Chapter 17

 Chapter Seventeen: I Really Don't Know What Kind of Tree That Is

While Professor He Cheng was reviewing the design document for "Ordinary Life," Lu Zhixing was pondering the words of the Changteng Entertainment representative from earlier.

"So they're just finalizing the design document for the game 'Campus Show' now? The development time is so short, is it even feasible? And it's Professor He who's doing it? It seems like Professor He isn't very committed to it; it's more like he's simply lending his name. The design document might not even be written by him personally; he probably just provided a rough direction, and his graduate students are completing it."

In the industry, it was quite common for companies to seek out professors to lend their names to game projects. Professor He Cheng, despite his reluctance, probably couldn't easily decline such a request due to social and professional considerations. However, Lu Zhixing didn't pay too much attention to this matter. With his current abilities, he wasn't in a position to compete with "Campus Show," whether it was in the realm of variety shows or games. Changteng Entertainment was using it as a tool to milk their audience.

Before long, Professor He Cheng had finished reading the design concept document for "Ordinary Life."

His furrowed brows occasionally relaxed and then furrowed again as he read.

Finally, Professor He Cheng looked at Lu Zhixing with a complex and conflicted expression.

"Your design document, how should I put it... It adheres to formatting standards, the content is solid, balanced in detail, logically clear—basically, I've seen many experienced functional planners in the industry who couldn't write as meticulously as you do. Especially considering you completed this within a week, it's even more impressive."

Lu Zhixing silently corrected in his mind: Actually, it was completed in three days.

"But..."

Professor He Cheng's tone shifted, "While your document is very well written, the game itself... How should I put this...

"The game aims to simulate the life of a laborer comprehensively, turning real-life jobs like bricklaying and security work into gameplay modules. It even includes survival game elements. Can players genuinely find enough enjoyment in this?

"Real life is already challenging, and most people play games for some fun. Imagine entering a game and having to do the same work you do in real life, it might be a bit... Of course, I can't say it's absolutely impossible. Making it different from other games on the market is a good attempt.

"But the critical question is, did you completely disregard the issue of cost control when designing this game?

"The first lesson for a game designer is cost control. If you don't do that well, no matter how good your design is, it's meaningless. Do you understand?

"In your design document, there's such an immense amount of game content, from bricklaying to delivering packages and working as a security guard. Each gameplay style requires different scenes, models, and animations. If it's just a regular PC version, it might be manageable, but you're even planning to create a VR version?

"How much are you planning to invest in this game? Several hundred million?"

"And, the campus part of the content even includes scenes where the protagonist organizes a party, sings songs, and rehearses skits. Where do you plan to get these materials? Are you going to buy the rights to existing works or hire professionals for customization? Either way, it's going to be a huge expense.

"I made a rough estimate, and if you really want to fully implement your design, the investment required for this game might even give some major game companies pause. Think about whether you can recover the costs.

"While I did say I would help the top three students bring their games to life, your proposal..."

Professor He Cheng was clearly in a dilemma.

If you looked at it from the perspective that the design document wasn't good, it was very comprehensive. But if you considered that it didn't incorporate any cost control measures and would require such a massive investment, it would most likely lead to financial losses.

Where could one find such a naive investor?

Lu Zhixing listened attentively, occasionally nodding. However, he remained unfazed.

As he had speculated, Professor He Cheng had indeed brought up the issue of cost control.

But in reality, this was not a problem for Lu Zhixing at all.

As long as he could successfully complete the three role-playing tasks, Lu Zhixing could rake in a substantial windfall, and he would quickly have all the necessary materials.

Regarding content like organizing parties, singing, and rehearsing skits within the campus, he could also exchange them for points, without the need for customization.

For most people, implementing this plan would require a significant financial investment. However, for Lu Zhixing, it involved almost no cost.

Of course, he couldn't mention this to Professor He Cheng; he could only respond with a smile.

Professor He Cheng glanced at him, "Are you really listening carefully?"

Lu Zhixing immediately replied, "Of course, Professor. I completely understand the issue of 'cost control' you mentioned."

Only then did Professor He Cheng nod in partial satisfaction, "Well, then, how do you plan to make changes?"

Lu Zhixing's expression remained unchanged, "I don't intend to make any changes."

Professor He Cheng was taken aback, "Huh? You claim to completely understand, but do you mean to say that everything I just said went in one ear and out the other?"

Lu Zhixing shook his head, "That's not what I meant, Professor.

I am aware that this design document may not succeed commercially, but I would rather complete the gameplay as thoroughly as possible instead of compromising to cater to investors' demands and turning it into a subpar product.

In that case, I might as well design another game."

Professor He Cheng was left momentarily speechless, staring at Lu Zhixing for quite some time before finally nodding, "I see, you've got a bad case of being an artistic idealist."

"Ah, it's normal. When I was as young as you, I was even more of a literary enthusiast. But Lu, you should know that having a unique personality is a luxury for a designer. Only a few top talents have the qualifications to be willful.

However, in this world, the vast majority of people are not geniuses. As an ordinary person, it's better to live a bit more realistically.

Do you have an official developer account? Log in, and I'll show you just how expensive these assets can be."

Professor He Cheng had his own developer account on the official platform, but as a seasoned developer, what he saw on the page was different from what Lu Zhixing saw. He could access some internal assets that were cheaper than what regular users could see, along with various other resources. So, for educational purposes, Lu Zhixing still needed to use his own beginner creator account.

Lu Zhixing hesitated for a moment. "... Professor, it's not necessary."

Professor He Cheng had already moved aside to access the computer. "No, it's essential! The reason you have these ideas ultimately stems from your lack of firsthand experience with 'cost control.' I'll show you just how expensive the assets on the official platform are, and you'll realize how impractical your ideas are."

With reluctance, Lu Zhixing, under Professor He Cheng's insistence, logged into his developer account.

Professor He Cheng immediately clicked on various resources in the editor. "You see, even a simple scene like this costs thousands, and a well-captured animation requires thousands more. If you calculate it like this, how much money would you need to complete your game? Even if you manage to barely complete it, how can you ensure the quality?"

"Are you planning to build your own team, hiring a full programming and art team? That would be even more expensive... Look, I'll quickly create a new project to give you a visual sense of it."

Professor He was talking and opened the project list, but the next second, he froze.

Originally, he thought the list was empty, but there was actually a completed project in it.

Moreover, the name of this project seemed quite familiar.

"《Zen》???"

Professor He was bewildered. He initially thought it was a project imitating that game by Lu Zhixing, but upon clicking it, he discovered that it was indeed that game!

Even though it had already been released, and the materials inside were identical to those in the game!

Looking at the username in the upper right corner: "Stranger."

Professor He Cheng looked at Lu Zhixing in bewilderment. "Are you the 'Stranger'? You made this game?"

Lu Zhixing cleared his throat. "Um, yes."

Professor He Cheng was left speechless. "Why didn't you say anything during class?"

Thinking about how he had preached about game design to the creator of that game, Professor He Cheng felt his toes curl involuntarily, experiencing an indescribable sense of awkwardness.

Lu Zhixing was also a bit embarrassed.

Look, you insisted on seeing it, and I tried to dissuade you...

"Professor, I hinted at it during class, but you didn't seem to understand, so I didn't want to bring it up again."

Professor He Cheng's lips twitched slightly. "So you really didn't know that this tree was a loquat tree?"

Lu Zhixing was candid. "I really didn't know."

"Then where did you get the assets for this game?" Professor He Cheng was exasperated.

Lu Zhixing lowered his head slightly. "Well, I collected some materials from real life and found some pictures online, and then I drew them myself in the VR version editor."

"Drew them?" Professor He Cheng's expression went blank. He looked at the high-precision models in the "Zen" editor. "You're telling me you drew these yourself?"

Lu Zhixing stood his ground. "Yes, I actually taught myself a bit of drawing and modeling."

Even now, if the professor asked him to reproduce it, he could. Of course, it would be limited to replicating assets that were already in "Zen."

Professor He Cheng fell silent. It seemed that what was happening before him was too surreal and difficult to accept at the moment.

Initially, he had just wanted Lu Zhixing to log into his creator account to show him how expensive these assets were and emphasize the importance of cost control in game development. He had tried to persuade him earlier, saying that having a unique personality as a designer was a luxury, and only top geniuses could be so willful. As ordinary people, they had to be more practical.

But now, he had been advocating all that, only to discover that he was the clown in this situation.

Lu Zhixing appeared as if he were standing there saying, "Yes, I am that genius. What's the problem?"

Unbelievable!

In silence, Professor He Cheng pointed to the office door. "Leave."

Lu Zhixing cleared his throat. "Um, Professor He, about the 'Stranger' thing, could you please keep it a secret for now? I'm not ready to face everyone in class with it."

He still wasn't prepared to become a social outcast in front of all his classmates.

Professor He Cheng glared at him, and Lu Zhixing quickly made his exit.

Once Lu Zhixing left, Professor He Cheng looked at the "Ordinary Life" design draft in his hand, revealing a complex and contemplative expression.

"This kid..."

Originally, Professor He Cheng intended to advise Lu Zhixing to be more practical, as he had seen too many passionate individuals with dreams enter the gaming industry, only to be battered by reality. He didn't want Lu Zhixing to follow that same path.

As mentioned before, having a unique personality as a designer was a luxury, and only top geniuses could afford to be so willful. Ordinary people had to be more realistic.

However, Lu Zhixing had now shown something different from others, and his youthful enthusiasm had awakened something long dormant within Professor He Cheng.

Every game designer's initial dream was to change the world through games, not just to buy houses, cars, and earn more money. But as ordinary people, they ended up compromising with the world after facing various challenges.

"How young and full of energy."

"However, being young and spirited might not be a bad thing, especially for a true genius."

"In that case, I'll give you a hand. How far you can go will depend on your own efforts."

Professor He Cheng looked at the email on his computer. It was from the official platform operations team, and the subject was "Level 1 Access for Taiqing Editor Internal Testing Qualification."