Duck Guardian One

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Game Category: New Game

**Duck Guardian One**

Description	Save a duck! Save the planet!
Release date	August 30, 2004
Play Game
Box Art

A game by Videlectrix. The plot: save ducks from various hazards and lead them into a spaceship in order to transport them to the hungry people of Vexar VII.

Page Title: Duck Guardian One! Save a Duck, Save THE WORLD!!

Viidelectrix Page Title: Duck is great time.

Date: Tuesday, August 30, 2004

[edit] Instructions

Protect the ducks using a variety of rays! Use the mouse to move the ray target crosshairs, and the desired number key to fire a ray (The keys used are noted below). Use P or the Enter key to "paws" the game at any time. There are 33 levels total.

[edit] Ray Types

Direction Ray (1): The ray you begin the game with. When fired at a duck, it will reverse the direction it is going in, useful for dodging falling robot heads.
Jump Ray (2): Earned in Level 3. Enables ducks to jump over pits and robot dogs.
Freeze Ray (3): Earned in Level 9. Freezes ducks solid, rendering them temporarily immune to robot dog attacks. Be warned that other ducks cannot pass frozen ducks, and robot heads still crush frozen ducks.
Double Jump Ray (2): Replaces the normal Jump Ray in Level 13. Enables ducks to jump in mid-air.
Hatch Ray (4): Earned in Level 17. Cracks open falling eggs, causing ducks to come out. Be warned that if used on live ducks, it blows them up.
Armor Ray (5 or Space Bar): Earned in Level 27. Renders ducks immune to robot heads and dogs, but unable to jump.

[edit] Hazards

Robot Heads: Fall from the sky to crush your ducks. Only the armor ray renders your ducks immune to a Robot Head attack.
Spaceship Door: Opens and closes in certain levels. If closed, ducks cannot enter the ship.
Bombs: Fall from the sky to open pits in the ground. Will kill any ducks they fall on.
Pits: Holes in the ground created by Bombs and Hatched Eggs. Will kill any duck unlucky enough to wander into it.
Robot Dogs: Run from the left side of the screen to the right, eating any ducks unfortunate enough to get in their way. The Freeze and Armor rays protect your ducks from a Robot Dog attack. Can be jumped. {The city light will flash shortly before the Robot Dog comes out on the prowl.}
Eggs: Fall from the sky and crush ducks. They remain on the ground and block ducks that walk up to them. They can be hatched into two or more ducks using the Hatch Ray, but they will leave a pit in the ground. Can be jumped. Ducks that land on an egg bounce off into the air.

[edit] Fun Facts

[edit] Explanations

The Duck Guardian series was first mentioned in the Email FAQ, where Strong Bad occasionally told the viewer to hurry up so he can play his new copy of Duck Guardian 2. The sequel having appeared first is likely the reason the game is specified as being Duck Guardian One.

[edit] Trivia

When you beat the game, a screen shows up that has an astronaut handing one of the ducks (dead) on a plate to a strange alien (who has the same color scheme as Bubs), and the text says "Well Done, Duck Guardian!! Now the people of Vexar VII will not go hungry!"
Users without Flash Player 7 installed receive an interesting note, which references player culture.

Don't hate the game, hate the playa.

DUCK GUARDIAN ONE
IS A FLASH PLAYER 7
GAME.

FLASH SAYS YOU DON'T
HAVE NUMBER 7.
SORRY. TRY UPDATING
YOUR FLASH PLUG-IN.

DON'T HATE THE GAME,
HATE THE PLAYA.

[edit] Remarks

Not so lucky ducks.

Using the Direction Ray on a duck repeatedly agitates it, causing it to run faster and jump farther. Holding the Direction Ray and firing it constantly at the left of the screen (where the ducks come out) causes the ducks to walk back and forth; the longer you hold it, the faster the duck will run when you release the Ray.
If you have an extra duck very near the closed space ship door and you complete a level by pushing a duck through with the Direction Ray, you can make the TO SAVE number become -1.
Occasionally on a level with multiple bombs, two pits will be created inconveniently close to each other that can only be cleared using the Double Jump Ray or excessive agitation of ducks with the Direction Ray.

[edit] Glitches

If you pause the game, the Spaceship Door still opens and closes. So if the door is shut at the moment your duck arrives at the door, simply pause the game and wait for the door to open.
- This has been fixed in the Viidelectrix version.
You can still use the various rays on the ducks while the game is paused, by using the number keys. It's possible to hold down the direction ray on a group of ducks near the starting point for several minutes, then press the jump ray: you'll end up with a lot of flying ducks moving at incredible speeds, crossing the screen in under a millisecond.
- This glitch has been fixed in the Viidelectrix version.
Sometimes, if you use the direction ray right when a duck is next to a closed spaceship door, they will go in.
You can armor then quickly unarmor ducks in midair, then make them double jump again! With this glitch, ducks can make it all the way across without even touching the ground. If robot heads are falling, simply armor them when they're up high, then unarmor them once the robot head has passed.
The Flash player message will appear if you have Flash 8. However, if you play it from the Videlectrix Game Demos page, the game will play as normal.
You can see the game winscreen without actually beating the game. To do this, hatch an egg right after your last live duck dies (or after the last duck enters the ship, if you fail to meet the correct number of ducks). Your score will be listed as 0.
If you beat a level while the city light is flashing, the light will stay on in the next level.

[edit] Real-World References

The soundtrack, per-level instructions, use of a badly rendered female voice, and reference to levels as "waves" all recall the computer game Klax.
The carton for this game is reminiscent of the box art for Activision games for the Atari 2600 system. Secret Collect. also references the Atari 2600 but uses the Silver box design.
This game pays homage in many ways to the now-defunct gaming company Psygnosis.
- The theme of the game is similar to the popular computer game Lemmings.
- When you pause the game, it includes the "Paws" pun found in many of Psygnosis' games.
- The way the ducks explode is reminiscent of the way the "Wabbits" explode in the Psygnosis game Wiz'n'Liz.
The falling robot heads resemble the original Thwomp and the eggs resemble those of Yoshi, both from the Mario series.
The hint for Level 11 is a reference to the old adage "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
The hint for Level 31 is a possible reference to the Frog and Toad series of books.
The duck explosion animation (seen on the Videlectrix logo screen and when using the hatch ray) looks to have been based on animations from the arcade game Dig Dug.
The sound effects for ducks jumping and dying are taken from the game Frog Bog for the Intellivision.
The sound effect for a duck being rescued is taken from the game SNAFU, also for the Intellivision.
The bombs are reminiscent of the classic arcade game Moon Patrol.

[edit] Fast Forward

The ducks are seen later on Main Page 22, where two of them walk across the screen and explode, as well as Stinkoman 20X6 Level -0, where they are used as ladders.

[edit] Viidelectrix

All "Click here to start"s are replaced by "Point hereabouts and mash A to start."
The directions read:

"Use remote as a pointer to aim

Fire direction ray with A or B buttons

To get ducks safely to the escape ship."

The spaceship door glitch and the firing while paused glitch are now fixed.
The Direction Ray is fired with A or B.
The Jump Ray is fired with Left on the D-Pad.
The Freeze Ray is fired with Right on the D-Pad.
The Hatch Ray is fired with Down on the D-Pad.
The Armor Gun is fired with Up on the D-Pad.

[edit] Level Guide

Wave 1

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 15

HINT: Shoot Ducks with the DIRECTION RAY to turn them around.

RAYS: Direction Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads

Wave 2

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 10

HINT: Ducks cannot enter the escape ship when the door is closed.

RAYS: Direction Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, Closing Spaceship Door

Wave 3

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 10

HINT: You now have the JUMP RAY. Press 1 to fire the DIRECTION RAY, press 2 to fire the JUMP RAY.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads

Wave 4

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 15

HINT: Use the JUMP RAY to get Ducks over dangerous pits.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, 1 Bomb, 1 Pit

Wave 5

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 25

HINT: Airborne Ducks can be reversed with the DIRECTION RAY.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, 2 Bombs, 2 Pits, Closing Spaceship Door

Wave 6

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 20

HINT: The DIRECTION RAY agitates ducks with repeated use.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray

HAZARDS: 2 Bombs, 2 Pits

Wave 7

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 15

HINT: Watch out for Robot Dogs. They love to eat Ducks.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, Robot Dogs

Wave 8

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 12

HINT: The City Light will flash when a Robot Dog is on the prowl.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, Robot Dogs, Closing Spaceship Door

Wave 9

GOAL: Save 15 Ducks out of 25

HINT: You now have the FREEZE RAY. Press 3 to fire the FREEZE RAY and freeze Ducks.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray, Freeze Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, Robot Dogs

Wave 10

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 15

HINT: Robot Dogs don't like eating FROZEN Ducks. Not so much, no.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray, Freeze Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, Robot Dogs, 1 Bomb, 1 Pit

Wave 11

GOAL: Save 10 Ducks out of 35

HINT: A Duck in the ship is worth two somewhere else.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray, Freeze Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, Robot Dogs, 2 Bombs, 2 Pits, Closing Spaceship Door

Wave 12

GOAL: Save 10 Ducks out of 25

HINT: Today's Forecast: No deadly Robot Heads inexplicably falling from the heavens.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Jump Ray, Freeze Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Dogs, 4 Bombs, 4 Pits

Wave 13

GOAL: Save 10 Ducks out of 20

HINT: You now have the JUMP RAY DOUBLE JUMP RAY upgrade. Shoot an airborne Duck a second time for serious Duck air.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Double Jump Ray, Freeze Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, Robot Dogs, 2 Bombs, 2 Pits

Wave 14

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 15

HINT: Falling Eggs will crush unwitting Ducks, and obstruct them once they've landed.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Double Jump Ray, Freeze Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, 1 Bomb, 1 Pit, 1 Egg

Wave 15

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 30

HINT: Videogames are just as good as reading a book.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Double Jump Ray, Freeze Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads

Wave 16

GOAL: Save 5 Ducks out of 15

HINT: Airborne Ducks can be FROZEN, but FROZEN Ducks cannot JUMP.

RAYS: Direction Ray, Double Jump Ray, Freeze Ray

HAZARDS: Robot Heads, 1 Bomb, 1 Pit, 2 Eggs

Wave 17

GOAL: Save 10 Ducks out of 20 {actual limit 21}

HINT: You now have the HATCH RAY. Shoot an Egg with the 4 key to HATCH 'em up.