Decoding the “legendary duck gun”: The miracle of childhood turned out to be surprisingly simple

This article is for those who want to explain a childhood myth.

Perhaps each of us has a childhood part associated with the legendary duck gun that comes with the Duck Hunt game. But have you ever wondered how it can shoot ducks on the screen? Let’s find out with us right here.

In 1984, Nintendo released the NES console and many of the games that became legendary. In particular, the game Duck Hunt or commonly known as Duck Shooting game has contributed to creating an intense childhood for most of us. Nintendo has also devised a very simple but interesting mechanism to help us feel like we are shooting a real gun.

Actually, the gun doesn’t shoot anything, guys. Inside there is only a light sensor that helps the gun to recognize the light emitted from the screen. If you pay attention, you will see the screen blinking continuously when you pull the trigger. Because the flash is so fast, you may not be able to clearly see the position of the ducks, which will be colored white like the image below:

The picture you see

When you pull the trigger

And to know if you hit or not, the gun will receive light from the area of ​​​​the screen that the barrel is aimed at. If it “sees” a black and white flash, it will report that you hit it. If you finish flashing and still “see” black, it means you missed.

In short, the gun of the Duck Shooting game does not shoot light, lasers, … at all guys. It simply receives the blinking light on the screen and then reports it to the NES. This mechanism, although quite simple, still makes us wonder because of its “magic” level, right? Hope the article has brought you interesting information!