Duck Life 9 News

It’s become a tradition in new Duck Life releases to switch up the skills that the ducks can train, and this time is no different! All of your favourite classics are returning - Running, Swimming, Flying, Climbing, Jumping and Energy. They will be joined by the ducks newest skill: Balancing! (More on that below)

[h2]Racing returns to centre stage[/h2]
You might be wondering how these skills relate to battling and the answer is… they don’t! In this game we have decided to go back to only having races. As the core concept of the Duck Life series, it seemed right to focus all of our development time on solely racing. It will allow us to create a much higher quality game overall

[h2]So what is balancing?[/h2]
Balancing is an essential skill as a duck racer. In Duck Life 9, your duck will have to watch out when running over patches of slippery ground. The higher your duck’s balancing level, the less likely that it will slip over. Some races have sections only reachable by crossing over a tightrope. You need to train your duck’s balance if you don’t want it to fall to the path below!

[h2]Training games are back[/h2]
Training games are a staple of Duck Life and they will of course be making a return in Duck Life 9! This time we have trainers from all over the animal kingdom, from Doug the Dog to Percy the Penguin - true masters of their skills. When you are below level 50 in a skill, you will do beginner training. Once you hit level 50 you can unlock pro training and train up to the maximum level of 100. Both types of training have 5 parts each, which you can unlock after every 10 levels. This makes a whopping total of 60 training mini games.

Let me guess… you want to know what the training games will be? Well come back for the next dev log in 2 weeks time, where we will be diving into a couple of training games in more detail. In the meantime, join our Discord channel to keep updated and to join the discussion. We’ll also be posting trailers and updates on our YouTube channel, and if you’d like to wishlist the game you can do so now on the official Steam page

Hi, I’m Storm, 3D artist at Wix Games and today we’ll be diving into the 3D world of our feathered friends, two flippers at a time!

Trying to find a style that matches Sam’s 2D art has been an evolving process of trial and error, where the ultimate goal has been to give the game a slightly drawn appearance that matches the ducks whilst still taking advantage of the 3D space.

[h2]It's a duck's life[/h2]
There’s a lot to explore duderinos and it’s not just on Featherhaven Island! (cue ominous music) The trainers will push your duck friends to their limits - the trials gruelling and challenges numerous (but on the plus side there’s a nice view from here!)

Don’t worry, we want it to be fun - not painful. Trials are set in all kinds of different locations, each place is something special that fits with the gameplay and is unique enough to hopefully make you want to see more of what’s beyond the next hurdle. We want them to feel like Wipeout obstacle courses. Throughout all of them there are banners and colourful signs that have been set up by the trainers so you feel motivated to keep going and maybe even have a chance to sell out to McDuckalds for that sweet brand deal(!)

[h2]It's alive![/h2]
It may be early days but the world is already coming together! Much of my time has been spent making lots and lots aaaand lots of models! Since there are so many different places to go, we want to make sure everything is unique and interesting to look at (plus it makes our lives more fun!)

Getting to work on everything from deep ocean floors to towering buildings weathered by time ensures you and I get to explore somewhere new every day!

[h2]Cel shading[/h2]
Cel shading is a great way to give a 3D object a cartoony appearance. When used right, everything will pop out with bright colours that help bring the world to life. Less is more and that’s what we’ve tried to do, many of the models use a simple gradient to help give a subtle bit of depth whilst the shadows are key to giving us our lighting.

Using the shadows right gives us lovely shapes that can turn a simple flat surface into a fluffy meadow worthy of lying in under the stars!

[h2]It's in the details[/h2]
Sometimes it’s the little things that can really bring the world to life, the visual effects (VFX) are a big part of that but it’s surprisingly easy to make them look realistic. Game dev tools are often made nowadays to do realism really well. The art is giving the game its character!

The VFX are a language of their own and help make Duck Life 9 feel special. The glints on the water are more than just dots which give it a magical look. The waterfall itself spits out comicbook style shapes that help to distance the look of the game from many other games.

[h2]Inspiration[/h2]
Coming up with this stuff is no easy feat, it takes time and iteration to figure out what looks good and what’s different! A lot of art is inspired by different things we see in our own lives and the places around us. For one training game we went for tall buildings with plenty of graffiti and overhanging plants; much of the inspiration for this was my love of India and the tall plant covered balconies of flats in Greece. In other cases I’m flicking through art books or finding flowers outside the office (no joke, I picked them for SCIENCE!)... They looked pretty

That’s everything for now, but come back soon for more dev logs! We’ll be posting here every two weeks. Join our Discord channel to keep updated and to join the discussion. We’ll also be posting trailers and updates on our YouTube channel, and if you’d like to wishlist the game you can do so now on the official Steam page

Hello folks! Sam here, Lead Artist at Wix Games, and I’m here to tell you all about how Duck Life’s visual language is evolving going into the third dimension. This week, we thought we’d give you a deeper look into the new-and-improved world of Duck Life, more specifically Featherhaven Island, our most ambitious destination to date! But before we dive in head-first, lets take a look at some of the defining principles of Duck Life 9’s art…


With every new game, we’re always trying to push the boundaries of how beautiful we can make the world around you, so this time we’ve decided to go with a lovely pastel art style, with calligraphic outlines to really the nail that painterly feel. Above you can see some of the visual development of how we evolved the look of the ducks, with the OG style on the left morphing into something a little *too* different in version 2, and being reigned back into something more familiar by the end. The result is a cute new spin on the designs seen in Duck Life Adventure, with slightly altered proportions, fluffy shoulders and some feet that lend themselves a lot better to the new 3D environment.


Duck Life 9 is set in the tropical paradise of Featherhaven Island. The island is separated into 9 areas, but we’re not going to be spoiling them all today, where would be the fun in that?? Take a look below to see what we’re willing to reveal to you this week...


Let’s get to the meat and potatoes - Featherhaven Island! More specifically Spring Meadows, which is one of the first areas you’ll come across on your adventure. Here you’ll be meeting and racing other ducks, gaining access to merchants, and even learning a new skill or two! This area was heavily inspired by traditional Japanese gardens, which means the inclusion of water features and cherry blossoms aplenty - but it obviously wouldn’t be a proper Duck Life game without a windmill in the background, so we’ve got you covered there, too!


Another zone that you’ll come across is Splash Lagoon, the ideal holiday destination for any duck who wants get away from it all and float in the ocean with a tropical drink. You’ll notice a sneaky set of vines in the background there, which you can utilise with your climbing skill to reach new heights! This will also be the first time in Duck Life where you’ll be able to come across fellow ducks to race just chilling in the water, a bit like in the Seafoam Islands area of the original Pokemon game. This helps make your surroundings feel more like a natural breathing world, with ducks going about their day-to-day in each section of Featherhaven Island’s 9 zones. The Lagoon takes a few visual notes from Super Mario Sunshine, really leaning into those sun-blazed tropical colours to make it feel like a true island hideaway.

That’s everything for now, but come back soon for more dev logs! We’ll be posting here every two weeks. Join our Discord channel to keep updated and to join the discussion. We’ll also be posting trailers and updates on our YouTube channel, and if you’d like to wishlist the game you can do so now on the official Steam page

After a short break to rest and recuperate, the ducks are back and raring to go! Duck Life 9 is now fully in development and we thought you’d like to know how its going


Where better to start than the ducks themselves? As you can see they’ve had quite the glow up. You can change your duck’s hairstyle, eye shape, eye colour and body colour. The ducks are more expressive than ever, with all new animations and facial expressions.


For the first time in a Duck Life game, the ducks have real feet! Gone are the days of the legs made out of two line segments - with these new feet the ducks can run, swim and climb better than ever before.


2D is so 2010. In Duck Life 9, the ducks finally enter the third dimension! This decision wasn’t made lightly, but it opens up a wealth of new training game options and allows a lot more exploration. I’ve always said if we were going to make another Duck Life, I wanted it to be an experience unlike any of the others. 3D is our first step towards that

That’s everything for now, but come back soon for more dev logs! We’ll be posting here every two weeks. Join our Discord channel to keep updated and to join the discussion. We’ll also be posting trailers and updates on our YouTube channel, and if you’d like to wishlist the game you can do so now on the official Steam page