Evolving Creatures: "Where Beasts Were Born" DevLog 1

How I create evolving, mutating, merging and mating creatures for my game "Where Beasts Were Born"
New: Wishlist the game here: store.steampowered.com/app/25...
Project Website: where-beasts-were-born.com
Support on patreon! patreon.com/user?u=83614881
Watch the second DevLog here: • My Virtual Creatures E...
Content:
00:00 Teasers and Intro
00:45 DNA and Genes
01:38 First Manual Creature
02:48 First Automatic Creature
03:27 Materials and Textures
04:02 First Tests
04:17 Animation and IK
05:22 Generator in More Depth
07:20 Smooth Interpolation
07:39 Merging Creatures
08:29 Families!
09:14 Evolution
10:09 "Where Beasts Were Born"

[@AnkhAnanku]

Procedural evolution simulators is such a niche game interest I’m always happy to find a new iteration of the concept.

[@Rubberduckerino]

This guy made a whole website, blender addon, a game project and models for his first devblog well done man!

[@Germanunkol]

Haha, thanks :D

[@theFishy_]

This is literally the best indie game I've seen on KZbin being made rn , never give up on it, its gonna be amazing with the right amount of work

[@Germanunkol]

Thank you! I will make sure to come back to this comment in times of trial and despair! :D

[@theFishy_]

@@Germanunkol hahah, thank you man, again, keep up the good work, i believe in this project 💪

[@narhumo7497]

Well my my, isn't this something? I love the creepy aspect of this- a lot of evolution games nowadays are focused on the simulation aspect of it, or are more cute/kid-friendly styles. It's nice to see some hideous and terrifying monsters which quite literally are evolving to murder you in the most efficient way possible. Very nice game idea, I would without a doubt buy it. Also that continuous random number generator is very nice, especially since it's differentiable too, there's a lot of uses for that kind of RNG- thanks for bringing it to my attention!

[@Germanunkol]

Thank you so much, I'm very glad you like the idea! Yes, this will be quite different from most evolution-based games I know so far. I like those games too, but I wanted to try going down a different road. Haven't actually thought about using the RNG with gradients - interesting take! If you ever use this for something, let me know! :)

[@theghostinthemachine]

The biggest problem I can see: Players getting pissed off when a 'build' no longer works due to the creatures evolving around it. You also might end up with some 'crab' type point that all the creatures seem to end up at sooner or later.

[@narhumo7497]

@@theghostinthemachine Carcinization in this game would be hilarious to see, the ultimate end game evolution: Crab.

[@theghostinthemachine]

@@narhumo7497 A form perfected a hundred times in fossil record, again, and again. So damn often we had to make a word for 'things keep turning into crabs'

[@redgarlicbred6228]

This is easily the most complicated devlog I've ever seen on KZbin, it's such a niche game genre too.

[@tle90]

It blows my mind how creative and technically impressive this is. It’s got so many useful applications that could cut down workflows

[@alejolab]

Really cool to see some details of the generation process. It looks like a very robust system, specially how nice results you get when handling crossovers. The smooth random number generation is genius. Will probably steal that at some point 😄

[@Germanunkol]

Oh, this makes me so happy! I was debating with myself whether to go into so much detail or not. Very glad if it interests someone! Please do steal! :D

[@Morphexe]

@@Germanunkol This detail ticks my brain in a nice way, the way you explained made so much sense. I am itching to do my own version of this heheh.

[@antijoscha1690]

i loved the part where you encountered the nightmare of inverse kinematics and had to purge it from the bugs you never invited

[@nonridiculousadjective6597]

Duude, this is really a one of a kind, didn't see this fidelity in any other evolution simulation devlog.

[@emberwulfz6948]

This is nuts! Excited to see more :)

[@quinn840]

Love this 🥰

[@designkoalas6251]

"Don't build your own IK solver." Wise words, really cool idea, well done mate

[@Zuzelo]

Bruuuuh that is mind-blowing! Great job

[@brendanchamberlain9388]

This is one of the coolest game designs I have ever seen! You implemented the creature evolution so well! The way you ensured that small changes in the genes don't produce drastic changes in appearance was brilliant, hope you continue with this project.

[@socialseymour4834]

This is the first time I've seen an "evolution" game that sounds fun! I'm looking forward to the next watching the next devlog :).

[@jmanpink1132]

Please keep this project going and continue doing devlogs. Excited to see how the game and also the creatures evolve.

[@HumansBGone]

This looks incredible! Love to see procedural creature generation, and especially awesome to see Blender used for it! Major props for taking on the task of writing your own IK system too, wow. Can't wait to see more of this!

[@ZooHair]

The idea is awesome. I loved the interpolation between the parents xD

[@GabeRundlett]

I love seeing code used for genuinely creative things like this! Keep up the good work. Not bogged down by what people are used to with coding, you're playing around and making something interesting. Awesome that you're using Blender to create these creatures, I never would have thought of doing something like that despite loving art and code myself! Clearly a passion for the art and I love it. Excited to see what you make in the future

[@unusualfabrication9937]

this is an incredibly interesting concept - your enemies evolve to better defeat you. genius

[@jackkippen2842]

I love everything about this video!! Subscribed.

[@Fishlicka]

Awesome creature mesh generation and animation, very cool! Subbed.

[@BobsiTutorial]

Damn this is well done! I love the detail you've gone to with this! Absolutely amazing

[@Germanunkol]

You can now support this project and get exclusive content on Patreon! patreon.com/user?u=83614881 Your support will go a long way towards making this game a reality.

[@GameOver-ou1ge]

This is such a nice video workflow with awesome ideas and looks it's wonderful, keep up the good work

[@eftorq]

This is so sick! Seeing them walking on the wall of a dimly lit cave, this feels like it could be a Pokémon like Skyrim

[@GamePhysics]

I haven't watched the video, but this is so cool! I've been thinking of making a game like this for a long time, but I don't yet have the skills. Mad props to you dude!

[@VenikHue]

Whoa thanks for the tip for modelling creatures! I never thought about using bridge edge loops in such a manner!

[@yiannchrst]

Please, we need more content. This is amazing!

[@3bomb]

This is such an awesome project, I can't wait to see more.

[@walterh2113]

This is so awesome! Looking forward what'll come of it! :)

[@tiradeepinthewild]

Its incredible how you've achieved this its quite a technical feat , crazy its just for a dnd game i cana amgirn you could make a entire evolutionary simulation game

[@lazur188]

i found this in a youtube search query, i had to scroll about half the page or more. and i couldnt be happier this looks great! those bugs look rly freaky

[@NFZer0]

That was a brilliant video and very informative - I don't know how you did all of that, but you have my respect! Hope your project turns out well!

[@jhONFRost]

Incredible explanation, fantastic project, imagine these creatures evolving, to the point of using weapons, proto orcs on the way.

[@trevortaylor4811]

POST MORE, I never comment on KZbin videos but this is just so fucking cool I can’t wait to see it progress

[@Germanunkol]

Haha, thanks! I'll post more, these positive comments I've been getting are very encouraging! But give me some time - I don't want to sacrifice quality for quantity and want to only post when I actually have some interesting things to show.

[@humanetiger]

You did an amazing job already - both in terms of development and presentation. Following ...

[@Epicfaceguy40]

such a cool idea, glad to see a lot of people playing with procedural generation/evolution in more than just level layouts!

[@giggio1747]

Uow, this is outstanding. Great idea, great execution, great potential! Looking forward to see where this game is going to!

[@MrNess-je5bf]

I love the style and the concept! LIKE ITS SO GOOD OMG THIS COULD BECOME ONE OF MY FAVORITE GAMES EVER. I hundred percent will be buying it the second you release it! Also, maybe add a potion brewing part of the game and level up system for as they collect mushrooms so they can unlock better spells maybe? Ooo and a tiny bit of player customization would be nice to. Just suggestions though. I don’t want to backseat drive on your game. I think it’s gonna be amazing. Whatever you do with it. Good luck man

[@pij0n]

Love how you make complex topics somewhat understandable, and the games concept and execution is amazing. Big fan of how much editing and info u put into a small video, excited to see more!

[@dvgen]

Really cool to see the whole process. Keep it up! I definitely think there needs to be massive online multiplayer thagomizer action, with realistic thagomizer physics!

[@Germanunkol]

Okay, I'll get on it... Right after I fixed the light in the bathroom! :D

[@oberonpanopticon]

I love everything about the visuals here. The audio isn’t half bad either.

[@HojuMedia]

This is genius, im so keen to see where this goes. Subbed

[@MatthiasGabriel-vk5kg]

I like how you finish one mechanic before moving ob to the next, i might not seem like much but not many devlogs are this polished ;-)

[@arlomortimer-mullins1663]

Criminally underated.

[@Skeffles]

Sounds really interesting! I love how many creatures this system can create.

[@PH0S]

Saw your recent vid and am now hyped

[@theburgerbox9576]

This is such a cool concept! Can't wait to see where this goes

[@richmakesgames]

Wow that's crazy cool! Subbed to see more!

[@kkrup5395]

Top tier content! procedural moduling is something new for me, your devlog will stand out, just keep the great job! looking forward to your next video

[@cameronmoore136]

The visuals in this intro were absolutely astounding. Second only to its incredible music. Hats off, truly. Edit: In all seriousness, though, this is super freaking cool.

[@mauri7959]

Looks like an amazing game! I like how spooky those creatures look like

[@DarkFreaker955]

Awesome video! Would love to see more!

[@Pruemedia]

This is outstanding!

[@ChaoticGecko]

This is insanely complicated and powerful looking stuff... Really excited to see this project......... Evolve B^)

[@Germanunkol]

Haha, I see what you did there :D

[@calamar1e320]

So far I love the concept and I really hope you continue working on it, but when the logo for Blender came up I no joke instinctively reached for my mouse like "oh god a sponsored segment". I've just conditioned myself at this point xd That aside, fantastic video! It's so obvious that you put in an incredible amount of time and effort into this that saying it's obvious is not doing you enough credit. You clearly spent a lot of time thinking this all through and it REALLY shows.

[@Germanunkol]

Haha, thanks for the hint! Didn't even think of that... yeah, these sponsor things are everywhere these days :/ No sponsors were involved thus far. But I'll be more careful with logo-placement in the future!

[@HH-mf8qz]

I wanted to click on this video to skip through it, but damn you immediately grabbed my attention!! Good video, I am subbed now

[@solsystem1342]

Ok, all of these creatures are adorable😍 I want/ all of them❤

[@Prod.SamuelT]

that sounds like super fun game

[@sandeedoss]

very cool glad i looked around for people like you

[@petthehomeless]

This is so sick! Ive thought about trying to make similar procedural evolution system, and its nice to see how you've approached it. Ill definitely be keeping up with this project.

[@kristoferkrus]

Super cool idea and very impressive! I will definitely be following the progress of this game. When it comes to the inverse kinematics, I have implemented that once for finding the angles of a robot arm, but formulating an optimization problem in which I minimized a cost function (taking the joint angles as arguments) consisting of a weighted sum of the square errors of the position and orientation of the hand, and then solving that using gradient descent, and it worked very well. Your creates look much more complicated, and I don't know how you implement your inverse kinematics, but I think you should be able to use the same approach as I did, possibly with some additional (continuous) penalties for crazy joint angles that you can add to the cost function. Maybe you would need to do some tweaking of the coefficients, and which penalties to use, but the algorithm itself is very simple.

[@CubeM4ni4]

Really really cool man Your DNA simulation looks like the latent space of a machine learning algorithm (in some sense, it is), that is the first time I see that

[@Germanunkol]

True, I hadn't noticed the similarities! Although since I assign meaning directly to each gene, I guess it's not really "latent".

[@Flahtort]

It's so good to see somebody tryiing to make an actual avolution and not fake it in game.

[@c0der23]

8:16 this looks like any horror movie that includes someone being possessed. Anyways, great video! I really love procedurally generated stuff and this is really great!

[@Germanunkol]

Yes, quite frankly, that moment shocked me a bit as well :D

[@maraztekinoglu4456]

crazy work, just mindblowing

[@ultrasour7007]

I love all the complex work that goes into procedural work, this is incredible

[@elijahtommy7772]

This deserves a subscribe. Closest thing I've done to this is create a game where you breed beetles and the genetic code corresponds to 5 different body parts, and colour and size. I was thinking you could maybe make more environments to the game and make it more open world? I feel like procedurally evolving creatures would fit well in a big randomly generated world.

[@Germanunkol]

Hey, thanks! I'm thinking about multiple environments, but not open world. I want the creatures to learn to cooperate, and tight spaces where they meet a lot is perfect for this. Also, they won't evolve when they meet and mate in real-time, but rather after the round has been finished and the simulation has had time to accumulate statistics. In this way, I want the creatures to become smarter over time. If you're interested in the concept of an open world evolution simulation, check out The Sapling, The Bibites, Species or maybe Adapt.

[@zigglyDev]

You are talented and creative. This looks great. It's remind me of dialogue from spy Kids 2 movie. "Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he has created?" So I would suggest instead of witches entering cave, go with something like Jurassic park movie 1. Where scientists are proud of their discovery but it fails and we see how it creates unbalance in nature.

[@cedrigo]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing :)

[@nadavg2089]

what a great video "Germanunkol"! really neat stuff!

[@ToolShopGuy]

Downwell!!

[@nadavg2089]

@@ToolShopGuy downwell forever my good friend...

[@Germanunkol]

Thank you so much! :D

[@nickbell1198]

This is crazy complex. Good work. I hope you stick with it.

[@OliverBeebe]

great explanation, im looking forward to seeing where this project goes.

[@EightLittleBears]

This is stupidly awesome! Jealous of your super abilities ❤

[@bigmistqke]

I personally would love a video going into more depth into the IK / generative skinned mesh stuff. Not a lot of content about that around, would be very valuable knowledge to the community!

[@papasalvo]

00:35 I am both intrigued and horrified by what I have witnessed

[@HH-mf8qz]

Amazing work dude

[@andriiartomov237]

Wow! just wow! To the whole game idea and to clever implementation of genes..

[@fragly]

wow, that's super cool!

[@prockstudios5319]

Dude this is so cool!

[@Prrt-rq3ym]

just wow this is amazing. I recently played a lot with genetic algos and than got sidetracked with procedual generation. what you did here is incredible

[@MatterFlow]

Awesome stuff man. This is so close to what i have in mind, but you actually done it. Thanks for your advice to avoid DIY IK. I'll try to save me some time.

[@Germanunkol]

Glad to hear I may have saved you some trouble! :D As long as it's just one joint, and can only turn on one axis, it's fine. But with multiple joints and many axis, it's really quite a project. Your generated spaceships look very cool as well!

[@MatterFlow]

@@Germanunkol We'll see how it goes when i'm hands on with this. Thanks!

[@biblequotesdaily6618]

literally havent watched the video yet but the first 5 seconds has me hooked you have created an engine that can emulate real evolution with genetics and DNA? thats sick as hell bro you might want to sell that software to labs

[@stefanguiton]

Excellent video!

[@davisxboys934]

This game looks absolutely amazing man!!!

[@poisoniv8736]

Really cool video keep up the good work

[@Dinomatrix21]

I'm playing the FUCK out of this whenever it comes out.

[@honaleri]

I'd love to know more about how you coded the 3d model segments. I had a similar idea of procedural models but didn't know where to find resources on how the process was handled. Then I stumble on you just...directly doing it! Maybe I'll join your discord and ask you questions if you have time.

[@rorys433]

this sounds sick. keep it up

[@joshleap]

This looks awesome

[@xylvnking]

this is such a cool concept

[@syserq]

Dont know what to say but have a comment to help with the algorithm

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

Fascinating stuff!

[@dayronalfaro9461]

Seeing this procedural game in development I can imagine how hard is for nature to build us hehehe

[@50bag98]

Bro cool game concept thus needs to happen lol can't wait

[@craz2580]

The game looks very promising, i love it

[@LuxurioMusic]

I've had an idea similar to this for a long time, but I both don't realy have the knowledge to do the 3D generation and I also got far too deep in the weeds about the biology of it all. I think you struck a good balance with the way you designed the DNA.

[@tiradeepinthewild]

Wow this looks amazing!

[@user-nk2pd1oo2p]

These critters are so interesting! I wonder what other genes you will add to them