- Building a Casino for 32 Players - 21 September 2026
Hi everyone! As we near ever closer to live testing with all of you entering the Monte Quacko, we wanted to talk a bit about how we’re preparing for all of you.Always Bet on Quack will launch with 32 player lobbies, making sure the space feels full without impacting performance. Knowing that there will be 32 players gives us the ability to build around that and make sure that a range of players from 1-32 will work with the space we have.We built the main casino floor in a couple of ways. First, we wanted it to feel big, but not so big that you spend all your time waddling around the casino and not actually playing any of the games. However, it is still big enough so if you want to tuck away into a corner and play the slots for awhile with just you and some friends, that option is there too. This also works for the tables, we made sure the number of tables would not only make the casino…
- Why we’re so against microtransactions in Always Bet on Quack - 14 September 2026
Hi everyone! We spoke a few weeks ago about our commitment to not being an online casino, but we wanted to take that a bit further and talk a bit more about why we’re so against it.In 2015, Sam was playing Mass Effect 3 with his friends, most of whom ended up joining Dogwood Gaming at some point. Mass Effect 3 had a HORRIBLE microtransaction economy. They finally added multiplayer, which was a lot of fun, but they locked so much of the content behind lootboxes in a largely single player game. That was essentially the straw that broke the camel’s back where we said we were going to make our own games and we would never be that predatory. In a game like Always Bet on Quack especially, we don’t want this to be a game that drains you. Our philosophy has always been that if you build a good game that you take care of, you’ll have a dedicated audience that will support it. There is no reason…
- Using Always Bet on Quack in the Classroom! Pt. 2! - 10 September 2026
Hi everyone! This week is the first week classes are back, there is a LOT that goes into that. We’re still working on Always Bet on Quack, and we try to have our classes not only use the game to teach but to help push it along as well. Last week we talked about Sam’s planned integrations, this week we’ll be going over Tylers!Tyler will be teaching CIT 142, Intro to Level Design. In this class, Tyler will be using the Monte Quacko to share how objectives are placed and how we plan to expand the map to match gameplay expectations after release. By examining a world that is actively being built, students will be able to experience all the behind the scenes work that goes into bringing a video game level to life, while having it make sense while playing it.Tyler will also be teaching CIT 142, Visual Concepts I. This is an introduction course for 3D design, so the plan is to have students wo…
- Using Always Bet on Quack in the Classroom! Pt. 1! - 31 August 2026
Hi everyone! It is crazy to think the summer has already come and gone, but we’re now getting ready for the next school semester to start up next week. Both Sam and Tyler try to incorporate as much of the development process as they can into their classes.Sam is teaching Intro to Game Design, Pre-Production Game Design, and Visual Design II. For Intro to Game Design, the entire development process has been easy to share. This is usually the first video game design class that students take, so Sam takes the time to go deeper into the development process for Always Bet on Quack. In Pre-Production, Sam has a unit that covers marketing for games and what needs to be considered before the game is even ready to be launched. Always Bet on Quack should be starting its full marketing push in September/October, so students will be able to see how different strategies work in real time. Finally, f…
- The Features that Almost Weren’t - 25 August 2026
Hi everyone! As we’ve been working on the game I noticed there were a couple really good parts that almost didn’t make it in and I wanted to talk about why that was and ultimately how they ended up getting approved in the end.The biggest one is the construction minigames. Originally we had it set so that you’d earn chips on a timer and from completing challenges. The problem was this really was just copying what Four Kings Casino does and their system was a big reason why we wanted to change things. We realized that by having a timer we were limiting gameplay and potentially stopping people from playing with their friends because they had to wait. With giving out chips for challenges, (we did keep this) but if that was the only option you could run out of ways to make chips every day.Ultimately, we want every experience to be fun. Even if you lose, not only do you gain chips from playin…
- Addressing Expected Gambling Reactions - 17 August 2026
Hi everyone! It recently made news that gamers in Australia are no longer able to use any of the casino functionality in Grand Theft Auto Online. This is something we’ve lightheartedly talked about but it really does deserve to be addressed. We fully expect there to be negative reactions to our game, we’ve had to fill out specific content surveys about exactly what type of gambling is in our game. We never want to encourage a gambling addiction, this was made to offer a fun alternative to so much of the gambling in gaming we see today. I learned how to play a lot of casino games from video games. Yakuza started my interest in Baccarat and that became my favorite casino game. My joy from Baccarat comes less from winning, and more from the fun of people yelling “solidarity!” and then you just hope for the best and gamble how they gamble. It's a fun, social activity, as are most of the tab…
- Building our Quackette Table! Pt. 2! - 11 August 2026
Hi everyone! As I mentioned last week, we ran into numerous obstacles trying to get our Quackette table home, and I want to share the entire adventure with you. The day after I was rear ended, Tuesday, we drove down to Maryland at 10am to see if the hitch had arrived. Thankfully it had gotten there early in the morning and we were told the hitch shouldn’t take longer than an hour to set up.About five hours later the hitch was set up and ready to go, thankfully Tyler had moved our trailer rental to a closer location because we weren’t getting back to West Virginia before they closed. As someone who has never driven with a trailer before, it really makes horrible noises when you're driving it empty! Despite leaving in the middle of rush hour, we still got back to West Virginia before dark. At around 8pm, we were loaded up and ready to drive home. As we anticipated, there were flood and to…
- Building our Quackette Table! Pt. 1! Probably. - 4 August 2026
Hi everyone! As I mentioned last week, I would share the story of how this Quackette table is being made. We make plans to showcase at MAGFest every year, we love the event and it really is the best place we’ve found to share the games we make. For our submission this year, we are building a physical table to play one of the games from Always Bet on Quack. Think of those high end Dungeon and Dragons tables that have the screens in them. It's like that, but to play Quackette! It can seat up to four players and everyone has a dedicated quack button.So, where to even begin? Thankfully, our creative director, Tyler, is a former theatre kid! He went to college originally for theatre set design and is now able to use that with us. Tyler’s family is originally from West Virginia and invited him down to use their woodworking tools to build this thing from scratch. The original plan was for Tyle…
- Where have we been? - 27 July 2026
Hi everyone! I am so sorry for the radio silence. We have been on a bit of an adventure these past couple of weeks and last week it wiped me out so much I fell completely behind on posting updates!I wanted to share everything going on because it's been a process and I hope this might be interesting for those of you who wonder about what goes on behind the scenes for trying to ship a game.Our studio puts a lot of effort into attending MAGFest every year. MAGFest is an enormous video game and music convention that for the past ten years has been an incredible opportunity for us. We have met so many amazing people over the years, and the eyes on our games always made a huge impact. Always Bet on Quack is still shooting for an early 2027 release, and with MAGFest being in January, we wanted to do a lot of promotion there this year. Our plan is to build a physical installation for one of the…
- Our Summer Plans for the Monte Quacko! - 13 July 2026
Hi everyone! We’ve been hard at work crossing our T's and dotting our I's. There is a lot more work to do, we’re now starting to put in final polish and final sets of programming. We are actively testing text and proximity chat so soon you’ll be able to quack it up with everyone at the same table as you.We’re also actively building more animation sets for our ducks. We want the characters to have more movement and life to them, and we also want to make sure we release with a strong roster of fun emotes. Trust me, I’ve been trying to get the Club Penguin dance just right.We’re also turning on and testing all of our achievements. We have Steam achievements all set up, as well as our challenge system with the Art Gallery. All of this is now being finalized so we’ll be able to share the final art gallery soon.Apart from that, it's all polish and little things. We want to make sure you’re al…
- The Daily Quack: A Day at the Monte Quacko - 29 June 2026
Hello Quacks and Quackettes! This intrepid reporter promises the following article is an UNBIASED review of the entertainment resort found in our great city, the Monte Quacko.Now, I’m not required to disclose how many room upgrades I was given or the amount of free drinks in my “influencer” package, but they are generous!I started my day bright and early, around noon, and I was whisked away in a limo to the front gates of the Monte Quacko. The entrance area was a bit chaotic, lots of ducks checking in and for some reason there was a construction van confidently parked in the fire lane. As I waited in line to check in, I couldn’t help but marvel at the incredible new artwork all around the casino. I’ve been told it was all generously donated by world famous artist, Dük, what a good egg! Before I could even get over the elevator, the casino floor called my name. Let me tell you, Seymor C.…
- Why are the minigames construction themed? - 26 June 2026
Hi everyone! We are currently working on finishing up our final mini games. Before we started working on the demo, we had two games left to finish out of five total games that you’ll be able to play. Of all the systems we’ve put in, this one gets the most “Why?” questions.This system was designed as our answer to how do we make losing not a “feel bad” situation. In other social casino games such as Four Kings Casino, if you lose all your chips the only way to get free chips is either wait 15 minutes for free chips, pay real money, or complete a few daily challenges. We're already implementing a daily challenge system but we aren’t selling chips and being forced to wait around doesn’t seem very fun.When I was kid, I played this game called ToonTown Online. ToonTown had a system where you’d jump on a trolley with up to 3 other players and it would take you to a random party game that woul…
- Our new internal demo is complete! - 17 June 2026
Hi everyone! We have a really exciting announcement for you this week. After weeks of extensive testing and debugging, we’ve finally released our newest demo for internal testing. I know that isn’t as exciting as me saying we have an open beta, but we still have more to do before we let you all into the Monte Quacko!You’ll start seeing new content coming out soon, as well as a brand new trailer that is currently being worked on. I mentioned in a previous post that when we’re taking feedback, we have to consider that our current Steam trailer is not representative of what the space looks like now. Jeremy did a lot of work with not just optimization but also lighting so that the casino looks like a much more inviting space. We also went through a ton of networking debugging. Getting multiplayer to work has been a priority from day one, and you can expect stress tests to be coming in the n…
- The Daily Quack: Famed international artist Dük spotted at Monte Quacko! - 10 June 2026
Hello Quacks and Quackettes! Today’s top story may as well be in the tabloids! Famed international artist and known partier, Dük, was seen arriving at the Monte Quacko late last night. When asked about his plans, his team informed us he was here for an extended stay and would be moving in. But how did such famed feathers end up in our local casino?Dük started as an underground artist, making his name etching chicken scratch into the biggest clubs in Berlin. A duck of the night, he quickly made a name for himself in the art world. Dük would soon find his art in art studios that his family could bribe all over the world. Now to assume that Dük’s success came from nepotism would be presumptuous. According to inside sources, his allowance would only allow him one new car every six monthsAfter several years at the top of the art scene in Europe, he was named in a massive multi-year tax fraud…
- Taking feedback and making the game better - 1 June 2026
Hi everyone! I'm so sorry we didn't post a Steam update last week. Things have been really hectic with trying to get our new internal demo ready. We need it to create all of our marketing content as it is much more representative of the final game. This goes a bit into why that is important! When we launched our Steam page in January, we knew we were launching with some pretty early images and videos. We really appreciate all of you who are actually reading these, this is the early days and I HOPE that when we start really pushing things over the summer you’ll all see the massive improvements being made.One of the main ideas I try to drive home to my students is that when someone gives feedback on your game, it isn’t to tear you down or criticize you, it is because that person sees something that they think that can make the game better. Feedback on a game idea is never criticism of you…
- Looking Forward After Release - 18 May 2026
While post launch content feels ages away, we felt it would be fun to talk about what we want to do after we first open our doors to all of you! Always Bet on Quack started as a teaching tool and will continue to be used as such. Each following semester will focus on a different game that we want to add. From baccarat to poker to sports betting, these are all things we want to have for you to enjoy with each other.When you arrive at the Monte Quacko, one of the first thing you’ll see is a big construction site off to the left of the main casino area. This space is where our pool is being built!After the game comes out, the first area we want to expand into is the pool. What casino resort is complete without an oversized pool? Plus we’re all ducks here, how could we not have a pool? The pool space is going to be home to our next game, sports betting! How will sports betting work you ask?…
- Using Always Bet on Quack as a teaching tool. - 11 May 2026
One of the most rewarding parts of developing Always Bet on Quack has been seeing it become more than just a game project. It’s also become a real teaching tool.Sam and Tyler both use the game directly in their college courses at Bristol Community College, giving students a chance to see how a real multiplayer game is built from the ground up. Because the project is actively in development, students aren’t just learning theory, they’re getting to see and experience real production pipelines, real assets, and real design problems.In Intro to Game Design courses, Always Bet on Quack is used to break down nearly every aspect of development. Students can study level design, UI, game feel, multiplayer systems, progression loops, sound design, player psychology, marketing, and more through a project that is actively being built in real time.In Sam’s 3D modeling classes, students get hands on…
- Developer Interview: Behind the Ducks - Christian! - 7 May 2026
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 one of our programmers, whose work helps bring much of the features to life! Christian started as a student on one of Sam’s classes, and has most recently been helping make all of the mini games.What got you interested in game design in the first place?I would have to say that just growing up playing video games most of my life got me into game design. Watching people make mods for games and change games in interesting ways definitely inspired me to want to eventually delve into some form of game development. I was always interested in the intricacies of how games are made, but I never knew how to actually make anything. Once I got my hands on Unity in high school and started making things in it, my interest only grew from there. When working on Always Bet on…
- Building Fair Casino Games - 20 April 2026
When we started building Always Bet on Quack, we knew one thing from the beginning: We wanted the excitement of a casino, but we wanted to remove the predatory aspects of online casinos. Casino games are fun because of the tension, the unpredictability, and those big, memorable moments where everything comes down to a single spin or card. But in many games that excitement is tied to systems that can feel frustrating, restrictive, or even unfair. At the Monte Quacko, there is no real money gambling. Every chip you use in the casino is earned through gameplay. Whether that’s daily rewards, challenges, events, or time spent playing with others. That means losing a round never feels like losing something real. It’s part of the experience, not a punishment. We also designed the system so that players are never locked out of playing. Even if you hit a rough streak at the tables, there are alw…
- The Daily Quack: Monte Quacko Construction Techniques - EXPOSED! - 14 April 2026
Hello Quacks and Quackettes! Today’s top story is focusing on the city’s biggest construction crew, Quackers & Sons, and their biggest construction project, the Monte Quacko!Our investigation began almost a year ago when ground broke for the mega casino, the Monte Quacko. At the time, this land was set to be used as a city park and community clinic, but thanks to a well placed phone call and donation, it was rezoned to become a casino. This feathered reporter found it remarkable that such a massive building was completed so quickly, I had to dig deeper.The Monte Quacko had the contractor Quackers & Sons to handle construction for the casino. A reputable business, known for their ability to build quick, pass inspection later mentality. The company prides itself in giving ducks a second chance at a meaningful career, offering construction work to pretty much anyone who asks.“We got one ru…
