Published on January 8, 2026
A game character is more than just a mesh; it's the player's avatar in a digital world. Creating Duckov was a process of iteration, simplification, and adding a lot of personality.
We knew we wanted a duck. But what kind of duck? Early sketches showed Duckov as a cyborg, a wizard, and even a ninja. We eventually settled on the "Space Explorer" theme because it offered the most freedom for gameplay mechanics (flying in 3D space).
Since this is a browser game, we had a strict polygon budget. The final model of Duckov is less than 1,500 triangles. We used smooth shading normals to make him look rounder than he actually is.
We chose a vibrant color palette to make Duckov stand out against the dark background of space. His bright yellow feathers and orange beak act as a natural focal point for the player.
A static duck is a boring duck. We rigged a simple skeleton to give him a subtle "bobbing" motion while flying. The most important animation? The beak opening when he quacks. It's a small detail, but it brings the character to life.
We hope you enjoy flying with Duckov as much as we enjoyed creating him!