Chapter 25

 Chapter 25: Game Title: "You in My Eyes"

【Mainline Roleplay Task 3 - Act as a positive and optimistic paralyzed patient, complete!】

【Rewards: "Home" template, cartoon thick paint style template, 400 points!】

Seeing the information appear in his field of vision, Lu Zhixing let out a sigh of relief.

The roleplay during this period wasn't in vain; these rewards were worth it!

Lu Zhixing hadn't expected that he would first complete the mainline roleplay goal as a paralyzed patient.

He had accompanied Cheng Ting for three days, both of them in wheelchairs, exploring Jinghai City. They had done many things that Lu Zhixing had never done in a wheelchair before, even going to an amusement park. All these activities were in line with the keywords "positive and optimistic, hopeful about life," so his roleplay progress had surged rapidly.

Furthermore, Lu Zhixing had been fortunate to draw two life skills related to wheelchairs, which had made the roleplay even smoother.

Not only that, but these days of roleplay had been carried out in the role of a "caregiver," which had boosted the progress of the "worker" roleplay to 28%. A reason for celebration indeed.

It was precisely because of obtaining these materials, combined with the experiences during this time spent with Cheng Ting, that Lu Zhixing had thought of creating a game.

This game was not only to utilize the inspiration and materials in Lu Zhixing's mind but also to encourage Cheng Ting to better emerge from the shadows of the past and bravely embrace reality.

Lu Zhixing began to review the rewards he had received for completing the roleplay.

The "Home" template, as the name suggests, was a set of materials related to "home." There were four different types of homes in it, including the worker's unit building from the late 1980s and 1990s in China, a modern conventional three-bedroom layout, a modern villa, and a foreign-style large house with a backyard and lawn.

In this game, Lu Zhixing would use one or two of these at most, but this versatile material could enrich the library and be used in future games as well.

The "cartoon thick paint style template" was akin to a special filter that could be applied to existing materials, instantly transforming them into a different style.

Moreover, different materials with various art styles could be unified through this filter, making these materials fit harmoniously together.

This style was well-suited for creating games with strong artistic elements and could even serve to conceal lower-quality materials when necessary.

With the completion of this roleplay, Lu Zhixing had earned another 400 points, adding to the over 200 points he had collected during previous roleplay sessions. Currently, Lu Zhixing's point total stood at 673.

However, Lu Zhixing temporarily refrained from using these points to obtain more life skills or artistic works. His focus was shifting towards game development, and to prevent any unexpected obstacles, he needed to reserve these points for acquiring essential key materials.

"All right, let's get to work!"

Lu Zhixing once again sat in front of his computer, ready to put in long hours drafting his designs.

Previously, he had written the concept for "Ordinary Life," but it required further refinement. Additionally, he had to design a new game called "You in My Eyes."

This game was meant for Cheng Ting and aimed to make the best use of the materials he had gathered. It was a small-scale game, essentially the size of an independent game, with a gameplay duration of just over an hour. Even if players wanted to explore various details to extend their playtime, it wouldn't exceed two hours at most.

The inspiration for this game had come from a game Lu Zhixing had played in his previous life called "Vivid Memories," but the two games had significant differences in content.

"You in My Eyes" would be a game with a focus on Chinese culture and the lives of disabled individuals.

...

Two more days of intense work, sleepless nights, and Lu Zhixing yawned, rapidly pressed Ctrl+S several times, and then downed the remainder of his coffee.

The design draft for "You in My Eyes" was completed in one go, including all the plot details.

The draft for "Ordinary Life" had also seen significant improvements. Currently, the completion rate of the detailed design was about sixty to seventy percent, and in at most another week, it would be fully finished.

However, for Lu Zhixing, completing the design draft was just the beginning. The production process still lay ahead.

"Speaking of which, obtaining character animation assets might be a bit challenging."

As Lu Zhixing organized the various resources needed for this game, he suddenly realized this issue.

In his previous game, "Zen," neither the tree simulations nor the mountain simulations required complex animations; they only needed models. After all, trees just swayed their branches a bit, and the mountains rotated continuously.

But both "Ordinary Life" and "You in My Eyes" had numerous characters, and these characters required a wide variety of animations.

Other game companies would typically use motion capture technology for this, but Lu Zhixing clearly lacked the means for that.

He could use his accumulated points to purchase them directly from the game store, but that would be very cost-ineffective.

The method of obtaining materials from the game store was straightforward but came at a noticeably higher cost, often three to five times more expensive than acquiring materials through normal means.

While these points could be spent on obtaining real-world materials, which might take a long time, when used for animations, they disappeared almost instantly.

Although material acquisition speed had significantly increased now that the game was in its official version, points were still relatively scarce, and Lu Zhixing hadn't reached a point where he could spend them recklessly.

"What should I do about these animations..."

As Lu Zhixing was pondering this, his phone rang.

He picked it up and saw that it was a call from Zhang Yiyang.

"Hello? Senior, is there something you need?"

From the phone, Zhang Yiyang's voice sounded polite. "It's nothing particularly important, I just wanted to let you know that we're going to visit the Science Hall this afternoon to check out the venue. Do you want to join us? If you do, we'll meet at the entrance of the Science Hall at 3 PM. If you're not interested, that's okay too. After all, this time, we're just going to inspect the venue, and there won't be any rehearsals."

The Science Hall was the second-largest venue within Jinghai University and was frequently used for hosting various large events. The orientation ceremony for the Game Design Department would be held here in the future.

As for the largest venue, that would be the Grand Auditorium, capable of accommodating even more people, but it was in high demand. Only a few top-ranked departments could reserve it for events.

However, the Science Hall had its advantages, particularly in terms of its lighting and sound equipment. Moreover, it boasted various high-tech stage devices that could create impressive effects.

Considering the characteristics of the Game Design Department, they had chosen the Science Hall as their venue.

Lu Zhixing thought for a moment and replied, "I'll come over, and by the way, I have something to give you."

Zhang Yiyang was momentarily surprised. "Something for me? Alright, let's meet at the entrance of the Science Hall."

...

At 3 PM, Lu Zhixing arrived promptly at the Science Hall.

Zhang Yiyang and Yan Wei had been waiting at the entrance, and other students participating in the orientation ceremony had also started to gather.

"Everyone is here, so let's head inside.

"This time, our main objective is to familiarize ourselves with the venue, understand where we'll be entering and exiting the stage, and get an idea of the general stage layout. Since students from other departments will be coming later, let's make the most of our time."

Lu Zhixing followed the group as they explored the Science Hall. He found it spacious, with a combined capacity of nearly a thousand people on the ground floor and upper level.

Many people were seeing the backstage of a stage for the first time. It was divided into various zones according to function, including the preparation area for performers about to go on stage, a makeup area, and a place to store various stage props.

Once on stage, Lu Zhixing was immediately drawn to the high-tech equipment.

On the ceiling, various types of lights and enormous sound equipment were a sight to behold. While they appeared impressive, Lu Zhixing was familiar with them.

What caught Lu Zhixing's attention even more were the two massive devices above the stage, one of which looked somewhat like a projector, while the other was unidentifiable.

"Senior, what are these?" Lu Zhixing pointed to the two devices above their heads.

Zhang Yiyang explained, "Oh, these two? One is a bi-directional ultra-short-throw projector, and the other is a holographic projector."

This piqued the curiosity of other students as well, with Liu Bo asking, "What's the difference between a projector and a holographic projector?"

Zhang Yiyang smiled and explained, "The difference is quite significant.

"This ultra-short-throw projector can project in two directions simultaneously, meaning it can project onto the large screen behind the stage and also onto the front stage curtain.

"In a conventional stage setup, when we need to change the stage backdrop, we have to pull up the curtain, and then the stagehands spend a long time arranging props like sofas, tables, and other items on the stage. During this time, the audience has nothing to do but stare at the curtain. However, with this projector, we can project content onto the curtain to facilitate smoother transitions.

"Of course, it can also project on the large screen behind the stage to better showcase the current scene on stage. For example, if our skit takes place on the roadside, we can project a roadside scene, or if it's set in a classroom, we can project a classroom setting.

"As for the difference between it and a holographic projector...

"The short-throw projector projects in two dimensions, and it can only project onto large screens and curtains. But a holographic projector creates a three-dimensional effect and can directly project onto the stage. When combined with the physical stage props we're preparing, it can achieve a lifelike effect.

"Of course, the most impressive effect comes from the perfect combination of physical stage props, holographic projection, and short-throw projection. That's when the magic happens.

"However, achieving this perfect synergy is quite challenging. Currently, no department has been able to fully harness the capabilities of these two devices. Our department is doing the best job so far.

"After all, calibrating these devices is a real headache, and creating the virtual scenes required for projection is no walk in the park, not to mention that it's more complicated than making a game."

After listening to Zhang Yiyang's explanation, many students couldn't help but exclaim with astonishment.

They hadn't seen such high-tech stage equipment before.

Even Lu Zhixing, who had seen a lot in his previous life, had never encountered anything like this.

It seemed that the technological tree in this world was a bit skewed.

With the dance group led by Yan Wei arranging their positions on stage, Zhang Yiyang and his fellow members of the singing group had nothing urgent to do for the moment.

"Oh, by the way, Junior, you mentioned you had something for me. What is it?" Zhang Yiyang asked.

Lu Zhixing pulled out the printed script of "Undercover Trainee" from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Yiyang. "You mentioned earlier that our department's language-based programs were a weak point, so I went back and thought about it. I ended up writing a script myself. Take a look and see if it might be usable."