Developer Interview: Behind the Ducks - Eseme!

One of our favorite parts of working on Always Bet on Quack is the people who bring it to life. Today, we’re excited to spotlight our 3D artist, Eseme, whose work has been instrumental in building the Monte Quacko we have today. From designing our custom 3D models to creating the duck itself and many of the earliest costumes, his work has helped shape the world of Always Bet on Quack from the very beginning.

Eseme has been part of Dogwood Gaming for nearly a decade and has contributed to every game the studio has released. In this short interview, we talk about his approach to 3D art, what drew him to game development, and how he balances creativity, performance, and gameplay when building characters for an interactive world.

• What originally drew you to 3D art, and what made you want to work in games?

I was drawn to 3D art as an extension of my own interest in drawing and digital art. I had previously casually dabbled in art and was excited to try the challenge of working with 3D modeling software to create and collaborate with others.

• When you’re modeling something for Always Bet on Quack, what are the biggest things you have to consider beyond just how it looks?

The biggest consideration I have outside of how the models look would have to be whether the model is practical. The design process involves a lot of back and forth with the team when working on the 3D models and making sure the object or costume makes sense for the setting and the way it is applied is very important. I also often run into misunderstandings or misconceptions of what the object or costume might be used for and require some coaching to get on track with the model.

• Ducks are simple at a glance, but they need to support a lot of customization. How do you design a base model that can handle so many costumes and variations?

The design for the ducks focused on making it cute and simple first and foremost. Starting with reference photos and several meetings and initial sketch was made that with the cute and simple idea in mind. The sketch became the base I modeled from with the intention of a round, soft and simple design being a good base for the duck to be shaped into any type of character needed after.

• What’s one technical or artistic challenge you didn’t expect when working on a multiplayer game?

This project made me far more aware of the fact that not all birds look the same. Early iterations of the duck design had to be scraped for being to chicken like or reminiscent of another bird. I had to spend a significant amount of time familiarizing myself with the aesthetic of a duck to make sure that the rest of the team could unmistakably recognize the ducks as exactly that. I hope the players ultimately come to that same conclusion.

• How do performance considerations influence your modeling decisions, especially since the goal is to run well on lower-end hardware?

We lucked out having already leaned towards a simplified design for the ducks in the game and the overall aesthetic, therefore making less of a need for graphic fidelity. In the same vein the cuter aesthetic for the ducks also guided the consideration for the model’s appearance and movement. The round shapes of the body and wings and the cartoonish proportions both tied well to a less intensive and causal game that is more targeted toward friends having fun together than a resource intensive game.

• What’s the most rewarding part of seeing your 3D work go from a model on your screen to something players control in-game?

Working with a character model is really rewarding when you get to see it move and interact with the world. Seeing the art you worked on come to life through the players playing around with it provides a feeling of achievement uniquely different to my completing works in other media. It leaves me excited to see how the player base will become attached to the ducks and find ways to utilize the customization as their own form of expression.

Thanks for being here everyone, we can’t wait to share more with you all soon!

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