Editing Openai/6904e1b3-b1d4-8007-b938-da625cb3f2bb (section)

=== Assistant: That’s a really sharp realization. ===
That’s a really sharp realization. ⚡

Yes — if you prioritize functional systems first and leave fidelity/optimization aside, you’re doing two critical things:
# You move from invisible progress → visible progress. - Even if the terrain looks blocky, or the movement feels stiff, you already have a world to walk in. - Essence is expressed through functionality, not polish.
# You break the perfection paralysis. - Fidelity and optimization can swallow years. - Functionality gives you a working skeleton that you can expand or refine later.
# You unlock reuse. - Once you have functional systems (world gen, car physics, character movement), you can reuse them across many games. - Fidelity can be layered on only where needed, instead of everywhere.

Here’s a possible hierarchy of focus for your systems:
* Core Generators → terrain, structures, objects.
* Basic Physics / Interaction → movement, collisions, driving, picking things up.
* Persistence → saving/loading states, rules for world consistency.
* Minimal Expression → crude visuals, placeholder sound, enough to feel alive.

Only after these exist should fidelity and optimization even be considered.

Think of it like building an organism:
* Skeleton (structure + movement).
* Nervous system (interaction).
* Organs (systems).
* Skin & features (fidelity/optimization).

You don’t need a perfect skin to know the creature is alive.

Would you like me to sketch a step-by-step plan for how you could approach this “functionality-first” path for your systems, so that within a few months you’d have something alive, even if rough?