The fluorescent hum of the lecture hall was a familiar drone. Ethan sat near the back, a ghost in the machine of early morning academia. He was invisible to the effortlessly cool students, the jocks, and especially to them. The campus had its own pantheon of goddesses. Not just the "class beauties" you'd see gracing social media feeds, but a distinct kind of allure that radiated from the various student groups.
He'd caught glimpses of them: the track star with a ponytail that bounced with effortless grace; the fiery leader of the student government, her words sharp and persuasive even from a distance; and, most dauntingly, the "Code Queens" of the Computer Science club. They were legends, whispered about in hushed tones – often seen huddled around cutting-edge laptops, their fingers flying across keyboards as they debugged complex algorithms or demoed impressive projects. Their minds, he imagined, were as sharp as their perfectly organized Git repositories. He'd seen them in the main CS lab, a tight-knit group, exchanging witty remarks that probably flew miles over his head. Just existing in the same room as them made his palms sweat. He'd probably just ramble about texture atlases if he ever tried to talk to one.
Today's lecture on data structures was particularly dense. Ethan's mind, however, kept drifting. The ADJ system, a silent, cold presence in his internal vision, had already presented him with his next challenge: Asset Creation for "Coffee & Restaurant Tycoon."
[Mission Objective Update: Asset Creation - Phase 1: Environmental Textures (Trees & Foliage)]
[Recommendation: Utilize Virtual Prototyping Space for Initial Asset Design. Estimated Cost: 100 Influence Points or 5 Achievement Points.]
Ethan blinked. Achievement Points? Okay, so that's the currency now. Better than having to cry on demand for 'Sadness Points' I guess. He already felt a dull ache behind his eyes from his current workload; surely that counted for some kind of achievement.
He pulled out his trusty, ancient laptop, its fans already whining in protest at the mere thought of sustained operation. The ADJ, ever-helpful, had already sorted his project files into neat, labeled folders: CafeTycoon_Project, Assets_WIP, Code_Base, Documentation. It was strangely satisfying to see his digital chaos brought to order.
[System ADJ: Initiating Asset Creation Protocol.]
First up: Trees. Simple, low-poly trees for a top-down tycoon game. Sounds easy, right?
Ethan opened a free 3D modeling software he'd downloaded. He tried to model a basic tree. His fingers, accustomed to typing code, felt like sausages manipulating the complex interface. He rotated, extruded, scaled… and ended up with something that looked less like a tree and more like a poorly rendered broccoli floret impaled on a stick.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" he muttered, deleting the monstrosity. His laptop audibly groaned, the processor struggling. "This thing probably thinks I'm trying to mine crypto."
The ADJ panel flickered. "Error detected: Inefficient polygon distribution. Rendering overhead: Excessive. Current design will result in significant frame rate reduction on target platforms."
"Yeah, yeah, it'll make the game run at 2 frames per year. I know!" Ethan slumped. He remembered the fluidity of the virtual space, where he could churn out textures in seconds. Here, every click was a battle against his computer's sluggishness. He gritted his teeth, determined to overcome his limited hardware with sheer optimization.
He spent the next few hours in a frustrating dance of trial and error. He scoured forums the ADJ recommended, specifically threads on "low-poly foliage optimization" and "public domain 3D assets." He stumbled upon a small, often-overlooked community where artists shared simple, Creative Commons licensed models. "Aha! Basic tree model! Thank you, kind internet stranger!"
He downloaded a few, tiny files. The ADJ chimed in. "Asset acquired: Basic Tree Model (Public Domain). Recommendation: Customize for unique visual identity. This will incur minor CPU overhead but significantly increase player aesthetic engagement."
"Okay, okay, customize. Not just copy-paste," Ethan thought. He opened the tree model, trying to modify its shape, add some color. The process was agonizingly slow. Every stroke of the digital brush, every adjustment to a vertex, was met with a noticeable delay from his laptop. It was like sculpting clay with a pair of rusty tongs.
Later that evening, in the communal dorm common room, a few students were laughing loudly, a dating app open on one phone. Ethan was hunched over his laptop, headphones on, trying to make a basic ground texture look less like a pixelated potato. He glanced up, watching them for a moment. He saw a group of students from his dorm, including some of the "Code Queens" he admired, heading out. They were animated, chatting, probably going to some coding club event or a study group that seamlessly blended serious work with effortless social interaction. He offered a quick, almost imperceptible nod and a small, awkward smile to his actual roommate, Sam, who was absorbed in a video game on his phone. Sam just grunted in response, already too deep in his game. Ethan shrunk back into his screen. Right. Social life: Optional. Game dev: Mandatory.
He returned to his struggle. Exporting the modified tree model was its own kind of hell. The software would freeze, crash, or export a model that looked like it had been run over by a truck.
"Why won't you just export?!" he hissed, running a hand through his hair. His laptop fan sounded like a struggling jet engine. "Is it the polygons? The texture size? The fact that you clearly hate me?!"
The ADJ panel remained impassive. "Error: Export failure. Cause: Insufficient RAM for current operation. Recommendation: Reduce polygon count or utilize optimized texture formats. Current proficiency: Texture Export (Basic) at 15%. Error rate: 68%."
"Sixty-eight percent?! I'm failing at exporting! This is pathetic!" He wanted to smash something, but his laptop was too valuable. He pulled up a tutorial on low-poly modeling. Keep it simple. Keep it simple, Ethan. This old clunker can't handle anything fancy. He made a mental note to obsess over optimization even more than usual. Every byte counted.
He remembered the ADJ's offer for the virtual space. "Okay, ADJ," he whispered, a desperate plea in his voice. "I've got… uh… any achievement points from all this suffering?"
The panel processed for a moment. "Achievement Points Gained: 2. Current Balance: 5 AP. Cost for Virtual Prototyping Session: 5 AP. Confirm usage?"
"Confirm! Yes! Just let me make a damn tree that doesn't look like a pixelated crime scene!"
The screen dissolved again, plunging him into the pristine, lag-free world of the ADJ's simulation. He attacked the virtual modeling tools with renewed vigor, the frustration from his real laptop fueling his focus. This time, he practiced the specific techniques for low-poly trees and efficient exporting. He would create a model, export it flawlessly in the simulation, then pull himself back to his sluggish real machine and try to replicate it, sweating through the tiny, agonizing improvements.
This is it, he thought, adjusting a virtual branch, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. One virtual tree at a time. Then one real one. Then a whole forest. Then a whole coffee shop. And eventually… maybe, just maybe… a whole world. He grinned, a tired but determined expression. He was a long way from those 'gods,' but he was making progress, one painful, humorous, perfectly imperfect pixel at a time. He was learning to wring every drop of performance out of his old machine, a personal challenge that almost overshadowed the game itself. The night was young, and there were textures to optimize, one frustrating 7% at a time.