FAQ

Small Game Seasons™ (S.G.S) is a bird-hunting and wing-shooting simulator prototype—a proof of concept (POC) designed for PC by an upland bird hunter and a digital designer.

I began developing it during the 2023 holidays while learning Unreal Engine 5, originally for my personal use. Over time, the project evolved beyond a single scenario focused on my favorite upland hunt—the Ruffed Grouse. I expanded the species, destinations, and even incorporated stories and characters within these locations.

After months of work, I was unexpectedly pleased with the results. That’s when I decided to promote S.G.S as a proof of concept to publishers and game studios who might recognize its potential and transform my prototype into a full-fledged PC game dedicated to bird hunting and wingshooting.

S.G.S is dedicated to bird hunting and wingshooting, inspired by the classic Bird Hunters series of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and striving for the most lifelike experience possible.

As an upland bird hunter myself, I see an exciting opportunity to bring a deeper level of authenticity to wingshooting in a PC game, capturing the nuances that make it both challenging and rewarding.

For instance, bird speed and flight patterns are key ingredients in S.G.S, forming the foundation for simulating wingshooting as it’s experienced in the field.

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Overall, S.G.S is not designed to compete with existing hunting games, nor does it aim to offer big-game hunting experiences like those titles. Instead, it stands out as a true-to-life, immersive bird-hunting experience for PC.

Additionally, as a proof of concept and prototype, S.G.S does not yet feature the rich content found in full hunting games—whether in their main titles or through additional DLCs. However, if this prototype evolves into a full game one day, those possibilities could be explored.

That’s a fair question! While “small game” can also refer to mammals, I chose the name Small Game Seasons for its evocative feel—capturing the tradition and atmosphere of this type of hunting.
 

However, at Maple Feathered Flight Sporting Clays Club, one of the stations is called The Hare—a little hint at the potential inclusion of rabbits or hares in a full commercial version of the game.

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The European Hare, in particular, is a fast and challenging game that also requires forward allowance skills, much like wingshooting.

That said, S.G.S is first and foremost about authentic bird hunting and wingshooting simulation, while leaving room to possibly expand into fast-running small game if the project evolves.

Yes, S.G.S started as a personal simulator, driven by my goal to recreate wingshooting as true to life as possible.

One of the main challenges is that birds in S.G.S fly at speeds close to reality, requiring quick and natural shotgun movement to properly follow and lead the target for a successful shot. This difficulty is especially pronounced in the Ruffed Grouse hunting scenario, where rapid reaction times are crucial.

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S.G.S certainly requires patience and practice, much like how flight simulator enthusiasts refine their skills using real-world techniques.

The simulation reflects my personal experience as an upland bird hunter, and I strongly believe that real-life bird hunters will appreciate the technical challenge S.G.S delivers—bringing them closer to the experience of true wingshooting in the real world.

The prototype is not currently available for public download. It serves as a proof of concept intended for publishers and game studios interested in exploring its potential for full development.

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By keeping distribution limited to industry professionals, we can:
 

• Focus on refining the concept with feedback from teams who understand the gaming market and production requirements

• Avoid presenting an unfinished experience to the public that may not reflect the intended quality or scope of a final game

• Respect licensing restrictions on certain assets that are approved only for non-commercial or limited-use prototyping

• Maintain control over how the prototype is shared, ensuring it's presented in the right context and not mistaken for a finished product

I appreciate your interest and invite players to follow development through videos, behind-the-scenes content, and progress updates on the project's website and social channels.

Turning the S.G.S prototype into a full commercial game requires more than just funding—it demands a dedicated team of experts to rebuild and refine its core architecture.

While the current prototype serves its purpose for personal development and proof of concept, evolving it into a polished, scalable, and multiplayer-capable title would require rewriting parts of the code, optimizing systems, and creating or sourcing production-grade assets with full commercial rights — all tasks beyond the scope of what I can accomplish alone.

While I learned coding specifically to build the prototype, my intended role in a full production would focus on creative direction, simulation design vision, and hands-on oversight of core gameplay systems rooted in real bird hunting.

Yes, I look forward to S.G.S being adopted by a publisher or game studio that recognizes its potential as a dedicated bird hunting and wingshooting simulation.

The project is not intended to compete with existing titles but rather to complement the hunting game landscape by offering a specialized experience for those who enjoy the technical challenge of authentic-feeling bird hunting. 

While I welcome collaboration, it is important to me that the core authenticity of the simulation remains intact. S.G.S is designed to provide a true-to-life wing-shooting experience, and I believe that preserving this experience is key to delivering something distinct from the hunting games on the market today.

Absolutely. I’m actively seeking feedback and support from fellow bird hunters to ensure this simulation aligns with real-world experiences. Whether it’s about immersion, technical depth, bird behavior, shooting mechanics, destinations you'd like to see, or preferred hunting styles—your input matters. Please don’t hesitate to use the contact form on this website to share your feedback.

Ruffed Grouse & American Woodcock – Set in a fictional wildlife reserve in the province of Quebec, Canada, offering an authentic upland hunting experience in dense North American forest environments.

Thrush & Wood Pigeon – Located in Spain, on a fictional private land with a typical Mediterranean landscape, featuring diverse terrain and unique hunting challenges.

Traditional Driven Pheasants – Based in a fictional English estate, reflecting classic driven shoots with carefully designed placements and lifelike bird flight mechanics.

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The prototype includes a sporting clays scenario set in a fictional private club located in Nova Scotia, Canada.

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Additional destinations and game birds may be introduced in the prototype over time to further showcase the simulation of wingshooting across a range of bird-hunting scenarios.

No, the current prototype does not include multiplayer functionality. As a solo developer building this proof of concept while still learning and refining core systems, implementing multiplayer would have significantly increased the scope and technical complexity of the prototype.
 

That said, multiplayer is a central goal for a full-scale version of S.G.S. A cooperative or competitive online experience would not only boost immersion but also allow players to simulate group hunting scenarios, coordinate drives, and experience the social aspect of real bird hunting in a meaningful way.

In addition to multiplayer, the full game vision includes the possibility of AI-controlled virtual hunters, providing a living, populated environment even for solo players. Multiplayer and dynamic AI companions are both core to delivering the sense of shared experience, strategy, and unpredictability that define true-to-life hunting simulations.

While not intended for public release, this prototype was developed on a high-performance PC to maximize graphical immersion using Unreal Engine 5.3. The graphic settings provide flexibility, allowing testers to adjust the visual experience based on their hardware capabilities. My goal with S.G.S was to achieve premium graphical fidelity, and I expect a full game would offer even greater customization while leveraging powerful hardware to provide a high-quality visual experience.

The project was developed on:
ASUS ROG Strix G35CZ-D9V90  - Intel Core i9-10900KF (3.7 GHz / AI Adaptive O/C to 5.3  GHz), 64GB DDR4, GeForce RTX 3090 24GB, 1TB PCIe SSD + 2TB SSD + 1TB SSD +  2TB HDD.
 

Note:
The prototype's graphic settings support multiple resolutions, but development and testing were primarily conducted in HD 1920 x 1080. Other resolutions may not display all visual elements correctly.

No, I’m a versatile digital experience designer—today working as a leader of a digital design team in a big corporate. Leveraging my professional expertise and years of experience, I crafted the user interfaces and interactions of the prototype.

Additionally, my background in graphic design, visual arts, and filmmaking during my school years in the ’90s allowed me to create the branding elements for the prototype, develop characters and stories, and shape the artistic and creative vision of the entire project.

Although I did some programming back in high school, many years ago, that early experience likely helped me rekindle my skills and learn game development in Unreal Engine 5.