Building My First Open World Game | Devlog #2

🎮 Wishlist Sacred Forest on Steam Now 🌳👉
store.steampowered.com/app/28...
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🔖 CHAPTERS
0:00 - Cutscene
0:40 - About Sacred Forest
1:14 - Main Character
2:38 - New Characters
3:36 - Normal Maps
4:53 - Optimizations
6:27 - New World
This is my third devlog for Sacred Forest -- an open world game developed in Godot. Follow along as I go over all of the changes I've made since the last video as well as the new village and NPC's that are now part of the game.
Patreon:
/ blekoh
Sacred Forest Discord:
/ discord
Tools:
PureRef - www.pureref.com/
Godot - godotengine.org/
Blender - www.blender.org/
#devlog #gamedev #indiedev #godot

[@sacredforestgame]

🎮Wishlist Sacred Forest Here 🌳: store.steampowered.com/app/2864350/Sacred_Forest/

[@NethanielShade]

As your first Patreon subscriber, the first person to make Sacred Forest fanart, and first person to join the Sacred Forest discord, I’m very happy to see another devlog and that this project is continuing!

[@pidge_dumb]

bro is single-handedly funding this project

[@RationalBike]

@@pidge_dumb 😂😂

[@kkrup5395]

Bro got the title longer than Deneris Targarian

[@thekidd2888]

Bro is literally him

[@JohnWestHam]

this is so sweet

[@mikejurkowski]

that first person bow animation is 👌👌

[@joshtomith]

Loving the addition of normal maps for the characters! Gives them a pretty unique look / feel that works well in a 3d environment

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! 👈👈

[@Godot-Game-Dev]

Just before I watched that part of the video I was going to come and reply to this and say yeah I noticed that too🤣

[@xarvis9047]

Aaaaand wish-listed. Keep up the good work.

[@sacredforestgame]

Awesome! Thanks! :)

[@ibluebee2832]

A problem I'm seeing with the chariot NPC, is that when you look at him from the side, he looks just like a piece of paper. I don't really have a solution : you would need to to a lot of sprites if you wanted him to look different from all angles, but I'm just here to cause problems, not solutions. (jk of course) But the evolution is crazy ! the game is looking great this far.

[@sacredforestgame]

He has all direction animations but I haven't developed the part that maintains the correct animation depending on the position/angle of the player yet :)

[@tonypop1007]

I've seen your project a few times now and I have to say. This looks amazing i love the stylistic choices of a 2d mc brilliant.

[@tonypop1007]

Ps I'm about to wishlist.

[@ZephaniahNoah]

I love the Nacho Libre clip 😂

[@bensdecoypoondummy1189]

Broooo that part where the 2D sprite jumps off and glides with thecape blew my mind. Perfect blend of 2.5D

[@demiwav]

Secret cave behind waterfall 👌noted. Also, as a point of encouragement, I think it's awesome how your style is so unique and controversial - these comments literally going both ways, with some people gushing over the pixel vibe, and others really not with it. 😆 I think you should just embrace that. Seriously, don't get hung up on making everyone happy. You've got a good thing going.

[@skeletondude7160]

Cool , like seeing new devlogs for this game

[@sacredforestgame]

I'm glad! :)

[@Danz___]

He's got a moustache!

[@benrex777productions9]

Is it Mumbo?

[@Danz___]

@@benrex777productions9 cinematic universe unlocked

[@tamerxero]

Hey, bud! Your work here has been really amazing and impressive, and I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well-done so far. Your use of Godot is really impressive! I'm especially amazed by your world-streaming solution. Keep up the good work, every video from you I see is massive inspiration to continue on my own project.

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks and good luck with your project! :)

[@fergarram]

Love the gameplay and idea, great work! I don’t personally love the pixel art but I do like that the monsters are 3D and the character/npcs are not. It would be interesting to see a hand drawn style for them instead. Maybe continue the direction of rotoscope style as with the first person bow animation. In any case, I’m excited to see how this evolves.

[@fleshtonegolem]

Love the art style. This is so great!

[@dviross6096]

I must admit, when I saw ur first devlog I was like nahhh buy every devlog makes me more impressed about ur game. Can't wait to play the demo!!

[@Dessikret]

I watch a ton of dev logs , this is probably the one and only time ill go and wishlist a game after watching the video GREAT WORK 👍

[@sacredforestgame]

Awesome thanks! :)

[@Mr-Highball]

New update looks great!

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! 👈👈

[@benrex777productions9]

You always have so much improvement between your devlogs.

[@ebola9216]

omg i love how it looks, good work

[@YoshimiMilk]

It's a small detail but kind of makes it more immersive is that I think the particle effects when the player is walking on dirt ground and when running should not be the same or at least tone the effects down when walking. When walking, the dust particle would not be kicked that much hence not so much dirt trail. When the character is walking and there is the same dust trail as when the character is running kind of breaks the immersion, although this is just a small detail.

[@Mekkablood]

This looks incredible, great job on the animations!

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@BeAltyrnative]

so cool dude, keep on truckin! its looking really cool

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@gtxo2104]

Outstanding artwork, really great job, this looks very polished already!!!!

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@gtxo2104]

@@sacredforestgame idk if my response got sent or what but ill send it again just in case. I think ur a very skilled dev, i am a dev too i got some vids of my games on my channel if ud like. I fibd it really profitable in terms of gamedev to talk to other devs and share ideas and strategies so if thats something u could be interested id love to have a new source to draw inspiration from. Regardless of wether ill hear more from u or nor, u have a new fan

[@patarfuifui]

I'm so excited for this!

[@GrahamOfLegend]

The hookshot + glide combo is so good! Love this world that you're building

[@oliviergagnon2592]

Looking forward to play this 😊

[@Fenriskoll]

Dude, this spritework/2d in a 3d world works so well. I'm so looking forward to this.

[@bread995]

Looks awesome, wishlisted. Don't have any feedback, just commenting for the almighty algorithm 🙏

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@gufranthakur]

The game looks majestic. It's extremely unique and the design is so good. Love it!

[@zentoa]

This has come along SOOOOOO much since Devlog #1 its insane WOAH :DDD

[@compasscrafting1147]

This looks really novel and interesting! Wishlisted! Can't wait to see what else is coming!

[@KOELOVESGAMES]

Blehkoh, this shall be a real banger unlike any other game you have mde before...

[@billyfighter6945]

Already looks so good!

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@pcneststayinformed]

This is such a unique graphics concept. Pixelated still looks realistic.

[@RationalBike]

this is just so good.

[@JanPospisilArt]

The face update was a good direction, nice.

[@arn_d21]

se mira increíble hermano, sigue asi

[@doce3609]

I gotta say I really like this game. It looks really cool and like something I haven't really seen before. Two things I have noticed though are: 1. Effects (especially the walking smoke) should really be better. Right now they are really obnoxious tbh. 2. Some kinda outline or so for the main character to see her a little better. Especially when in green areas like the forest.

[@drinkwwwaterrr]

looks cool so far :), only thing is for the cart npc it doesn't feel like he has enough frames for when he's moving the cart around a curve. You could try doing something similar to dead cells where they convert 3d models into sprites to sort of automate the process of getting smooth animations. There's a program called PixelOver which does this kind of thing. This would probably help with all the npcs as well as the main character to move much more smoothly.

[@lorcanzo2498]

I love this game so much already

[@doobman1941]

i love small devs ur so motivated

[@resonanceofambition]

Triple A Schmiple A This looks so much better.

[@Toadprince1]

art is impeccable

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@rebekahmarinos2260]

Looking good

[@BRUHDESTROYER]

The game looks really cool, im excited, I hope that u can implement things like skill trees and abilities...

[@nothingeasy]

Looks cozy

[@kobeguy]

ooo happy to see another devlog! Wishlisted! :) Btw do you plan on doing any kind of tutorial for the zone loading system? It seems really useful!

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! I might but the system can easily corrupt someone's project if they don't know how to use it, so while I feel comfortable using it, I am weary about letting it out in the wild and potentially ruining someone's game especially if they don't use source control

[@kobeguy]

@@sacredforestgame Ahh gotcha. No worries! :) Thanks for responding! I am very looking forward to more devlogs!

[@DekarusII]

here before succes ;)

[@adampfeifer9828]

The new face and head are looking 10x better --- fantastic work! What do you think about adding character portraits to their dialogue? Something akin to Fire Emblem's character portraits would be a nice way to convey some of the details that are lost in the sprite resolution. You wouldn't need to go "all-out" on it with different emotions, either --- plenty of RPGs play fine with the just a single portrait per character! (Also, it's a little nicer than just having "name: ", in my opinion.) I ask mainly because I'm really curious about what your main character looks like "up close"!

[@ritzcrayons5849]

the lighting in general on your 2D sprites looks pretty good, but it makes them really hard to see. especially with all their color palettes being really similar to the background itself. the normal maps actually help this a bit but i would love to see you go further with making your characters pop. not only is this important for gameplay reasons, but if you're already showing us through the change in visual style that your characters are more important, why are you covering all that up with lighting fx and making them blend back into the bg? really good work tho, can't wait to see how this project turns out :)

[@johnny4560]

beautiful

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@JyotiJyotiJyotiJyotiJyoti]

It looks so beautiful

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@ficolas2]

Looks much better than in the first devlog I feel like the world textures need to be much smaller, to match the pixel size of the characters. The 3d models also probably shouldnt be so round, and perfect, more blocky, and maybe with greebles added could look good, but im not so sure about this. Looking forward to the improvements in the next video :)

[@itsafish4600]

lets goooo

[@sentryicl]

RAHHHH ITS ON STEAM

[@entercorz6661]

Cool asf

[@animationsoftyrex5442]

I'm shocked that it's made by one game developer and that it's made in godot. Awesome work 😎 oh and one small question. Will this game be free or paid? I totally understand if this'll be paid by these visuals and everything.

[@meliodas8409]

Aaaaaah I wanna play that! I can't wait! Help!

[@TheRussianLair.]

one little feedback i would give for the walking animation is that i dont really think its necesary to add the dust in her feet. Also its a bit strange to me that the enviroment is so realistic while the characters are so pixel art. Maybe you could go with a little of a low-poly style or change the shaders a little bit to be more fitting? I know that has to be more of your personal opinion and direction, but i at least wanted to make the suggestion. Anyways i hope you get all that you want for your game soon! It seems very promising :D

[@sacredforestgame]

Yep I feel the same way. I want to change the footstep system so that it can also be based on speed (and disabling it for certain animations) but that didn't make it in this video hah!

[@voorh33s]

Game looks sweet

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks! :)

[@CaMeloTos23]

8.5 minutes of pleasure

[@skhaarin]

Niceeee

[@slackamacgaming6721]

4:30 noticed the normal map on the character from the start...good work...makes her look like she actually belongs in this world now...in the other vid, her flatness was a lil jarring...

[@true1158]

Question: can u give me an idea of how much memory & realtime performance you gain from using sprite animations for characters instead of 3D characters Is it a mild boost or a night & day improvement over the latter? Thanks 🙂

[@danieloren6109]

Have you thought about using a Pixel art shader for enemies or parts of the environment? Would allow for a coherent visual style while maintaining all the advantages of 3d models

[@jamienorman7940]

snail

[@DarkDao]

If it's not too hard, how about adding first person mode? Not only for shooting but in general, like in TES 2: Daggerfall. I think it will be immersive.

[@demiwav]

Yeah, good call. 👍 Especially in terms of appealing to people who might struggle with the unique art design - first person mode could draw in a wider audience. (Though I love the style myself:))

[@evaander]

just curious, which drawing tablet do you use?

[@sacredforestgame]

It's the XP Pen Artist Display 15.6 Pro but to be honest for pixel art I mostly just use my mouse and keyboard hah! :)

[@OceanRight_]

the game is going to have achivements on steam ?

[@jeanprofite4341]

Godamn the game is so nice, i which there were a little more detail on the character, some sprites i cannot understand what she is doing.

[@anoh2689]

I am a cs student and I hate UI and graphic design for programming I enjoy the backend stuff more But man these type of projects are so beautiful and unique The style and art is... Just wow I wonder what's your inspirations that got you here

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks and good luck! :)

[@AudioHog]

Do ya need any sound design help? Im not a integrator but im happy to help if you need anything. Custom sounds for anything

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks for the offer! Right now it is a solo passion project for me which I've really enjoyed, so for right now that's how I'd like to keep developing it :)

[@AudioHog]

​@sacredforestgame completely understand, and appreciate the responses

[@GossiamGames]

I really like the fps animation, the game looks fun, I wish you the best !

[@abysskun9518]

Everything is looking cool, although the 3d objects are still not totally in line with the 2d ones, but I don't think this is a big issue, however I'm still unsure about the main character, not to sound rude or anything like that but something is still off with her face, maybe it's the eye size or the tiara on her head that look like some insect's antenae. But the game is looking promising, looking forward to see your progress with it!

[@overill1187]

Make 45 degree main character sprites

[@moselle2222]

ugh just bury me in the Sacred Forest plssss

[@pixeldust8362]

Your point about vertical slicing is flawed: A vertical slice is not necessarily going to have "completed" systems. In fact, most systems in a vertical slice should be achieved with BARE MINIMUM functionality. That means things like saving the game may not be fully featured. What's the point of creating a vertical slice if you're going to fully realize each system anyway? Instead, devs usually use the vertical slice as a representation of what the game should look like, not what the game actually is. So your missions system, saving system, etc. only needs to work enough to achieve the features within the confines of that vertical slice.

[@eyerly7175]

You're telling me this isn't Studson Studio? wishlisted

[@diggerocean2000]

the character and the cart guy slide when they walk like they are on ice. need to slow them down.

[@TruGamer4Realz]

Show me something i dont know i want yet. Welp, here it is.

[@Butanoshi]

ugh... looks amazing, while my game is still in the slog stages with next to 0 mechanics done.

[@sacredforestgame]

Thanks and good luck! :)

[@lastone2841]

Hey just another game dev here. I been developing a game for the past 10 years in unity... Learned unreal. Have a prototype. But I'm unhappy with it. It's multiplayer and everything it's about the story of a game of our childhood. I like your concept but you have no loop let's make one....

[@AlienFt]

it looks so scuffed with pixel art character and 3d model monsters imo, pixel art character and 3d model world is totally fine looking but monsters 3d models?

[@Szederp]

Could be a new Northern Journey type of gem. Or more. Looking fantastic. Oh no....look at Oblivion...I would rather buy this 10 times than play that garbage.

[@exahilosys3017]

Looks super promising but as much as I want to love this, the character design is still hidious despite the improvements... The side-profile especially, the stretching of the eyes to the side of the complexly flat face makes the character look like a frog. I adore the rest of the body but the face alone will prevent me from enjoying anything as it will be RIGHT THERE in the center of my screen during the whole experience.

[@dharmeshkumar2763]

Too much dust while walking