New projects

Damian left his house with a lazy stride, stifling a yawn as he stretched slightly. The morning breeze cleared some of his drowsiness, but he still felt the weight of the previous night. He had arrived just in time for dinner, and as soon as he got the chance, he shared the big news with his family: he had passed his exam with an S and had also managed to register as a Junior Creative. His mother and sister reacted with immediate enthusiasm, while his father, though more reserved, gave him a proud smile and a firm pat on the shoulder.

To celebrate, his mother prepared a special dinner, and they spent the evening in a warm and cheerful atmosphere. During their conversation, Damian took the opportunity to ask his little sister more details about her preferences, making a mental note of each answer. He wanted to make sure he chose the perfect gift for her birthday.

After dinner, he retreated to his room and spent the rest of the night working on the design document for Firewatch. Now, with the morning sun illuminating the streets of Veltrum, he felt the accumulated fatigue but also a quiet sense of satisfaction.

"Maybe I stayed up too late," he thought as he walked with slightly slouched shoulders.

As he left his street, he noticed someone standing in front of a nearby house. Aileen. She stood with her usual elegant and composed posture, waiting for someone. When she saw him, she greeted him with a slight nod.

"Good morning, Damian."

"Good morning, Aileen," he replied with a faint smile.

They walked together in silence for a few seconds before he broke the ice.

"Feeling nervous about the next exam?"

She shook her head, maintaining her serene expression.

"I trust my skills. Composing melodies isn't a problem for me, and I already have several ideas for this interactive experience."

"You seem confident too," she added, glancing at him sideways. "What do you have planned?"

He smiled playfully.

"I could tell you, but if you're patient, I can show you the final result in a week. It'll be a unique experience."

Aileen took a moment to consider it before nodding.

"Alright. I'd rather see it with my own eyes than hear a vague description."

They continued walking until they arrived at the Academy, where they parted ways to head to their respective destinations.

As he walked through the hallways, Damian reflected on the week ahead.

"There won't be any classes these days. All students have registered their groups and will be busy working on their projects. Most will only come to the Academy to request the resources they need for the exam, especially the immersion capsules. They're too expensive for everyone to have at home, and only through the Academy's network can we access the free resources provided for project development."

Wasting no time, he activated his Panel and sent a message to Clara.

"Are you here yet?"

The reply came quickly.

"Yeah, I'm in the room I reserved in advance for the exam."

Damian nodded to himself and headed there. The hallways were quiet—everyone seemed to be hard at work on their projects. He stopped in front of the assigned room for his team. It was a small but functional space, with white walls and a clean, futuristic atmosphere characteristic of the Academy.

The setup was simple: two immersion capsules lined up against one wall and, in the center, a sofa accompanied by a low table. Clara was already there, sitting on the sofa with a somewhat tense expression. As soon as she saw him enter, she stood up and walked over.

"Good morning, Damian."

"Good morning," he replied, noticing her nervousness. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's just… well, this is my first time participating in a group project," she admitted with a nervous laugh before gesturing around. "What do you think of the room?"

"Pretty simple, but functional. How did we get this?"

"Every group has an assigned room," Clara explained. "It'll be exclusive to us for the whole week."

Damian raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"That sounds like a logistical nightmare."

Clara nodded with a smile.

"The Academy has the resources to make it work. You should be used to it by now."

Damian let out a small chuckle. Veltrum was a city where everything functioned with enviable efficiency, and the Academy was no exception.

"Oh, by the way, the exam rules have been published," Clara added, activating her Panel. "Basically, we can only use basic resources like 3D models of humans, animals, and objects, as well as sound effects and individual environmental elements. But we can't import complete environments, background music, or any other complex assets created by an external Creative. Also, our projects will be directly connected to the Academy's server, so they'll be monitoring all resource traffic."

Damian nodded, internalizing the information.

"That's not a problem for us. We were going to create most of the work from scratch anyway. With the visual style we have planned, most pre-existing assets wouldn't even be useful to us."

With a sigh, he activated his Panel and sent Clara the Firewatch design document.

She blinked in surprise when she saw the notification and, curious, opened it. Her eyes widened slightly as she reviewed it.

"…This is incredibly detailed."

The document contained everything necessary for the game's development:

Story and setting

Artistic direction

Core mechanics

Gameplay flow

Sound and music

Technical details

"Why is it so detailed?" Clara asked, still surprised as she scrolled through the document.

Damian noticed her reaction and couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Of course… to them, this must seem like unnecessary overkill. Virtual experiences here are just environments that simulate reality, and the most they develop are visually impressive but realistic settings. A skydiving experience only needs to look real—it doesn't need a story, dialogues, or even a complex interaction system. Just a well-made environment, and that's it. The same goes for those virtual spaces for meetings or concerts: they're functional, but superficial."

However, Firewatch wasn't that kind of experience. It needed every single detail to hold itself together.

Damian sighed and put away his Panel.

"We should go inside first and check the document there," he said. "It'll be easier to understand once you see it in context."

Clara barely nodded, still absorbed in her Panel.

Without wasting any more time, they both entered their capsules. The transition was as smooth as last time—a brief moment of dizziness, followed by a seamless shift until their senses adjusted.

When Damian opened his eyes in the blank space, he noticed that Clara was already there, looking around naturally.

"I'll check what resources we'll need. You go ahead and read the document carefully."

"Got it."

This time, Clara opened the file with more focus, her curiosity growing with each line she scanned.

The title on the first page read: Video Game Design Document.

"Video games?" she muttered to herself, frowning.

It was a completely unfamiliar term to her. She had worked with "interactive experiences," "virtual worlds," "immersive environments," but "video game" meant nothing to her.

"It must be some specific form of virtual experience… But I've never heard that word in any subject or project."

Unable to hold back her curiosity, she kept reading.

The next title read: Firewatch.

"Firewatch? A fire watcher?"

An image formed in her mind—someone watching over forests from a tower. It wasn't exactly a concept she imagined many people would want to experience in a virtual world, but it had potential.

Intrigued, she moved on to the next section, where she found a summary of the game:

"Firewatch is a first-person narrative experience where the player takes on the role of Henry, a park ranger working in a national park. His only connection to the outside world is a radio, through which he communicates with Delilah, his supervisor. As the story unfolds, Henry becomes entangled in a mystery that plays out within the vast wilderness of the forest."

Clara blinked.

"A story? Characters with names?"

It was the first time she had seen these terms used in a virtual experience. In the virtual experiences she knew, people simply entered, interacted with the environment, and that was it. A diving simulator would let you explore the ocean, but it wouldn't tell you a story about a marine biologist searching for an extinct species.

To her, this felt more like the script of a movie.

She swiped to the next page and found more details.

"Dialogue system… choices?" she whispered.

The text explained that in the game, the player could choose how to respond over the radio, affecting their relationship with Delilah and how the story unfolded.

Clara felt overwhelmed by the number of new concepts.

Normally, communication in virtual worlds was free—between users themselves or with basic AI assistants. But here… dialogue seemed to be part of the structure of the experience itself.

As she continued reading, she also saw the different interface designs within the experience. Bit by bit, she began to understand how complex this experience—or video game—was going to be.

Then, she reached the section Damian had briefly mentioned to her the day before.

"Firewatch's art is inspired by a painterly style with warm colors and stylized forms. The environment is designed with a visually appealing aesthetic that enhances immersion in the story without relying on absolute realism."

Clara paused.

"A stylized environment?"

That went against everything she had seen in virtual worlds. Everything here strived for the highest possible realism. But this document spoke of something different—an aesthetic of its own, something she couldn't quite picture yet.

She kept reading, going through mechanics, exploration, narrative elements…

"This isn't just an immersive experience… It's something more structured. It has rules, a story with a beginning and an end, a specific artistic direction."

Before she knew it, more than two hours had passed with her completely engrossed in the document.

"Incredible…"

Clara looked up after finishing the entire file, realizing how much time had gone by. She searched for Damian.

When she turned around, she spotted him—but what she saw left her speechless.

In the middle of the blank virtual space, a small portion of the environment had changed. It was no longer the empty void from before.

Now, before her, was a piece of nature—tall trees with less detail but a unique charm; bushes, grass, and soil in vibrant colors, softly blended; a clear sky with fluffy clouds, almost as if painted by hand.

It didn't look real… but it didn't look bad either.

In fact, it was beautiful.

"This… is this Firewatch's visual style?"

Her mind took a few seconds to process it, but once it did, she felt more fascinated than ever.

Clara approached the area cautiously, still taking in the sight before her. With each step, she felt more immersed in this small, different world.

Damian, who had seemed focused on something until now, looked up and noticed her. His expression lit up with a satisfied smile.

"What do you think?"

Clara took in the scenery before answering.

"I love it," she said with complete sincerity. "It's different from anything I've ever seen… It feels unique."

Damian nodded, as if he had expected that reaction.

"That's the point of this style. It doesn't try to replicate reality—it interprets it," he explained, rolling up his sleeves slightly. "Here, the colors are warmer and more vibrant, the shapes less detailed, yet everything still feels harmonious."

As he spoke, he extended his hand, and a floating interface appeared before him. With a simple gesture, he selected an empty space and began modeling something new.

Clara watched closely as a piece of wood materialized in front of them—a log, still rough in shape. At first, it looked crude, but as Damian made mental adjustments and minor hand movements, the AI refined the details according to his mental image.

"The key is balancing the details," he continued, shaping the wood grain with a few subtle strokes. "If we add too many, we'll lose the painterly style. But if we only use basic shapes, it might feel empty."

Clara tilted her head, fascinated.

"It's like… sculpting with a paintbrush instead of a chisel."

Damian smiled.

"Something like that. In this style, light and colors play a bigger role in defining form than the details themselves."

With one final adjustment, the log was complete. Clara looked at it in awe—it was clearly wood, yet its appearance was more stylized, with soft shadows and warm colors that made it fit perfectly within the environment.

"Now it's your turn," Damian said, sending her a file with a list of objects. "Practice modeling some basic things—furniture, objects, plants… The ones on the list will help you get used to it."

Clara quickly skimmed through the list. Before she could say anything, Damian stretched his arms with a small sigh.

"I didn't sleep much last night, so I'm going to take a short nap."

Clara looked at him in surprise, then gave him a warm smile.

"Alright, you rest. I'll take care of this."

Damian nodded and stepped back a few paces, giving space. As soon as he was out of sight, Clara changed her expression to one of pure determination.

"I'm going to master this as quickly as possible."

She didn't want Damian to carry all the weight. If she could help, she would give it her all.

With that firm decision in her mind, she opened the interface and prepared to start modeling.

...

In the afternoon, Damian and Clara emerged from the exam room, visibly exhausted but with a shared sense of accomplishment. Clara had spent the entire day practicing the artistic style of Firewatch, and her work on creating the environment had impressed Damian.

"You did an excellent job, Clara," Damian said, giving her an approving smile.

"Thanks, Damian," Clara replied, feeling a mix of relief and pride.

"I'll design a map and references so you have a clearer idea of what we need to model," Damian continued.

"What's the size of the forest? How much do we have to do?" Clara asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"We won't recreate the whole forest," Damian nodded, understanding her worry. "The Firewatch map will cover about one square kilometer."

"I see," Clara nodded, though she still seemed a bit anxious. "Do you think we can finish it all in a week?"

"I have a plan," Damian reassured her. "Tomorrow, we'll start with the character creation and find suitable voice actors."

Hearing the certainty in Damian's voice, Clara felt her worries begin to fade.

When they reached the academy's exit, they noticed a car parked, and next to it, a tall, slender woman with long black hair and sunglasses covering her eyes. She wore an elegant black office suit. Damian recognized her instantly and greeted her with a smile.

"Damian!" the woman exclaimed, waving her hand enthusiastically.

Clara watched the scene with curiosity, just like other students leaving the academy, drawn by the striking woman's presence.

"Well, who's this lovely young lady accompanying you?" the woman asked with a mischievous smile, looking at Clara.

"This is Clara, a good friend," Damian replied, noticing the blush on Clara's cheeks. "And Clara, this is Aoi Ross, my agent and manager."

"Nice to meet you, Clara," Aoi said, extending her hand.

"Likewise," Clara replied, shaking her hand. "I didn't know Damian had already signed up as a Creative."

"Yes, I did it recently," Damian admitted modestly.

After exchanging a few more words, Clara said goodbye, aware that Damian had business to attend to with Aoi.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Damian," Clara said, smiling.

"See you tomorrow, Clara," Damian responded, returning her smile.

Once alone, Aoi walked toward her car while talking to Damian, thanking her for coming to pick him up.

"It's no trouble," Aoi replied casually. "So, what's this about the animated movie you mentioned?"

"That's right, and I need your help," Damian confirmed.

"That's my job, but I'll need a script or something about this 'animated movie' you're talking about," Aoi said, showing interest. "You know I really value your potential, and I'm intrigued by this idea."

"Of course," Damian nodded. "Actually, I wanted to ask if you could get me a development capsule with a specific support AI. I need it for a week. Also, I'll need some contacts to find voice actors."

"What kind of AI do you need exactly?" Aoi asked while casually leaning against her car.

Damian took a moment before responding.

"A support AI specialized in illustration or design. Something that helps optimize the creation of drawings."

Damian was limited by his equipment. "Development capsules are already quite expensive on their own, but what really drives up the cost are the support AIs. They don't just make technical tasks easier, but they also optimize production based on the type of project. There are AIs specialized for music, CGI, environment creation, video editing... and of course, illustration and drawing. At the academy, students can access these devices for their official projects, but during exam periods, their use is strictly limited to academic tasks. They're not going to lend me a capsule with an illustration AI just for a personal project."

Aoi tilted her head thoughtfully.

"An AI for drawing..." she murmured. "I can get you something like that, but explain one thing: what does it have to do with the animated movie you mentioned?"

Damian understood her confusion immediately.

"Of course, for Aoi, the only animation reference she has is my 3D kiwi short. She's never seen 2D animation, nor does she have a clear concept of what it means."

"The animation I want to make now is different. It's not in 3D like the kiwi short, but in 2D. Basically, I want to make a moving drawing."

Aoi blinked a couple of times.

"A moving drawing?" she repeated, trying to visualize it. "Like a series of images that create the illusion of movement?"

"Exactly."

"It sounds... complicated," Aoi crossed her arms. "But if you've already done 3D animation, why not stick with that?"

Damian shook his head, sure of his decision.

"Because I already have a clear idea of what I want to do, and this style is better for it."

"Also, the other reason —and probably the most important— is that I only have access to 2D animated films for free in my system. I don't have access to 3D animation projects right now, so it's not a viable option at this moment."

Aoi watched him for a moment before smiling with amusement.

"Alright, alright, I get it," she said, her expression turning more thoughtful. "Maybe there's a way to get you what you need…"

Damian raised an eyebrow, interested.

"Do you have something in mind?"

Aoi smiled confidently before answering.

"I know a place," she replied, opening the door of her car and inviting Damian to get in.

They both got in the vehicle and left the academy.

Aoi drove with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the open window. Music played at a moderate volume, and the car glided smoothly through the streets. Damian, sitting in the passenger seat, watched the city rush by until the vehicle stopped in front of a large house.

No, not a house.

"Is this a mansion?" Damian murmured, observing the modern design structure, with its white walls and minimalist finishes, surrounded by a perfectly manicured garden. Everything about the place exuded a futuristic and sophisticated vibe.

Aoi laughed as she turned off the engine.

"What? You think they pay me so well I could live here?" she said playfully, turning to him with a mischievous smile. "This isn't mine, it's my grandmother's."

"Your grandmother?"

"Yeah, she used to be one of the most recognized leaders in literature, but she's retired now. She spends her days drawing and enjoying life like a diva."

Damian blinked, processing the information as they got out of the car.

Inside, Damian couldn't help but look around with interest. The interior was as elegant as the outside, with spacious designs and decorations that blended classical art with modern technology.

"Grandmaaaa!" Aoi shouted in her energetic tone. "I came to visit!"

A few footsteps echoed down the hallway before an older woman appeared at the entrance. Her gray hair was neatly styled, and though her face showed the inevitable marks of time, she still had refined features that hinted at the beauty she must have had in her youth. Despite her age, she still carried an imposing presence, with a stern gaze that evaluated everything around her with precision.

—Aoi, how many times have I told you to stop barging in making such a ruckus? —the elderly woman scolded, crossing her arms with a stern expression.

Aoi smiled without any guilt.

—What can I say? It's my way of greeting!

—It's not an appropriate way.

Damian watched the interaction with mild amusement. Aoi's grandmother had a rigid and elegant air, but she didn't really seem angry with her granddaughter.

—And you still don't listen to me —her grandmother huffed before turning her eyes to Damian—. And who's this boy?

—Ah, yes. —Aoi placed a hand on Damian's shoulder familiarly—. This is Damian Grant, a student from the Gran Academia Solís. I'm in charge of him.

Damian looked at her with mild disbelief before slightly nodding his head as a sign of respect.

—It's a pleasure to meet you. As Aoi said, I'm Damian Grant, a student at Solís Academy.

The elderly woman looked him up and down with an analytical expression before nodding.

—Alright, young Grant. What brings both of you to my house?

Aoi didn't waste any time.

—We wanted to ask you a favor, grandmother. Would you lend us your drawing AI capsule for a week?

Her grandmother raised an eyebrow.

—And what do you need it for?

—For Damian's project. He's going to make a movie.

The woman kept her expression neutral for a moment before letting out a sigh.

—Always involved in strange things...

—Come on, grandmother! It'll only be for a week! —Aoi insisted, bringing her hands together in a pleading gesture—. I promise nothing will blow up this time!

The elderly woman stared at her fixedly.

—You said that last time.

—And this time I mean it!

Damian couldn't help but wonder what kind of background Aoi had for her grandmother to doubt her so much, but he decided not to comment on it.

Finally, the elderly woman sighed in resignation.

—Fine, you can use it. Aoi, make sure to show him everything.

Aoi raised her fist in victory.

—I knew you'd say yes!

—Hmph. —Her grandmother looked away with a dignified air—. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with my friends.

—Meeting? Or is it more of a gossip session? —Aoi grinned mischievously.

The elderly woman narrowed her eyes.

—Aoi…

—Alright, alright, I'll be quiet.

Her grandmother huffed with mild exasperation before grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

—Behave yourselves.

—Yes, ma'am! —Aoi said with an exaggerated bow as her grandmother left.

Damian observed the whole interaction with some amusement. He couldn't deny that Aoi's family had character.

—Well, Damian, come on. I'll show you the capsule.

With a confident smile, Aoi led him into the house, ready to show him the equipment he needed.