The Dog

The Dog is the main antagonist of the 2017 VR game Duck Season. It is first a sprite that appears in the seemingly innocent game of Duck Hunt, tricking the player into shooting it instead of the ducks, but becomes increasingly aggressive and dangerous towards the player. Eventually, it exits the game into the real world, appearing as a man in a dog costume that will attempt to murder the player, presumably as revenge for shooting him in-game.

Gameplay
The dog first appears as a sprite in the game, a seemingly regular version of the classic game Duck Season. Like in the original game, Duck Hunt, the dog will appear randomly, sometimes distracting the player from shooting the ducks, he will pick up the ducks, and dance between rounds. However, shooting the dog will anger it, and cause it to become extremely hostile and aggressive. It is foreshadowed that the dog is bloodthirsty and homicidal when a news report says that there is a serial killer on the loose in town as police are investigating murders.

After shooting the dog in the game, it will begin to harass the player in the real world. The first time, the game will cut to a live feed of the player, and looking in the direction of the camera will reveal that the dog is outside the house, and has stolen the video camera that was next to the television.

During the next level, the game will continue to a "Round 4/3" at the end of the "Round 3/3" round. During this round, the dog is absent from the game, the ducks behave strangely, and there is no soundtrack. Turning around will show the dog hiding behind the player's couch. After it runs away, the player will find his mother dead in the kitchen, meaning the dog wasn't in the game because he was busy murdering the mother.

The next "round" of the game consists of the demonic-looking dog throwing fireballs, and dead ducks at the television screen in an attempt to break it. After the player shoots it, it becomes giant and continues trying to shatter the screen. After the player shoots its eyes, he wakes up in the real world, where the dog, covered in blood is seen through the window.

The television blares a warped version of the Duck Season ad, while the dog enters the house, either through the front door, the back door, or the closet and lunges at the player with a knife. The player either shoots it or hits it with a bat, killing it out of self-defense, before burying his mother and leaving his home.

Endings
Depending on the player's gameplay, there can be seven different endings to the game.


 * The "Canon" Ending: Shoot the dog during Duck Season, getting the "I'm Not Laughing Now" achievement. Successfully kill the dog in-game, allowing you to enter the real world again. Kill the dog when it comes into the house to kill you.
 * The "Stuck Forever" Ending: Shoot the during Duck Season, but unsuccessfully kill him in-game. The dog will appear over the player's unconscious body and waves tauntingly into the game before turning off the TV, leaving the player trapped in the game. The game then cuts to another kid, presumably the dog's next victim.
 * The "Dead" Ending: Shoot the dog during Duck Season, and kill him before he can break the TV. After regaining consciousness, the TV will grow louder until the dog breaks into the house and stabs the player with a knife, killing him. The dog then sadistically waves at the viewer before taking the game and being transported back to the TV.
 * The "Best Men" Ending: Shoot the dog in Duck Season, but after level 6 pick up the phone to call the police, and the police will come and rescue the player, causing the dog to flee, but is shot dead by the police helicopter while the police chief lists the people the dog is believed of killing, which serves as the ending's credits, but suggest that the dog was behind the murders of almost 17 people.
 * The "Nuke" Ending: At any point during Duck Season, if the gun glows, shoot the sun, which will cause an explosion ending the game, and the player will be in an endless white void until the dog comes and sits down next to him, leaving both of their fates unknown.
 * The "Fiesta" Ending: Do not shoot the dog at any point during the game, preventing the dog from ever getting upset with the player. After the mother sends the player to bed, he will come back downstairs and watch a Mexican party video while playing maracas.
 * The "Dog" Ending: After getting the other six endings, play again without shooting the dog. Skip the "Fiesta" Ending and go back to the living room. You will find a new VHS tape that reads "it's me" and playing it will show the dog beckoning the player. The player will go to the 'Game Over' stage, and crank a pedal which opens a door, revealing the dog in a room watching various people playing "Duck Season" via camera, and pulling a lever (reminiscent of Silent Hill 2). The player will agree to "help" the dog...

Trivia

 * A popular fan theory is that the dog may actually be the player's father, who wants to kill his family for reasons that remain unclear.
 * Several subtle clues indicate that there was something unusual about the father's disappearance. A dog costume can also be seen in a family photo, which indicates that he may have owned a dog costume- further implying that he is the dog, or that the dog killed him at some point.
 * It is also possible that the dog put that picture there when he broke into the house the first time, and that neither of those theories are correct.
 * The fact that the dog's costume gets bloody, confirms that it is the person that kills the mother. The fact that it gets bloodier later implies that it killed more people off-screen.
 * At some points, the dog can be seen smoking a cigarette with his back turned, and when he sees the player looking at him, he will quickly extinguish it and resume dancing as if nothing happened.
 * The Dog is very similar to Bendy.
 * Both first appear as "innocent" cartoon characters.
 * Both appear to be satanic, as pentagrams can be found in both games.
 * Both become large, demonic entities that chase the player down.
 * Both murder a supporting character to provoke the main character.
 * Both use a machine as a conduit, Bendy's ink machine, and the Dog's TV.
 * The News report in the "Best Men" Ending says that the dog has killed over a dozen people before the events of the game; probably other players who shot the dog and weren't able to successfully defend themselves from him when he attacked them.