The Blighted Village | Devlog

Support the Project: / legend64project

[@LyndanTylor]

It would be so cool and scary to have the lighting reveal something in darkness that you can't normally see. Perhaps a ghostly figure that hides as soon as a bolt hits. It could indicate an area of interest where you might find a clue as to what happened here or where you could find your next objective.

[@Legend64Project]

That's scary!

[@AraizHasan-ue1bj]

yeah, like in the mill or in the deep well.

[@mschulmeister6519]

7:40 . One suggestion i have for the water drops in order to make it cheaper, is to instead of particles, use an animated texture, it will have repetitive tiling as first... but then fill in about with some planes of different sizes with a single animated drop as its textures, it will break the tiling repetition, and you can go further more by mixing the animation time of these individual drops, like, faster drop animation on the smaller planes and slower drop animations on the bigger planes. Regards

[@Legend64Project]

That’s brilliant

[@androwaydie4081]

@@Legend64Project on water surfaces Decals with a Paper 2D Sprite Sheet of rain drops should do the trick and for the rain particles I don't really know but if you want to optimize I would suggest a billboard parented to the camera hud that changes if you angle the camera but I have no idea on how to achieve that but maybe standard billboards placed at different distance from the camera should achieve the effect of distant pouring rain if the texture on them scroll seamlessly horizontally while rotating the camera to hide the trickery.

[@LochNessHamster]

@@Legend64Project Yeah, first thought I had was an animated texture. Something transparent, so they can intersect without cutting each other off. That way you can avoid having an obvious seam from them being tiled, and instead rotate and overlay them as you see fit. If you wanted to avoid repetition, you could have two or three different animated textures, or if you really wanted to save on resources you could have one animation and have different instances of it start at different points in the loop, so they're out of sync with each other. Maybe have the speed offset just slightly, like OP said. Also mirroring the texture half the time would potentially double the perceived randomness of it. Or, if you REALLY wanted to make it look random and organic, you could apply all of these ideas. I do think however that a little bit of repetition and unintentional pattern recognition in the assets adds to the N64 charm. OOT used an animated texture at Link's feet for rainfall, but if he was standing on a ledge or a railing, it would clearly be floating around him, so it was an equally immersion adding and breaking effect. I think a smarter version of this could be a good fit for this game. Have an animated texture (subtler than the water one) show on top surfaces within a certain radius around the player.

[@mschulmeister6519]

​@@Legend64Project 😄 thanks! I hope it helps somehow! Your project is truly inspiring ✌🙌

[@phantomprogrammer9087]

Was just about to recommend something like this. Parallax animated droplets would probably be the route to go on a more limited system like an N64. As a bonus, you could even include a murky vignette like you've got rain in your eyes, or maybe if the textures get too blocky near the screen you could fade the texture out as it gets closer and sprinkle a few higher res particles or opt for some sort of mipmapping

[@Vextrove]

I love this aesthetic. I want to explore a world with locations like these, with unique atmospheres like these.

[@tommyjohnson9176]

Same, it looks so much more compelling than any of the newer big open world games lately.

[@mpmedia6735]

@@tommyjohnson9176 yeah i don't think I agree with this. It's probably easier for it to feel that way because you're getting an inside look and it's coming from a solo indie developer that you probably more so identify with.

[@SoyAntonioGaming]

it is not reel world, u cant travel there. u need to buy the game to enjoy. pls get grip on reelity.

[@utryping]

@@mpmedia6735 No I really think expansive open designs and higher visual fidelity works against the cultivation of this sort of mysterious and otherworldly atmosphere to a great extent

[@mpmedia6735]

@@utryping lol

[@conradvd7262]

How is it possible for an unreleased game to grant me feelings of nostalgia? It's so beautiful.

[@1758]

because of retro graphics obviously

[@robrobusa]

As an N64 kid, this is just heavily reminiscent of OoT - this just looks very much like twisted and cursed Kakariko Village

[@fractaldisarray1518]

I feel the same way, it's so genuine to the n64 era. It's like I can't wait to play it so I may remember!

[@chickenitza8]

It's a shallow amalgamation of many popular properties from the mid to late 90s

[@robrobusa]

@@chickenitza8 Another way to frame it in a less cynical-to-the-point-of-envy fashion: It is a love-letter to the late 90s/early 2000s video games of the N64 platform.

[@Vextrove]

The low-poly art style leaves things to the imagination, which can actually be more immersive because your mind fills in gaps in the way that is most natural to you

[@cederickforsberg5840]

Totally this I can't really bare myself to get "impressed" with modern near-photorealistic graphics for gameplay value. It's cool technically and fun to check out every now and then but all that work does not garuantee a good game

[@bulldogdel8073]

You re 100% Right.

[@crazyjay6331]

4:37

[@drygordspellweaver8761]

I totally agree, and for this reason still love the old JRPGs of the 90s

[@Vextrove]

​@@crazyjay6331yes, exactly

[@ShinkuAura]

There is so much atmosphere and attention to detail. Just like the old developers would do back in the 90's. This project is shaping up really nicely.

[@CheesyX2]

It's just insane how good you capture that retro feeling into a modern engine. I struggle with this a lot especially with the N64 style. Amazing work!

[@Legend64Project]

Thanks a lot!

[@Vextrove]

I enjoy the valley-type terrain layout. Reminds me of Kakariko Village, or Bob-Omb Battlefield

[@pasbe2306]

Makes sense it reminds you of kakariko village since the terrain from the same game. The village terrain is Kokiri forest without the buildings and trees and such.

[@Vextrove]

​@@pasbe2306 it's neither Kakariko Village's terrain, nor Kokiri Forest's terrain. The developer made these environments by himself

[@someuncreativity]

@@Vextroveno, he has a point: the blockout that was “going to be used for something else” is very similar to Kokiri Forest

[@kevinstefan98]

​@@someuncreativity Right, the terrain he started with is really similar to Kokiri Forest (if not identical, even Link's Treehouse is there), the area is adjacent to woods that people get lost in, there's a well in front of a windmill, there is an orb-shaped spirit following you, and the game is called Legend 64. The game looks really awesome, but all these similarities are a bit much.

[@someuncreativity]

​@@kevinstefan98 yeah, i gotta say this is starting to sound a bit too similar to ocarina of time. then again, we've only seen these bits and snippets of the game; im sure he's got a bunch of creative ideas up his sleeve and that these are just to give players that extra sense of familiarity

[@GrandHighGamer]

I'd imagine the classical way of doing rain on water would be to just have a repeating animated texture with the effect baked in. The original couple of Unreal games are great examples of how good animated textures alone can look, with water effects I still think look cool as heck 20 years later.

[@OmegaRC59]

Glad to see UE1 getting shouted out for effects like that. Unreal has a fucking killer aesthetic from all the tech they managed to implement into it

[@ZTimeGamingYT]

The rustic and abandoned aesthetic of the village looks absolutely stunning, especially within the limitations of the N64! Great job!

[@Thirteen13551355]

This is simply amazing. The N64 style has always been great looking to me, maybe even more than pixel art. There's just so much depth in this, the windmill looks stunning. This is so, so good.

[@MIDIBoss]

Beautiful update as always! Truly incredible work. If I could throw in a tiny bit of visual feedback, I'd love to see the lightning flashes happen in a quicker duration and maybe reduce the # of frames on the bolt animations themselves. To me, the most effective part about a stormy atmosphere is how abruptly the lightning cracks and the sky flashes. It already looks beautiful! I just feel you could really drive home that "unsafe" feeling even further with a little more precipitance :) Can't wait for the next devlog!

[@WorldsBeyondImagine]

Would like to gently suggest that if you do this, you provide an option to turn them off. Abrupt flashing lights can be dangerous to people with photosensitivity, and the more abrupt they are, them ore dangerous they can be.

[@e_z__r_a]

Every single devlog makes me more excited for the next one, I can't wait to see the finished product! Please take your time to work out your vision for this world at your own pace.

[@unqualifiedgamer6252]

This is such a cool project!!!!! I really REALLY! love that you impose technical limitation on yourself to better hit that oldschool look, because I gotta say it works like a charm, the look and and athmosfear of the game is totally spot on for an N64 game. I am really impressed.

[@KBY30]

*atmosphere

[@bloodbless]

As someone who really wants to make their own video game, how much of the passion is actually coding and implementing code into the game. Awesome project, your definitely a big inspiration for me man.

[@armyant1242]

This project has so much heart. I love these environments so much! I wish you luck with the rest of the game.

[@WesaY07]

Ahh, finally... My favorite devlog has a new episode!

[@godsturf8210]

I've been a casual observer of the OoT/MM modding community for years, and a common issue I see is mapmakers struggling to break off from established aesthetics in preexisting maps. You really knocked it out of the park with the environment design on this one, the area feels totally fresh and new, completely different from anything featured already. Those nooks and blackened doorways do wonders for prodding your imagination. Kudos man, keep it up!

[@tallmyster1323]

The use of the villages layout to resemble Kakariko is more clever than you'd think. Having it similar enough so that players can make the connection but different in that it's destroyed and of course, in a different game entirely, can effect a player enough to have this place become significant but also, *personal* because it resembles something special to them that's been wrecked.

[@frustratedsquirrel]

man this is so accurate to how N64 textured things, specifically in Zelda OOT and Majora's Mask. This almost looks like it could be a romhack, but it's quite beautiful.

[@someuncreativity]

This is super cool, I love it! Also, unrelated sidenote: for some reason, this village feels like it's taking inspiration from those ruined English villages in the middle of nowhere, even though I can tell it's mainly based on old Japanese villages. I think it would be cool to slightly tweak environments from the initial established aesthetics of the game to give the player a specific feeling but not so much that it feels like a different game (example, how the temples in Tears of the Kingdom have different architectural styles and functions but still feel like they all relate to the same plot), and this environment, combined with the castle, does that perfectly. Can't wait to see the next devlog! ^-^

[@idc2120]

I'm a VFX artist and the first port of call for optimizing your particle system is to always use GPU emitters if you do no need any CPU dependant features. If you are emitting 500+ particles always use GPU particles. The next step is to reduce the amount of particles being emitted. For rain there are several techniques to do this but the most obvious is to have your falling rain particle system follow the camera - it doesn't need to attach, just follow it's X,Y world position, then position the emitter at an appropriate height. That way you can shorten the range of the emitter to like 10-20 meters. Alternatively, you can place several particle systems in the traversable areas of your map and by setting culling distances using Effect Types, systems too far from the camera will go to sleep and wake up when you get close. The most optimal is the camera following technique. Setting up a robust blueprint will let you do many types of effects not just rain, like pollen, dust or falling leaves. Older games did use some particles but often used scrolling rain textures mapped to concentric cylinders. Each having a higher tiling amount or smokey texture to simulate dense distant rain. You can offset the overdraw cost by having very simple materials. The last option which is considerably more complex but extremely cheap compared to particles is to use a static mesh with a world position offset based animation. This is an excellent option but lacks the dynamic behaviour of particles. If you want to know more about this technique check out Simon Schreibt's website, particularly the Cool Stuff with Textures post he did that explains how this works with downloadable examples. If you need rain occlusion - preventing rain from clipping through overhangs and interiors, that deserves a thread on its own. I advise to never use particle collisions to achieve this, it is very expensive, most games do not do this and is a surefire way of getting yelled at by your technical director. For the ripples on the water, the cheapest is to use a tiling material. The material consists of a mask containing a tiling texture of hemispherical heightmaps, a sine wave and time is used to phase the visibility of the ripples. If you pack 2-3 variations of the tiling texture into one texture and composite them together you can break up the tiling appearance pretty easily. Add some noise too to break up the circles.

[@theepurpletoaster]

The Twilight Princess Night Field music really set the scene. EDIT: Super atmospheric and great video!

[@AhMakeGames]

Your devlogs are greatly inspiring to me! Love it! If you want the rain particles to be more cost-effective, you could have the particle system follow the player (or camera) around, with the rain particles set to world. This means that you can greatly reduce the area the particles need to cover and therefore the particle count.

[@ubnominal]

An art style I love executed well, and this is quite well done The aesthetics are nostalgic yet so stunning and atmosphere feels eerie but beautiful. I’ll start watching the other devlogs to see what I missed. Other than that, keep up the great work!

[@Xograch]

If the change from default to bright happened more quickly (hold it), followed by a swift fade, with the lightning lighting up the entire area, it might look a little better. Similar to how it would in real life, the lighting changes drastically. Although I'm not sure if it would affect the N64 style or the game's visibility. Anyway, whenever you upload a new devlog, it just makes me happy. Watching these videos and hearing your thought process is such a treat!

[@janahoeningmusic]

You're saying the rain makes things uncomfortable, like you wouldn't wanna be stuck out there for a while. But as someone who grew up during early 3D and loved rainy days because it meant I could stay in and play video games... this is like paradise to me!

[@Legend64Project]

Well I’m pleased you like it :D

[@ReiterEmanuel]

man I'm really loving the aesthetics of this map and the game in general, I'm really excited to be able to play the game when it releases

[@Broockle]

Lightning in a heavy storm really sets a mood. When you look up into the dense cloud cover and see a series of light flashes and several seconds later you finally hear the thunderclap crashing all around you. Don't think I've ever played a game that really captured that feeling. 🌩

[@franciscovega2042]

This is amazing. I love your respect for the 64 atheistic. I subscribed and I look forward to playing this game one day.

[@Andy_Sandy]

The aesthetics and atmosphere are so intriguing and well made!

[@ViewtifulJoe86]

All of the Ocarina of Time references in tears of the kingdom have given me nostalgia for a game just like this

[@danielc5988]

These are so cool to watch, love seeing your process!

[@AntonioFreyre]

re: raindrops on water -> do it in the material. a flipbook that is repeated at different sizes, which is then overlaid on the water texture

[@StiffAftermath]

This project and Space 64 are my favorite dev blogs on youtube! Thank you for the incredible insight! Keep up the great work!

[@calcite_dragon]

Thank you so much for making these videos, and for that matter, this game. You are very inspiring to me and every time you post a video I get a burst of creativity and motivation to work on my own game. I can't wait to play this!

[@maycontainnuts3127]

loving the stuff big man, been watching for a while, you helped me figure out texture atlases when i was first getting into 3D, i cant wait to see this finished. keep working hard, we're all cheering you on

[@Chris-pv2my]

This is great! I'm excited for your game. I love the format of your video when talking about details and showing us glimpses of how you do things in the editor. It's inspiring

[@stefanolassandro886]

You're doing a wonderful job! I really love the aesthetic and atmosphere that you created there

[@CombatByrd]

Absolutely love this series, thank you for all of your efforts! During the lightning strikes, I'm wondering if the brightness change in materials should happen a bit more quickly. It might help make them *pop* more.

[@stuartfdrake]

Have been following for a while, but dropped off in the last few months. So thrilled to see your progress! This is an immensely inspiring project.

[@DyxoXinoro]

8:08 "Adding an ominous overtone," He says while the most chill and whimsical Animal Crossing music plays in the background.

[@Haedgehog]

Really love seeing your progression, keep up the great work!

[@joywizard1891]

Got about a minute into the video and had to stop. Went directly down below and immediately subscribed. Keep up the good work.

[@SebastianGraves]

I really love these videos man. Great work, seriously.

[@MaterialBlade]

Fantastic work so far. Really enjoying seeing the progress.

[@AaronMYoung]

As always amazing work! The motivation your videos give me to continue my project is priceless! Well done keep it coming!

[@LowResDev]

Awesome work! Your dev logs are always a treat.

[@qingofwands8452]

2:55 I could recognize the landscape of Kokiri Village anywhere. Honestly a really cool reference, especially with how different the town came out in the end, its nearly unrecognizable.

[@torq21]

Happy to see an update! I'm attempting my own little project so its very cool to hear your thoughts as you are working on this game.

[@RainbowsaurusGames]

This looks so cool! I am so excited about how hard nostalgia hits here. You have a real talent to recreate the feeling of the old games. ❤

[@rux_ton]

Been following this for a while and im so glad to see another devlog! this is so fascinating to me! I been wanting to be apart of an N64 style game one day doing sound and music, so im sort of living vicariously through you and this project. Love that you are so open in sharing this too because i've actually learned a thing or two from you (in blender, im newish to it now doing visual stuff for my music). This so far is one of my favorite anticipated game projects; cant wait to see the next one homie!

[@Momao92]

This is such an inspiration. Your work is fantastic

[@danielcapron5741]

Your world building the environments are amazing and top notch. Cannot wait to see more develogs and eventually play your amazing game!!!

[@kylemason01]

I love the progress your making with this! Such good work!

[@desktorp]

Looking good.. I recommend making the lightning / thunder more realistic so it doesn't become annoying; having the frequency and distance seem more randomized.. so the thunder becomes more delayed (and muffled) as the lightning gets farther from the player. The most distant thunder rumbles could follow slight light flashes with no visible lightning in the sky. You could be walking around with occasional flashes, followed by low, distant rumbles and then unexpectedly get one real close, where you hear the full volume/frequency of the sound effect that is immediately in sync with the lightning. Something to help startle the player a bit. It would add a feeling of uncertainty to the exploration because, just like in real life, you never know exactly when (or where) the next thunderclap is going to happen. Also, I think it would look better to have the lightning be a more static shape with little to no movement. Probably have to fade it faster to acheive the right effect. Good luck and keep at it!

[@jamesdoanecompositions]

Looking great! I really like the style of your game. The village has a great atmosphere. I look forward to seeing more updates.

[@JeffreydeKogel]

The atmosphere in this one is absolutely spot on.

[@3db-]

You're a great visual designer. Enjoying the videos.

[@sleepymushroom9403]

I don't know why but this feels like documentary, nice dev log

[@BynineStudio]

lovely work... everything is extremely on-point, even smaller details like the houses using different roof textures/wall textures to differentiate them all. cannot wait to explore this world!!

[@EthynLee]

You give me inspiration to work on my own game, I think it’s important to surround yourself with inspiration like this. I finally subbed but been watching for awhile!

[@zackeryyy]

Your best work yet, this looks amazing.

[@dontcallmebrian5125]

Amazing work, theming and atmosphere are so immersive. I wish to make something on this level of pure mood and atmosphere as this, keep up the good work.

[@DangerDurians]

Oh wow, I just rewatched your last video, perfect timing!

[@segosaurus973]

It would be so cool to have this on Switch. I know it probably won't be ported, but goddamn. It would be the perfect game for it.

[@DirtyRatBast4rd]

Please keep going im excited to see how this turns out, your N64 style has been a huge inspiration for me when i model characters in blender for a game me and my brother are making.

[@MrCompassionate01]

I love this project so much, genuinely look forward to more updates.

[@kerianhalcyon2769]

Really hope that when you release this game, you release it on multiple platforms and not just consoles. I've been saying for years that I'd love to play an actual Zelda-like game on the PC, since the closest I can find (that isn't just a port of a phone game like Oceanhorn) are either the Souls games or Darksiders, and they don't really hit the same chord for me. This Blighted Village reminds me a lot of a darker version of Kakariko in its own way. I can't help but wonder if some of the buildings will be explorable and whether or not you'll happen to find some poor, cursed souls, transaformed into half-men, half-spiders due to their infamous greed. Or a graveyard where encounter a pit beneath a grave leading to what you think is treasure only to find a crouching half-corpse, moaning in the dark...screeching suddenly and freezing you in place.

[@Kev.NTheLich]

Ever since I saw your first devlog I've been hooked watching every video, bit late on this one tho, but keep up the great work.

[@leethememerwolf]

I love these dev logs highly! keep up with the great work!

[@c64cosmin]

Loved this, exactly that I've been looking to see on KZbin for a while, I love level design, and I since I am working on a 2D game I cannot get back to my 3D one, hehehe So I should focus on one project at a time! Thank you very much for sharing this with us

[@Joe-ti9bf]

just looking at this makes me feel nostalgia for a game i've never played. good work, and i can't wait to get my hands on the game

[@DemonDrest]

I just stumble unto your channel thanks to the algorithm gods and I must say this is fantastic work. You've gained a subscriber.

[@ProfessionalToffee]

This looks really cool, definitely sticking around to see more. :)

[@msmeraglia]

I absolutely adore everything you are doing. I'm a software engineer myself, so if you ever have programming questions I'd be happy to help

[@daviddryden7668]

I'm really happy to see how you're progressing, great work :)

[@PollyCot]

Sick man. Love to see a few dungeons or cellars with a few bits in the village. Looking well decent bro.

[@Badguy292]

I love seeing the progress of this project!

[@xYamakaze]

I love your content so much man, however long it takes, I can't wait to play it. I'd love to own a dummy cartridge + box and paper manual of the game when it comes out.

[@UCfvFxl5fVfTuA9DH353dJzQ]

Awesome! I enjoy every part of the series, keep updating please!

[@ivovanroij]

God damn, you gone and done did it. What a crazy new area. Love the earie village man!

[@roiandrilx]

This is amazing. Please make more areas like this. I love the atmosphere

[@MrVook]

I was in the middle of writing "Kakariko meets Luigi's Mansion" then BAM! The Luigi's Mansion theme starts playing Loving everything about this, awesome stuff!!

[@RoseArcade]

Always so exciting to see new updates on this project~!

[@Holdsworthands]

great work one of my favorite devlogs

[@thealpacaofsupport258]

These devlogs are so cool, love them a lot and i enjoy having them in my feed every now and then Really wish i had an source of income so i could support this project because it really deserves it ^^

[@MikhaelHld]

this looks and feels so good. very atmospheric and almost nostalgic in a melancholic way

[@timothymakesgames]

I love the contrast between the castle and village! Really cool seeing how you gather references and blockout levels

[@moonstruckduck]

Very atmospheric! Love the contrast with the serenity of the castle exterior.

[@MarathonGuy1337]

this is a really great video the game is moving along with new environments and gameplay features (in the last video) its really awesome to see the game developing and taking shape :)

[@mattsylvester2515]

I like the trees that loom way above town

[@Legend64Project]

Thank you! Some of my favourite parts about this location are the skyline

[@jungmin7117]

I really enjoy your game development :) it looks beautiful

[@PatrikEkeberg]

This is therapy for me! THANK YOU

[@dumbqueerboy]

I'd love to see a devlog of how you make your textures, they're really great!

[@ktfartz]

It would be cool to add a ghost's head peeping through a window in the village as an easter egg.

[@fishbox385]

I absolutely loved this video and this game, cant wait to play it.

[@blackcitadelstudios]

Looks good. Love the storytelling. 👍

[@jehriko7525]

this is awesome, I wish you luck with your game!

[@saithvenomdrone]

I really like what I see. I am looking forward to the finished product. Absolutely something I'd pay for!