected as physical loot drops. Upgrades are managed through a terminal, and the prototype explores later specialization paths. The work focuses on fast iteration, clear data structures and pixel-art-based UI and sprites.

Technical Highlights

  • Cycle and wave system
  • Physical XP, gold and silver loot drops
  • Terminal interaction with hold progress
  • Upgradeable weapon properties and multiple weapon types
  • Dynamic camera and responsive UI positioning
  • Pixel-art sprites and a configuration-driven world

Challenges & Learnings

  • Sprite batching and render-loop optimization
  • State-driven gameplay architecture
  • Simple movement and physics approximations
  • Heuristic balancing through distance scaling
Exoplanet Survivors – C/raylib Game Prototype | Sinan Kalac