Abstract
Obtainable on each console and PC with XPA.Flip between 2D and 3D views, uncover hidden paths, remedy puzzles and extra.The story behind the design, inspiration and challenges resulting in launch.
We’ve all skilled a time after we’re surrounded by folks but really feel utterly misplaced. That’s the precise feeling Dodo Duckie begins from: a duckling raised amongst chickens, satisfied one thing is fallacious with him as a result of he simply can’t slot in.
Just a few years in the past, we have been an unproven workforce pitching a large, overly formidable sport to publishers. Getting backing for a venture of that scale is extremely troublesome in India’s indie scene, and the passes we acquired again finally compelled a sensible query: What can we truly construct and see by way of to the tip utterly on our personal?
The reply turned out to be a duck.
I’m Samhith, the artistic director at BornMonkie, a small indie studio in India that I run alongside my sister and producer, Samveda. That is the story behind our debut puzzle platformer, Dodo Duckie – now accessible on Xbox Collection X|S and PC.
Regardless that Dodo’s seek for belonging comes from a deeply private place for us, we needed his journey to really feel like a heat hug. It’s a brilliant, cozy world the place his clumsy makes an attempt to slot in are performed for laughs, turning a heavy theme right into a light-hearted journey about playful discovery.
Quacking the Code
Again within the day, lots of the studios we glance as much as began their journeys with iconic mascot platformers. Wanting again, we realized we had by accident adopted of their precise footsteps with Dodo Duckie.
We constructed our first prototype again in 2019, however as a busy service studio, the sport turned a long-term labor of affection. For years, we chipped away at it on and off between shopper jobs and 1,000,000 different prototypes. Early on, we made a radical design determination: take away the leap mechanic totally from a 3D house.
We initially assumed this distinctive switching mechanic can be our primary hook. However as gamers examined the sport, they confirmed us one thing else: they have been falling for Dodo Duckie earlier than they even understood the puzzles. That suggestions modified how we checked out our personal sport. We realized Dodo’s persona was the entrance door, and our puzzle design was the explanation to remain when you walked by way of. Juggling service work meant it took till 2025 to completely notice this imaginative and prescient, however we’ve lastly constructed a house we will’t watch for gamers to enter.
Getting Dodo Simply Proper
Getting the sport to really look proper was a large hurdle, we spent two to a few months iterating on prototypes we simply weren’t pleased with. The turning level got here when our Artwork director, Vincent Boichut, joined the workforce and identified the true drawback. As a result of we have been balancing tight assets, we solely had the price range to construct a single set of belongings that needed to work completely throughout two views. Every part needed to be learn clearly, whether or not gamers noticed it head-on in 3D or flattened into 2D.
That restraint turned our superpower. It’s the true purpose the world leans towards clear shapes, rounded edges, and vibrant colours. What appears like a purely stylistic alternative was truly born out of a necessity for good readability, although we’re thrilled it occurs to be extraordinarily cute, too.
Discovering Our Wings
Beneath the puzzles is a narrative we care about deeply. Dodo grows up amongst chickens, making an attempt desperately to slot in earlier than studying that his variations are precisely what make him particular. It’s a wrestle our workforce is aware of intimately. Rising up in India’s extremely aggressive tradition, pursuing a artistic profession in sport growth meant combating in opposition to strict expectations and risking isolation simply to do what we love. Dodo’s journey is ours.
Due to that, we selected to inform his story with out heavy dialogue, leaning as a substitute on animation, bodily comedy, and character expression. We needed the emotional beats to really feel like a Pixar brief, touchdown purely by way of what you see, making Dodo’s story common it doesn’t matter what language you communicate.
Our journey has lastly come to life. Dodo Duckie is now accessible on Xbox Collection X|S and PC!
If there’s one factor we hope gamers take away from our little chicken’s story, it’s this: a leap doesn’t must look swish to rely.
Typically it simply has to occur.
Dodo Duckie
BornMonkie
$11.99
You’re a DUCK! with one particular cap that offers you the facility to modify between 2D and 3D. Use it to discover, swap views, remedy puzzles and save your hen associates.
