🃏 Memory Game (WinAPI Implementation)

📘 Project Overview

This is a robust implementation of the classic Memory / Concentration game, developed entirely in C using the native Windows API (WinAPI).

The project demonstrates advanced low-level programming concepts, including manual memory management, dynamic resource loading, DLL integration for game logic, and a custom-built UI state machine. It features a fully responsive design with selectable themes, dynamic difficulty, and persistent high scores.

✨ Key Features

🎮 Core Gameplay

• Dynamic Difficulty: Three grid sizes to choose from:
  • Easy: 4x4 (16 cards)
  • Medium: 6x6 (36 cards)
  • Hard: 10x10 (100 cards)
• Preview Mode: A 1.5-second "peek" at all cards before the game starts to test short-term memory.
• Game Header: A custom top bar displaying real-time Time, Moves, and the current Player Name.
• Pause System: Full Pause/Resume functionality that freezes the timer and locks the board interaction.

🎨 Customization & Themes

• Card Themes: Players can switch between 4 distinct card sets via the "Themes" menu:
  • 🍎 Fruits (Default)
  • 🥕 Vegetables
  • 🃏 UNO Cards
  • ♠️ Classic Playing Cards
• Background Color: A "Change Background" button cycles through 20 different colors, ranging from classic felt green/brown to vibrant modern hues.

🏆 Scoring & Persistence

• High Score System: Tracks the best performances based on Time (primary) and Moves (secondary).
• Local Persistence: Scores are saved to highscore.txt and loaded dynamically to display a Top 5 Leaderboard for each difficulty level.
• Player Identity: Supports custom player names input before starting a match.

⚙️ Technical Architecture

• DLL Integration: The card shuffling algorithm is encapsulated in a separate Dynamic Link Library (ProjectDLL.dll) loaded at runtime.
• Resource Management: Uses a .rc resource script to manage bitmaps and menus. Supports dynamic switching of bitmap resources at runtime based on the selected theme.
• Window Management: The application window automatically centers itself on the screen and resizes precisely to fit the selected grid size + header.

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🛠️ Build & Installation

This project was developed using Code::Blocks with the MinGW compiler.

Prerequisites

• Windows OS (Required for WinAPI).
• MinGW/GCC Compiler.
• Important: All image assets must be 24-bit Bitmaps (.bmp).