Duck Life: Adventure | Game Soundtrack & Sound Design

In 2020 I was asked to compose the full soundtrack and sound design for the latest edition in the award-winning Duck Life series - Duck Life: Adventure.

Duck Life has been a gaming sensation for the past decade, racking up over a billion plays, topping the app store and scooping up awards. It's been a firm favourite for kids and adults alike, and the most recent edition is featured on games consoles such as Xbox & Nintendo Switch, as well as app stores and online. Throughout the game, players design their own duck and embark on a journey of epic proportions - with 80 training games, races and a heart-wrenching narrative.

I've had the pleasure of working on the Duck Life series for many years, composing the original theme song which has been adapted in each new game since.

Duck Life: Adventure was the most, well, adventurous edition yet. It features the most ambitious graphics and narrative in the series to date, so it required a soundtrack which covered all spectrums. In total, I wrote 22 songs spanning a myriad of genres, each two-three minutes long, as well as eight cut-scene sound design pieces.

Ten tracks were the songs for each 'world', which were intended to set an ambience for a particular gaming environment, such as the 'forest', 'city', 'cave', 'wilderness'. For these tracks, I aimed to keep the instrumentation choices more organic, and include lots of sound design and layered 'duck voices' to paint a sonic picture as the duck protagonist interacted in each world.

Eight tracks were for 'training' levels, which included high-octane mini games. I used more electronic sounds and beats for these levels and opted for higher tempos to retain a feeling of adrenaline. Like the worlds, each training level had a theme, such as 'flying', 'jumping', 'swimming', 'endurance'. So, sound design and instrument timbre was taken into consideration to suit each theme.

Two tracks were written for the 'battle' levels, where ducks fight against their enemies to win points and to progress through the game. I wrote two rock tracks, with over-driven guitars and high-energy drums to induce a feeling of fighting rage. Another two tracks were written for the 'races', where ducks are in competition with others to win grand prizes. For these levels, I chose more electronic instrumentation, but aimed for a feeling of tension by opting for uneasy intervals and movement.

On top of the musical songs, I also wrote all sound design pieces for the games, which ranged from 'cut scenes', which acted as cartoon narratives for the game. These heavily leant on sound effects which I sourced and created, small musical interludes, and some entertaining duck voices. Yep... I created my very own gibberish duck language, which I then pitch shifted up to give the illusion that I am indeed, a pixellated colourful cartoon duck.

Throughout the creative process, I made sure to remain true to the original theme to honour the game’s loyal and devoted fanbase, whilst injecting the more upbeat and vigorous ‘adventure' energy into the soundtrack to represent the most dynamic reincarnation of Duck Life yet. Leaning into catchy melodies was key to appeal to the mostly younger audience, whilst always ensuring the sounds matched the visuals and intent of each scene in the game.

Much of the soundtrack was written in the same key, to retain a congruent and on-brand feel throughout. This was important because the vast-ranging nature of the game meant genres varied drastically - from electronic beats to middle-eastern sounds. Keeping tracks in the same key allowed for a common denominator - threading the soundtrack together.

So far, the game has been a huge hit, racking up many hundreds of thousands of 5-star reviews across Xbox, Nintendo Switch, App Store & Google Play.