Developer Log #4: We Are Four Ducks, the Developers of “1000 Princes”!

[p][/p][p]Dear Princess, we come from the Kingdom of Ducks and are the developers of the "1000 Princes" series! Today, we four ducks are making our first appearance here to meet our players and officially introduce our team. We are incredibly excited![/p][p]In this interview, we will share with you the reasons and inspiration behind creating the otome game "1000 Princes" and explain our individual roles. The previous developer, Ginyan, accidentally ate a magical candy and turned back into a pig! From now on, we four ducks will interact with princess players as the developers of "1000 Princes," and Ginyan will no longer appear.[/p][p][/p][p]Q1: You all come from the Kingdom of Ducks. What kind of country is it?[/p][p]Yabo: The Kingdom of Ducks is a newly established nation formed after World War III. A limited number of elite soldiers hid inside the belly of a giant rubber duck statue, deceiving the enemy and achieving a decisive victory in the Battle of the Giant Duck through a midnight ambush. Afterward, they founded a country and named it the "Kingdom of Ducks." The Kingdom places great importance on developing industries like gaming and pop culture.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Q2: What kind of game development team are you?[/p][p]Yabo: We are a four-person micro game company and have been operating for four years. We specialize in otome games for women and have released titles like "Ling Tian 1" and the ongoing "1000 Princes."[/p][p][/p][p]Q3: Could each of the four duck team members introduce yourselves?[/p][p]YaBo: I'm Yabo, responsible for project initiation, planning, and promotion.[/p][p]YaGu: I'm Yagu, responsible for art including 3D character modeling, clothing, accessories, environment design, and UI.[/p][p]YaChi: I'm Yachi, responsible for the game script and translation.[/p][p]YaXiong: I'm Yaxiong, responsible for programming, music, and voice acting.[/p][p][/p][p]Q4: How do you divide tasks, and how is the teamwork going? Are there conflicts?[/p][p]YaBo: Rather than conflicts, we often feel uncertain and confused as male otome game developers because we don't always understand what female players want. This leads to disagreements during discussions.[/p][p]YaGu: However, over time, our teamwork has become more synchronized. Initially, there were many misunderstandings between art and tech discussions, but now our communication is much smoother and more efficient.[/p][p][/p][p]Q5: As an all-male development team, what inspired you to create otome games? Please share your experiences.[/p][p][/p][p]YaBo: My previous studio developed war games. None of us expected real armed conflict would happen. Two female team members were killed by terrorists, which was shocking and heartbreaking. That moment changed my life. I still feel deep guilt for not protecting them. They were kind, hardworking, and passionate. They loved otome games, even though they worked meticulously on weapons and military scenes for the studio. After their deaths, I no longer wished to make violent war games. I wanted to create games filled with love and warmth.[/p][p][/p][p]YaXiong: My elder sister loved otome games and even took coding classes in middle school. I would secretly watch her lessons and once helped her with code she struggled with, revealing my talent. My father was violent and alcoholic. My mother and sister often protected me from abuse. My mom worked hard to feed us, and my sister gave me her share. Later, to repay gambling debts, my father stole our money and even sold my sister to a gang. I used my hacking skills and infiltrated the dark web to track and rescue her. Now our life is peaceful. I hate bullying, violence, alcoholism, and gambling. I don’t want to use my skills for harm. Even if this otome game code is simple, creating warm and sweet games like "1000 Princes" has been healing for me.[/p][p][/p][p]YaChi: Because of my father's job, we moved constantly, and my mom took me and my two younger sisters to different countries. They disliked scary stories, so I made up romantic tales of princes and Cinderella every night to help them sleep. They loved it. Later, they encouraged me to post stories online, and I unexpectedly received a lot of positive feedback. I eventually ran an e-book website focused on romance and language books. I believe romantic stories and otome game scripts are closely related. Now I write and translate for "1000 Princes."[/p][p][/p][p]YaGu: I loved drawing from a young age. Though we were poor, my mom saved and worked hard to support my education and art. She loved colorful dresses but had to wear gray cleaning uniforms for work. Once, when I hesitated between second-hand tablets, she surprised me with an expensive new one. I swore never to let her down. She loves the beautiful scenes I create in otome games and admires the pretty outfits I design. [/p][p][/p][p]Q6: Besides game development, what do you four have in common?[/p][p]YaBo: Haha, we all love duck meat. When we eat together, it's always duck hot pot.[/p][p]YaGu: "Duck hot pot" is a signature dish from the Kingdom of Ducks.[/p][p]YaXiong: It’s made by simmering duck with various ingredients in a clay pot.[/p][p]YaChi: But we each like different parts of the duck.[/p][p][/p][p]YaBo: I love spicy duck neck. Though it has little meat, it’s rich in flavor with tendons and muscle in between the bones — a very popular snack.[/p][p]YaXiong: I love duck breast. I work out, and duck breast is high in protein — great for muscle gain.[/p][p]YaChi: I love duck wings — braised or stewed, they're chewy and delicious![/p][p]YaGu: It may sound strange, but I love duck butt. My mom often brought them home when I was young. I especially love roasted or spicy duck butt![/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Q7: What are your upcoming development plans?[/p][p]YaBo: We'll continue updating Episode 3 of "1000 Princes," and work on character routes like "Ling Tian 2" and "Howie 1," thanks to investments from princes I know in the countries of Fang and Bear. We aim to give players a better experience.[/p][p]YaXiong: We'll release devlog videos on planning, code, art, and also theme music.[/p][p]YaGu: More downloadable art assets and merchandise will be available on our official site.[/p][p]YaChi: The "1000 Princes" foreign-language e-books will also be released gradually. We hope players can give us more suggestions and feedback! I’ll keep refining the story scripts.[/p][p]All: We hope you love the "1000 Princes" series! You can find us on STEAM, our official site, YouTube, Google Play Games & Books, and Facebook! We are the four ducks devoted to making otome games! Quack quack![/p]