Creating A Realistic Take On Brazilian Folklore Story With Unreal Engine 5

Introduction

Developing Saci: The Cursed Hunt has been a unique opportunity to blend the mystique of Brazilian folklore with the atmospheric intensity of survival horror. This Unreal Engine project evolved from a desire to bring the legend of Saci to life in a chilling way and yet realistic using all my 18 years of experience working with visual effects.

In this article, I'll go over how we're building the levels, using procedural generation, telling a story through the Amazon itself, and share some of the folklore that inspired us.

Bringing Brazilian Folklore to Life

Brazilian folklore is brimming with legends and mythical creatures that reflect the country's unique history and cultural diversity. These tales are also very often rooted in the land's natural history and identity.

Among the many creatures that emerge is the Saci, a mischievous and enigmatic spirit known for his one leg, red cap, and pipe. Traditionally, he's seen as a playful trickster, stirring up whirlwinds and causing mischief in forests and farms. Though many versions of his story exist, we chose to focus on one where Saci was once an enslaved boy who escaped into the forest and was transformed by mystical forces. This version captures both his tragic past and his haunting, magical presence, embodying themes of resilience and resistance deeply rooted in Brazilian history.

Saci is probably one of the most recognizable creatures that emerged from Brazilian legends and myths. I've thought about stories around the myth of Saci since I was young, growing up in Brazil. Having had that kind of kinship with Saci, it's now particularly fun to get to explore making a story with him as the scary villain of the story, at least from the perspective of the player. 

Brazilian games are beginning to tap into this wealth of folklore, introducing global audiences to powerful myths unique to Latin America. Titles like Aritana and the Harpy's Feather and Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel have already started showcasing Brazil's supernatural tales, proving that Brazilian mythology is as engaging and complex as any worldwide. Yet these stories remain relatively unknown, underscoring the potential for a broader appreciation of this rich culture.

Beyond Saci, Brazil's folklore features other iconic figures like the Curupira, a fierce forest protector with backward feet that confuses hunters, and the Corpo-Seco, a cursed spirit so evil that even the earth rejected his burial. There’s also Iara, a beautiful yet deadly water spirit who lures men to their doom. Each of these characters embodies unique aspects of Brazil's cultural and natural heritage and holds immense potential for storytelling in games and movies, offering rich narratives of mystery, horror, and the supernatural that are deeply rooted in Brazilian landscapes and legends.

With Saci: The Cursed Hunt, we want to introduce to a global audience the iconic figure of the Saci, inspired by the approach that Black Myth: Wukong took with Chinese mythology and Raji: An Ancient Epic did for Indian mythology. Although the title is partially in English, we're dedicated to making the game a respectful ode to Brazilian culture and history. For instance, Saci will speak Tupi-Guarani, a language from Brazil's indigenous tribes that he would have encountered and learned during his time in the forest. We want to add authenticity to his character, allowing players to experience a true connection to the roots of Brazilian folklore.

Crafting the Saci Character

To bring Saci to life, I took a practical approach by starting with a MetaHuman base model. Since I have limited experience in organic character modeling, this workflow allowed me to create a highly detailed character without building him entirely from scratch. After customizing Saci's base model in ZBrush, adding features like pointed ears to give him a mystical look, I brought the mesh back into Unreal and used the Mesh to MetaHuman tool to turn it into a new, fully rigged MetaHuman.

From there, I used Substance 3D Painter to apply textures that tell his story visually. War paint, along with scars and scratches, covers his body, helping convey a sense of resilience and a life spent in the jungle. This layered detailing enhances his supernatural presence and suggests a character who has survived and adapted to the dangers of the Amazon, creating a formidable, haunting figure.

The game is still in development, so there's a lot of room for refinement as we continue to evolve and polish the character. Saci is very much a work in progress, and we're excited to keep pushing his design to capture the essence of this powerful legend even better.

Animating Saci

For the animation of the Saci character, we're working closely with Raphael Lima, whose expertise has been invaluable in bringing Saci's movements and personality to life. We're animating in Maya, which has its challenges, especially when transferring animations to Unreal Engine, but it's been a great experience testing how the two software tools work together and refining our workflow.

Bringing the Amazon to Life with PCG

For the environment, we're using Unreal Engine's PCG System to create a procedurally generated Amazon with over 1 square kilometer that changes with each playthrough, ensuring a unique experience every time. Featuring real Amazonian plants sourced mainly from Megascans and the MW Tropical Rainforest Biome pack, the environment accurately reflects the region's biodiversity, grounding the game world in authenticity and enhancing its immersive atmosphere.

But our PCG setup goes beyond basic vegetation, adding layers of life to the forest. Ground bugs, ants, and tiny flies add movement at a small scale, while larger elements like cliffs, rocks, moss-covered trees, and fish swimming in rivers and lakes enhance the sense of a living ecosystem. Each of these elements, from insects to massive boulders, is part of a single PCG graph system, creating a new and unpredictable Amazon landscape with every playthrough.

The forest generation is also still a work in progress, with plenty of improvements planned as we continue development in the next months. We're excited to see this dynamic Amazon environment take its final shape as we approach the game's release next year, aiming to make the experience even more immersive and lifelike. Below, you can see some more tests of the present version of the PCG setup:

Bringing Cinematic Storytelling to the Amazon

In Saci: The Cursed Hunt, we're bringing in a lot of the same cinematic techniques we use in film to boost the game's visuals and storytelling. Mick Abela's experience is a huge help here – they're leading the color grading and adding to the game's art direction in many ways. We are taking the benefit of our inexperience in making games, and working to transform the techniques we have confidence with into the new logical containers of game design. By mixing these film techniques into the game, we're aiming to make it feel polished and immersive, with visuals that pull players deeper into the world of Brazilian folklore.

Next Steps

We're really excited to have released the first teaser trailer on Halloween this year – which, in Brazil, is also known as Saci's Day – marking the official announcement of the game. In the coming months, we'll continue working hard to bring more of this vision to life, drawing on cinematic techniques to push the storytelling and atmosphere further. We also want to share as much of the journey as possible so other artists and developers can follow along, see what we're learning, and hopefully get inspired (or at least avoid some of the mistakes we make along the way).

And now that the game is live on Steam, it would mean the world to us if you're interested in Saci: The Cursed Hunt and could add it to your wishlist. Every wishlist makes a difference, helping us build momentum and bringing us closer to making the game a success. Thanks for the support so far – it really helps on this journey!

Marcos Silva, Lead Unreal Generalist