🧠 Simulation Progress: Emotions, Wants, Job Performance, Pathfinding and more!
Added 2024-10-18 14:19:34 +0000 UTCHi! It’s Alex 👋
As previously mentioned, the time has come for the game designers and programmers on the team to switch back to working on the live mode, after having brought the build mode to a near complete state! Today’s post will update you on our current tasks regarding simulating the lives of our Parafolks. As usual, this post is for Patrons only so please don’t share it! 🔐
🎯Current Goal: An Internal Live Mode Playtest Next Month
To kick back our work on the life simulation aspect of the game, we are aiming to have an internal test session in one month. The goal until then will be to tighten our gameplay systems and content in the hope of confirming that players enjoy managing the lives of their characters. Members of the team will be able to test:
Needs
Skills
Multiple upgrade paths for one career
Emotions
A few personality traits
After that, we aim to keep our monthly schedule of playtests by inviting friends to our office so that we can collect feedback on the gameplay and content that we will be adding progressively. As with the build mode, I’m convinced this will serve us well in making sure the game provides an already good experience when we launch in Early Access next year.
🚶 See the Path your Para Takes
Richard added the ability to see the path your character takes when moving from point A to point B. It’s still unsure if we will activate it for players by default but for us, it’s a great way to investigate and fix bugs around the game’s pathfinding system.
It’s also pretty cool to see!
🎥 Camera: Find your Paras and Follow Them
If you are like me, sometimes, you are just looking for your characters because you don’t know where they are and what they are up to. To help with that, I made it so pressing the F key will move the camera to center it on the selected Parafolk.
After pressing F to find your character, as long as you don’t move the camera again yourself, the camera will follow them. Pretty handy!
📉 Career: Job Performance
One of the feedback we got when we introduced you to our job and career gameplay systems is that a lot of people wanted more challenge and wanted us to simulate the fact that if Paras have bad days at work or if they don't make efforts, they won’t progress in their career.
We agreed with that feedback and so we are designing a job performance system. From now on, characters won’t get an upgrade point after each work day. Instead, they will have a chance to get one each day and the chances are better based on different criteria.
For instance:
If the Para is in a good mood, if their skills are at an appropriate level and if they go to work while having their needs met, they might have a 75% chance to get a career upgrade point.
On the contrary, if a Para goes to work and they haven’t slept for 24 hours because they are extremely sad due to breaking up with someone, they might have only 20% chance to get an upgrade point today.
We are also planning on adding consequences if your Para goes to work in a really bad shape. They could lose a career rank for example and if it happens 3 days in a row, they might just get fired :(
🧠 Simulating the Brain of your Para
Right now, we are also working on revamping the way the code simulates what happens in the brain of your character. Our goal is to easily edit the logic behind which emotions and wants your character might dynamically go through based on their personality and how their day unfolds. To do that, we are creating tools allowing us developers as well as future modders to easily edit what can happen in the brain of the Parafolks. The interface will look like this:
In this example, we show the logic that would be taken into account when a character finishes their work day. This tool will allow developers and modders to edit and configure that logic to add all sorts of conditions and effects on the character.
⭐ Wants: Improving What Our Paras Wish For
Wants are thoughts that go through the mind of your characters. They show what they desire at the moment which can be used as gameplay objectives by players.
Two examples of wants in Paralives.
Right now, we are working on improving our wants system and we are asking ourselves:
Is it better to gain new wants for your character when you wake up in the morning or instead, at various times during the day? We aim for characters to feel alive and react to their world. To achieve that, we are thinking of making new wants appear during the day depending on where your character is in the town, their personality, the interactions they are doing, the people they are currently with, the emotional events that happen, etc.
Is it better if wants are small tasks that can be fulfilled in a day or could they spawn multiple days or even weeks? We are thinking of making wants daily so that the player knows what their character wishes for in the immediate and they can fulfill it in a matter of hours max if they wish. We will most probably have aspirations and/or a quest system for longer-term tasks.
If wants reset every day, can you pin a want to keep it for the next day? Since wants are reactive and show what the character is thinking, we might not allow the player to pin a want to complete it at a later time because it might stop making sense for the character if the context changes. We are still considering all this!
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments and have a wonderful weekend!
Alex
Comments
Clicking the portrait twice should bring you to the para as well!
Savannah Hutchison
2025-01-07 06:29:29 +0000 UTCCertainly, wants changing / being added during the day seems to be what makes more sense since it builds towards a more interactive / less stagnant experience. But getting new wants everyday should also be a given. About pinning the wants and being able to keep them from day to day, though, I also find that interesting because, even if a Want may have triggered in an specific place, a para could still retain that desire that could not be fulfilled after leaving that place. For example: You send your Para to a park with a pond, they get the want to Fish but the day ends and the Para could not fish. It would be cool that the Para could retain that want (if we pin it) to kind of represent that they got very interested with the idea of fishing (maybe a want turning into a wish or desire?), and so we could have the Para return to the park another day and finally be able to Fish and get that want fulfilled. I can also see certain traits affecting this mechanic. With more eclectic / adventurous paras having a bigger rate of wants changing during the day, to represent that these paras want/need new experiences. And, the opposite too, with more conservative / closed-off paras keeping their wants longer or even having a possibility of waking up with some of the same wants (to represent that these paras enjoy a set of things).
Nami
2024-12-01 10:18:47 +0000 UTCHonestly I would prefer paras gain wants throughout the day. Then they will be more dynamic. And I would love the ability to pin some wants in case I want to achieve them, but don't have time to do so that day.
Thaaeroprincess87
2024-11-28 22:20:17 +0000 UTCtbh I really like the idea of not being able to pin wants. It makes it feel more natural and "in with the flow" of a para's life. Maybe even give each individual want a set time limit instead of resetting at days end? like if someone's at a party that will go for the next hour it'd be nice to have a want to "talk to [x] within the next hour."
Sammy Purnell
2024-11-28 00:31:58 +0000 UTCa playtest alright yippee
mollie
2024-11-14 20:19:12 +0000 UTCI think incorporating multiple wants per day would be great! You could even have the wants be based on how long it would take to achieve and they correspond with what affects your para. For example, your para may wake up and have a want for the day that is to gain a skill point in fitness, this want would stick around for the whole day. However, during the day, they may get a want to try a new skill, it wouldn't stick around in the want list so long, but it could influence paras to try new things. In addition, there could be whims, they stick around for an hour, and if completed, leave your para feeling really good and could boost their mood for the day. However, if you engage too much with the whims, your para may become less aspirational. Whims could become wants and daily wants become wants that they just wanted every now and then. (Try a new skill becomes a focus for the day, buy some snacks becomes a want). The whims stop providing a mood bonus and instead provide mood loss if not followed. In order to get your para back on track, you need to balance fulfilling whims with longer term wants for a healthy balanced life. Although this is probably a lot more complicated to implement.
Ryan
2024-11-08 09:37:11 +0000 UTCSame for jobs: Choices: - Joke around with colleague: +1 relationship +0 work progression +1 having fun - Work hard: +2 work progression +2 stress - Smile at clients: +1 relationship with boss +1 work progression +1 charisma
Kyll
2024-11-02 17:59:06 +0000 UTCSpawn multiple times throughout the daaaay!! Why not just give the player options that pop up (we can open or leave closed on the side, as to not disrupt the gameplay). If we open it up, It could have 3 cards of choices of desires… they could be random, and have different variation of time. Like, it gives the player even more control over the personality and life of their para? (As the para will evolve also according to the completion of desires?) Like: “speaking to neighbour” - Invite over for diner : +1 extrovert (primary trait) +1 cooking (skill trait) (48h to complete / medium difficulty) - Instant crush, kiss them : + 1 courageous (primary traits) +4 romantic (skill traits) (2 weeks to complete) (Difficulty hard: temporarily get +clumsiness trait, +clammy hands, +weirdness, etc… around the neighbour during that quest) - Make them laugh : +1 humour (skill trait) (12h to complete)
Kyll
2024-11-02 17:41:34 +0000 UTCI love the thought of having wants change by context. Like in real life, if you go by a bakery and smell cinnamon buns you might get a sudden urge to have one, and if you are exhausted you just want to sit down and play video games – even if you want to be an author and should focus on your writing. But that depends, it bugs me to pieces in other simulation games when things that should be more longterm wants, like having children, reset every day. (even tough I suppose you could get a temporary craving for those too if you spend time with a really adorable one ...) So I suppose balance is key, having paras only be influenced by spur of the moment thoughts would make them hollow, but only long term or day-term goals would perhaps make them rigid and unrealistic. 🤔
Märta Elf
2024-10-30 20:26:01 +0000 UTC"They had random prompts that popped up. You had a binary choice and this could result in either an increase or decrease in job performance" I loved that about That Other Game™ 2 ! It made every day feel unique because you never knew what could happen, and there was so much variety in the events that you rarely encountered the same one twice (with Paralives' ability to be modded, including for events as we know for the Together Cards, this would be HUGE). Just like life ! And getting fired is absolutely something that I hope is possible. "For example. If they are a foody they might need to make a big feast to deal with stress, anger or sadness. Otherwise, this system might see the same fate as TS4 where emotions can be changed on a dime and purely becomes a mechanical thing to min-max a sim rather than something that adds value to the overall simulation." At this point it's absolutely a necessity for a game that strives for an authentic feel (even if it decides some things are too realistic) to have that kind of system. "For example, if a Para was rejected recently and they have a more timid personality then the fear of rejection will hinder general growth in their life. Job improvement chance is reduced, relationship cards have higher fail rates and so on." That makes total sense to me.
ladyteruki
2024-10-25 17:05:07 +0000 UTCI feel like the simulation of the brain is going to be difficult to manage on a massive scale. Maybe it can be broken into categories or something more grouped so not each individual emotion and situation has to be explicitly mapped?
Kelly Plakyda
2024-10-25 14:12:40 +0000 UTCI heard something like this mentioned in the comments I love the idea so i thought I'd make some personal tweaks and reshare to get it around :) If you complete a Want pertaining to a specific skill(or such) many times, you can unlock a Lifetime Goal[a set of wants] about that skill your para aspires to. You can have multiple Goals And if you neglect a Goal for too long you could forget about. I really like the natural progression of this idea, it gives the players a direction and it's fun to come upon a new Lifetime Goal (But its completely optional) it goes with paralives theme of fluidity. It adds pinned wants without actually changing the Want system. And keeps with the "lesser wants" "greater wants" alot of ppl seem to want. I don't expect this exact idea to be implemented, but i just want to give the paradevs some thoughts from the community (about: aspirations/goals, pinned wants, and checklist type gameplay) I know this comment is way late lol
Makingmacaroonracoon
2024-10-22 21:22:14 +0000 UTCPinned wants could change during Paras are sleeping. Other wants could change at any time depending on the environnement. I would like to have short (wants) , medium and long term goal.
Dodo-12-37
2024-10-22 19:40:53 +0000 UTCthis will be optional you can disable it in the settings
Lucie Baha
2024-10-22 16:19:03 +0000 UTCIt's great to hear that you're adding job performance, I prefer some challenge in my simulation games! Also super excited to hear about the wants and possible long term aspirations. I'm looking forward to see developments there, and hope to see something new and exciting.
Íris Sól Þrastardóttir
2024-10-22 11:59:28 +0000 UTC*paras 😉🤗
Josephin01
2024-10-22 11:52:27 +0000 UTCI can see how the routing line would be helpful while your building the game or looking for bugs. But, I think I would hate it during gameplay. It would ruin the immersion. I like watching my sims choose the path to take after I click on an object.
Sherri Small
2024-10-22 03:05:04 +0000 UTCYou're doing amazing!
Daingo A
2024-10-21 16:05:01 +0000 UTCOr else a system similar to Tomodachi life as rather nice or extremely nice for example.
Lucie Baha
2024-10-21 07:10:53 +0000 UTCI appreciate the progress and your hard work, but are you going to make sure that the paras don't stop what they were doing when we interact in groups?
Lucie Baha
2024-10-21 06:08:16 +0000 UTCI would like wants to show up in the morning so that I can plan them into my day. That seems more realistic to me. Also, it really annoys me when wants show up when I'm in the middle of doing something else, I find it really distracting. Also if a want shows up during the day, say in the afternoon, will I still have the same 24 hours to fulfill it, or will it expire at the end of that day? It seems complicated to have wants expiring at different times during the day, and hard to plan around that.
Slippers
2024-10-21 04:17:39 +0000 UTCAll of this is so amazing! I don’t know if this has been answered, but is a fears system confirmed or being considered? I feel like some of my favorite simulation gameplay (Sims 2) came from having Sims experience the downs of life 😅
Khadija
2024-10-21 02:33:45 +0000 UTCThank god for making jobs more challenging, and the modding possibilities look really promising 😍
Ghislain Pedro
2024-10-20 18:31:21 +0000 UTCoh god i read this as "i trust you guys (to still disappoint me lol)" and had a lil emotional reaction 🙈 but not what you said at all 😅 anyway, i agree with valuing the intention!
Sehrys
2024-10-20 09:13:55 +0000 UTCI think the route line should be optional from say the interface settings, dunno how i would feel about seeing that all the time and it takes away from the immersion. Its easier said than done, but would be great if there were short, medium and long term goals based on their character, career etc. i think short term should depend on their current state and so it will refresh once you've completed one based on their mood or activity.
Luther Duncan
2024-10-20 09:01:03 +0000 UTCThe line shown for routing is such a cool idea that i never would have thought of! I would really like if we kept that (at least optionally even if not the default). A dashed line with that squiggly animation you guys have got for a lot of other outlines etc. in game would probably look best. This feature could be helpful in that you would have confirmation that the Para is indeed able to reach the destination as intended and if not, where the obstacle is exactly - I really hate when I route my Sim somewhere and switch to another and then later wonder why the first Sim never arrived where i wanted them to. Perhaps the line could turn/flash red if the path is blocked and end in a big X at the block point, something like that? That way it becomes easy to quickly identify and move obstacles out of the way. I also like the line just for seeing that the Para doesn’t take a strange or unexpected path as characters inevitably sometimes do, and then they end up walking in on their sister while she’s on the toilet or something lol
Maxx
2024-10-20 05:43:40 +0000 UTCI like where the wants system is going but can the wants not be on repeat after every other one. I like that the wants will match what the Para is doing at the time.
Monet Way
2024-10-19 19:46:29 +0000 UTCI wanted to add on to the comments I've seen about "want chains" and short, medium, and long-term goals connecting. I like the idea of goals building up to or influencing a lifetime aspiration. This could be an interesting way for lifetime goals/aspirations to appear/evolve as your para ages or have new experiences. For example, if a para completes wants to bake something, wants to achieve certain baking skill, wants share their baked goods with others they may obtain the lifetime aspiration of becoming a baker. . On the flip side, if a para consistently cannot complete wants/goals related to their lifetime goal or faces certain failures the lifetime goal could be crushed and need to change or the para has to be remotivated to achieve the goal again (by completing related wants/goals). I like the idea of a dynamic lifetime aspiration system because it feels more realistic and increases replayability. Also, I am very indecisive and struggle with the concept of one static over-arching lifetime aspiration as we've seen in other life sim games lol.
Ashley Brent
2024-10-19 19:42:06 +0000 UTCThank you so much for sharing! I always love to see the progress and feel good when you share your own thoughts on it. A few thoughts 1) Seeing the pathing is cool! I don't think I'd enjoy it in gameplay, but I see its use for debugging. Love a button that lets me zoom in on my para. 2) I think a job system that reacts more to your para is good! I like how you laid it out. I do worry a chance system could cause some player frustration if you're working hard to get that promotion, but I think bringing the systems together will make for in depth gameplay. 3) The want system is an interesting conundrum! I like the idea of it being kind of an hour to hour thing to react to the day, but I do like a more complex quest system like an aspiration. Someone else suggested maybe weekly goals for the character, such as promotion or making friends or throwing a party. I think it can be difficult to make those smaller wants feel more in depth. I don't really have a solution, but I am glad you are asking yourselves these questions to evaluate and understand what makes for enjoyable gameplay.
Ellen Kaluza
2024-10-19 18:33:30 +0000 UTCYou seem to be giving the lives of these little people a richness and complexity we haven't had in a life sim since Sims 2. Looking forward to playing!
I JONES
2024-10-19 15:55:50 +0000 UTCI super agree with the TS2 fears! That made for some very amazing gameplay.
Miri D
2024-10-19 15:52:05 +0000 UTCInstead of having wants be pinned, they could be triggered by a certain place or activity. Like if the Para is at work and sees a friend, they could have a Want to "have coffee break with friend". This obviously can't be pinned because when the Para goes home at the end of the day, it's not doable. But when the Para goes to work the next day and sees their friend again, the same Want could reappear.
jrrt1459
2024-10-19 14:42:07 +0000 UTCHi I know this doesn't really have much relevance but i really wanted to ask will paralives have a chemistry system,kind of like the sims 2 with turn ons and turn offs?
Maya Jones
2024-10-19 14:39:12 +0000 UTCOmg i would love that!!! 🗒✏️❤️
Josephin01
2024-10-19 13:47:46 +0000 UTCOk, satisfying wants will get you "points". But does ignoring them have negative consequences or is it neutral? I asked in another comment if you could turn off "wants" completely and I think you said yes, good. Another situation could be that the player would like the "wants" option turned on (because sometimes they could be interested in playing with them), but not being notified of wants all the time. Can you have the option "do not show me wants" (and maybe you have to actively click on an icon if you want to see the "wants" active at the moment) (so that, if you ignore them most of the time, you don't have negative consequences)?
Chiara
2024-10-19 08:54:35 +0000 UTCLove the update, especially the work rework. I think regarding the Wants, some sort of Goal system similar to Dailies and Weeklies in Online Games would be cool. There could be a big goal your para wants to achieve in a week, like meet a certain number of new friends, make a certain amount of money or fall in love. Then the daily Goals could be the things that the Para gets when they wake up, like raising their skill, or career level or meet a certain Para that day. And then the Wants could be spontanious, like eating a certain dish after takling to another Para about it, or being in a shop and buying something that looks cool, or just working on a skill, not necessarily raising it, but being like: "I could practice my guitar skills a bit." Then those things could also be related to how long it was since they did a certain thing. Like if they didn't work out for like a week, they could feel guilty and be like: "I really want to work out right now."
Fenriswolfer
2024-10-19 02:38:25 +0000 UTCI love the idea of a to-do list for saved wants or just for the player to remind themselves of certain goals. I can even imagine the penciled checkmark sound with each completion.
Roe B.
2024-10-19 01:15:03 +0000 UTCI love the idea of wants also being a dynamic way to make your Paras miserable… like if a Para’s tired, hungry and just miserable, the goal could be to “give me a break” or something like that. That would honestly be hilarious if I was playing like that. I also think goals should respond to other Paras too, like if a shy Para is out and about and they see or talk to someone they don’t have a good relationship with, they may get the goal of “leave.” (I know I do hahaha.) Or if a Para is incredible angry, two different Paras would have different responses, eg. one may have the goal to fight, the other may want to go for a run, depending on their traits and how it meets their emotions
Remy W
2024-10-18 23:01:51 +0000 UTCHi team, I like everything I have seen. If you have multiple systems to simulate the Paras "Goals" over all (wants/quests/aspirations) I would like to see these systems closely intertwined, particularly wants and aspirations. What makes the TS4 whims not very engaging is their randomness and "fluffiness" in that they generally aren't very impactful. What makes the TS2 wants engaging is that they do vary depending on where the Sim is and what they're doing, and they vary in importance (or "fluffiness") and will be tied to the aspiration and hobbies of the Sims. For me a fully integrated wants system will take into account: Traits Hobbies Interests Job Aspiration Quests For example, a para with many of their basic needs met might want to work on their long-term goals, or focus on their quests, so you might see a want like "work on my life goals" or "start a new quest". I want to clearly be able to see why my Para has rolled a particular want, like "watch TV for 1 hour". Is their fun low, are they into TV as their preferred entertaiment or would they rather do something else that's fun according to their traits and hobbies and interests? I guess what I'm saying is that if you have all of these different systems, they should each feel distinct, important, and yet intertwined. Also, still a bit sad that no game since TS2 has a "fears" system... That made for some spicy gameplay opportunities
Bethy Grace
2024-10-18 20:41:53 +0000 UTCI could maybe see certain wants appearing only (or at least more often) when your para first wakes up, like a general sense of how they want to spend their day. (Like for example: I want to go to the Park or I want to go do some shopping) Then more specific or reactionary wants that happen during the day.
Dizzardy
2024-10-18 20:03:15 +0000 UTCYeah, you got a point... Wants can become a burden if they don't align with how you want to play...
Panthro Samah
2024-10-18 18:59:37 +0000 UTCA lot of cool stuff, I need to comment in parts: 1) Love the idea of getting fired or demoted, if you go to work and have a bad day. The narrative possibilities are very cool. 2) The emotion logic is very easy to understand, I believe it will be really easy to work with it. 3) About wants: It could be funny if you could dismiss a want. But if you dismiss many wants, the Para should become angry or sad with the player. 4) About the pathfinder: You will take in consideration Para's width? One thing that really breaks my immersion in a game is clipping. But Paras will have many different bodies: some thin, some fat, some strong... If you use the same line to guide the movement of every Para, some of them will clip, except if you consider their width while determining the line of path that theu should take.
Panthro Samah
2024-10-18 18:56:48 +0000 UTCI think quests could be really fun as long as they’re optional like the wants will be. It would be nice to have goals that require several tasks to do and would reward your para if they’re able to successfully complete them. Like a sociable para might get a quest to throw a party with several smaller goals required to complete the quest. If successful they’d gain points towards their social skill and be put in a good mood. Some other quests that could be fun for certain traits could be: - Green thumb: nuture a garden until the plants mature - Player: Romance 3 paras without any of them finding out about each other - Outdoorsy: Survive a weekend camping I’m not sure if it was another commenter’s or discord member’s idea or something the team talked about, but I remember hearing an idea about allowing paras traits to change over time. If this was a feature, it could also potentially be driven partially by the optional quests. For example, a shy para could get a quest to make some friends and build their social skill. This would obviously be more difficult than for other paras because of the shy trait, but as a result would make the para lose the shy trait. Maybe quests could also be used to reveal lore about the base paras in game. For example, there could be a para with a suspicious looking household or suspicious behavior. Perhaps your para seeing or meeting them for the first time could give the opportunity for a long term quest that involves sleuthing around to uncover the mystery around them. It could involve things like building a relationship with them to gain their trust and access to their house and sneakily trying to look for clues, or maybe you following them around without getting caught to learn more about them. Maybe that would be too involved but I think some form of this kind of quest could be cool. Anyways, sorry for the long winded comment. I hope I at least was able to help you guys generate more ideas!
Jordan
2024-10-18 18:52:59 +0000 UTCI love love this update! The pathing visibility could be a toggle that would be very useful to playtest builds for players, regardless of being a modder. I read a comment about having a developers box and I think it's a wonderful idea! :D Because I know that when in regular gameplay I wouldn't really mind the path and it would probably be too much information visually for me. Regarding the question on the wants, I personally like the idea of something that reacts to the environment. But I also wonder about the long term quest? If they are like a lifetime goal, something your sim aspires all during their lives, I think having the ability to pin wants that are mid-term quests could be great. For example if my para has a crush and get the want "I want to talk to them to get to know them better". I want to be able to pin this kind of want. Or "I heard someone playing piano, I loved it, I want to learn piano" I would like to pin it. But if wants will only be "I want to get a drink in this bar" well, this does not necessarily need to be pinned. I wonder also how many wants there will be maximum? Because visually it can be a lot. I guess if pinning wants is possible, having at least two mid term goals is needed. I personally try to play with wants in that other game 4, and I think having 4/5 wants is okay. I constantly have one pinned want (that is a midterm goal, impacting relationships mostly) because it also directs my gameplay and I tend to play rotationally at the moment I don't know if it will be just as feasible in Paralives. So I guess I'm more on the side of "please let me pin wants thank you" and if you want us to be challenged, we could have a limit of pinned wants. Like only one or two at a time?
mirificentjoy
2024-10-18 18:34:56 +0000 UTCThis post has me extra hyped for 2025 knowing that live mode is being worked on. I can't express how excited I am for this game and can't wait to play it for myself. I wouldn't mind if the pathing line was a toggle able feature to turn on/off. It would be nice to see the short and long term wants. A pin feature would be nice for long term wants if they wouldn't automatically switch out on their own.
phoenix grey
2024-10-18 18:30:27 +0000 UTCI really like the concept of 'want-chaining' which could blend some short term, mid-term, and long term wants together. In addition, and more importantly, I believe they could start as an overlapping want or interest as a Parachild. I carry certain wants IRL for some things that captured my attention as a child and to this day I still seek and will always have the want to seek as an inherent part of who I am now. Although others may have wants that developed during childhood I'm sure they would differ in concept, wherein would lie the complexity of individual lives and characters.
tey711
2024-10-18 18:23:15 +0000 UTCI hope you leave the pathfinding line as a toggle-able option. This will be so useful for builders being able to see why a path is blocked or why they are choosing the route they are. I beg of you, leave that one in. For the wants, I I like your idea of making them be dynamic. Wants should change based on where you are and what you are doing and I love that you guys considered that. My suggestion is that we should have anywhere between 3-6 wants or tasks. Most should be short term things to get done like chores, but then you might get a hobby want to practice guitar or visit the pool. And maybe some even longer term things like buy a home in a different area/price range, get a new job that maybe requires new skills. Like things that. And don't know if you guys are considering it, but negative consequences after being unfulfilled for a while like becoming anxious. Or if they want to practice the guitar and you don't let them 3 or more times, they might get a fear of not practicing and skill decrease. That would be really fun and make our paras really unique and dynamic. I can't wait to play this!!
BreakingGaia
2024-10-18 18:20:17 +0000 UTCI must say the want chain sounds amazing. I was also thinking about how you can have daily wants that chain to medium term and then final a tick as part of your long-term goals. If you want to be a professional athlete as a goal, you can have small exercise goals that will increase in difficulty and duration. This can then trigger a medium-term goal where they want to do a course in sports science, eat certain feet and so on. Then this all triggers a long-term leg of 'be drafted as the first string on junior pros'. Then you can start chaining these long-term goals into the final life goal of a famous pro athlete.
Jean321x .
2024-10-18 18:19:34 +0000 UTCSo as I was posting my comment, I was thinking of some of the times you and I have exchanged ideas under a post like this. I love the way you break down the systems they mention and in an instance, you see the potential and pitfalls of the systems. However, I see my response was a bit late today compared to normal. Hahaha.
Jean321x .
2024-10-18 18:11:57 +0000 UTCThis is an absolute epic post! Getting me very very stoked for the EA in 2025. Overall, I love what I read. Some of the comments might be a repeat of other people, though I have some thoughts that sparked as I read the post. 1.) As cool as the pathing is, I think the best would be to have a developers box in the settings that are turned off by default. Thus, it would be available to modders if they need it, and for normal players, it wouldn't overwhelm them or break the immersion. From what I have picked up and what you confirmed, you want the Para's to feel real, with that in mind think of having more developer-based tools 'locked' behind a developer tag. Similar to how Microsoft does with its software. 2.) Regarding the job system, something that I think will allow more realistic simulation or foster better engagement with the rabbit whole, is to do what TS2 did. They had random prompts that popped up. You had a binary choice and this could result in either an increase or decrease in job performance. In Paralives, this can increase your chances of getting a promotion point. The alternative was a promotion, demotion or even being fired. Seeing as conversations already have the conversation cards. You can use this system and rework or repurpose it for a job prompt as well. 3.) When adding emotions, and I am sure you have noticed this, I think one should make sure that the emotions are balanced or impactful. This then also means that there should be specific action(s), based on a para's personality, to shift their mood. For example. If they are a foody they might need to make a big feast to deal with stress, anger or sadness. Otherwise, this system might see the same fate as TS4 where emotions can be changed on a dime and purely becomes a mechanical thing to min-max a sim rather than something that adds value to the overall simulation. 4.) Regarding the goals/wants. I think they work well as separate systems. 'random' wants that focus on short-term stuff. Be it mood-based, location-based or something like that. There is the lifetime wish system from TS. Although TS4 is watered down, I think if one reflects on how TS2 and TS3 work finding a blend between this can be epic. These larger long-term goals can then influence the Para's mood and wants. I think a very good system is a fear system. There are multiple ways this can influence job performance, future relationships, etc. For example, if a Para was rejected recently and they have a more timid personality then the fear of rejection will hinder general growth in their life. Job improvement chance is reduced, relationship cards have higher fail rates and so on. All the mentioned systems are amazing, I would just say that if the potential of these systems is carefully implemented they will just result in feature bloat and 'cheapen' the overall feel of a Para.
Jean321x .
2024-10-18 17:47:48 +0000 UTCI agree! Always loved the system of Sims 3 and never warmed up to the one in Sims 4!
Noeba
2024-10-18 17:34:11 +0000 UTCI like the thought behind this. And maybe the wants of one para can also simply involve another para, like "I want to watch TV with Sarah" or whoever so that it motivates the player to have the paras interact.
Noeba
2024-10-18 17:33:07 +0000 UTC👏 Another post to brighten my Friday, thank you. I started out on the no pin side but after reading the comments, I'm on the fence...maybe there needs to be a switch...if you don't want a pin, turn it off...on if you do 🤣. I liked the comments that I agreed with so I will not repeat. Being able to follow along this process is amazing and I'm in awe of you and your team. Wants are sometimes and afterthought but i do like the idea that they can change during the day. My para could wake and want to go for a jog but go to work and get tired and decide to want to go home and watch tv instead. Makes me want to make a game...but you already making it. Thank you for your hard work and I look forward to playing your game.
Maxayn Henderson
2024-10-18 17:27:15 +0000 UTCRegarding the wants system, I will say I kind of learned to ignore the wants system in Sims 4 because they usually didn't align with my own goals for my character that day. I much preferred Sims 2 where I could look through what my Sim wanted to do and either confirm it / save it or delete it /ignore it if I wasn't interested in pursuing that. Then I could plan to fulfill that want whenever without time pressure. Thinking about the cadence of it ... as a made up example, if I'm sending my character to the store to buy groceries, what I want as a player is to go back home and cook the meal I was planning. If my character wants to go to the movies instead because they walked by the theater on the way, that's a cool motivation but I wouldn't necessarily want to do it right then. I'd probably want to bookmark it and make a plan to go to the movies tomorrow, maybe make plans with friends to go together which could be hard to do last minute. So I like the idea of saving wants for the next day even if they're generated by current or previous surroundings. The most important thing, though, is that wants don't refresh just before I'm about to complete them!
Sephalia
2024-10-18 17:26:08 +0000 UTCI think the career points depends on a) how long Paras live, and b) how much of an upgrade does it provide. It's hard to know if 75% is too much without a clear picture of that, so I think ultimately the best option is that this percent chance be editable as a way for players to set their own difficulty.
Sephalia
2024-10-18 17:20:16 +0000 UTCI think wants should pop up and change throughout the day depending on the situation. And they should match the paras personality, so for example a shy para shouldn't want to do something really extroverted. I also would like there to be wants that can be fulfilled quickly as well as long-term goals. So if they walk past the coffee shop a want could pop up that they want to grab a coffee but there should also be wants that take longer to achieve like getting a promotion or having a baby! Also I would like the option to pin a want. I have always liked this and it gives more options to players. If a player doesn't like this, they can simply choose not to use it. Looking forward to more live mode updates!!
Noeba
2024-10-18 17:10:09 +0000 UTCI love having a hotkey to refocus the camera and it would be nice to have similar hotkeys for switching household members, toggling/minimizing menus and general camera controls. That said, will there also be on-screen buttons for those functions? I've been playing a life sim with a younger child and while he's gotten the hang of the mouse he gets overwhelmed by all the buttons on the keyboard. Having on-screen buttons (maybe in a minimizable panel) makes it easier for kids or situations where you just can't reach the keyboard well, and hovering over those buttons can show a tooltip that teaches the hotkeys to new players.
BonaparteBardithion .
2024-10-18 16:57:53 +0000 UTCThe "wants" aspect of the game would be so important for a player like me! If I find it lacking, I probably won't have any clear direction for my Parafolks. I see wants as thoughtful prompts, which stem from the character's experiences and/or personality.
Maxime Béland
2024-10-18 16:54:16 +0000 UTCWants that I find boring are those directly tied to a basic need; like when a Sim is hungry, so they want to go to a coffee shop. There are often underlying reasons for the things we want; maybe they want to go to a coffee shop because they enjoy a calm environment, they seek comfort and coziness, or they want to meet other people. A lot of what we want is tied to our personality, and that's the minimum I expect from their wants. As a player who likes to focus on the "wants" aspect in sim games, and as someone passionate about human consciousness, I hope their desire to go to a coffee shop isn't just because they saw one.
Maxime Béland
2024-10-18 16:47:29 +0000 UTCI don't feel like randomizing the job system is a good idea... Instead wouldn't it be better if you added more "intention" to it? For ex. What if you got 1 upgrade point a day, but the upgrades cost 2p ~ 3p ~ 4p (depending on its value) so you would have to save up and put more "intention" behind your decision? Whatever it ends up i trust you guy(still yet to disappoint me lol) But i thought I'd share my opinion :)
Makingmacaroonracoon
2024-10-18 16:44:52 +0000 UTCI'm getting so hyped for this game to come out! When it comes to wants, I hope there can be different levels eg: long term vs short term, life goals vs hobbies etc. It doesn't make sense to me if they wake up everyday wanting a career change or to break up with / propose to their partner. Some wants should come and go throughout the day, while the bigger more impactful ones should stick around.
Skye Geraud
2024-10-18 16:43:57 +0000 UTCRight, I totally forgot about that. Important context, though. In that case, I think the main goal would be to make wants substantial enough that they can’t be done instantly, and that there isn’t a constant stream of them. Every wish should take some amount of time or effort so that it doesn’t become a matter of “oh, let me just do this tiny thing to get the points”. Pursuing a wish should be at least a little consequential. If it becomes a constant treadmill of XP it really takes away from player agency and creativity, so new wishes every morning with maybe a couple more throughout the day at opportune times would be good. Enough to get the player doing some stuff without making it the only thing you do.
Oddface
2024-10-18 16:37:11 +0000 UTCYayy news about Live mode! I think we should definitely be able to pin wants, even if it is limited to just one. The key thing here would be to differentiate between wants/wishes/aspirations. Reading a book takes "little" time so it makes sense to be a wish that is refreshed everyday, but getting married? That can be both a want and an aspiration. It could make sense to have wants/wishes/aspirations as short/mid/long term things, but it might be too much to handle as well. In any case, I trust the Paralives team to deliver something great :)
Rodrigo Escribano
2024-10-18 16:35:26 +0000 UTCI do like the idea of wants changing throughout the day. It definitely seems realistic as that's how it works in the real world sometimes. Depending on where we are or how are mood changes, affecting what we want in that moment. Love seeing all the updates! With each new post, I get more excited for the game's arrival
Courtney Aloisi
2024-10-18 16:35:09 +0000 UTCThis is a really cool concept and I'd love that, but I'm afraid it would be a big change in the design of the mechanics of the game and maybe they're too advanced in the development to rethink this now? Anyway if I'm wrong and this could still be considered I agree it would be fantastic.
Chiara
2024-10-18 16:33:57 +0000 UTCAnother amazing post ! I appreciate that Paras don't gain career points each day but I still feel like 75% is too much. In my opinion, the job progression shouldn't be that quick and 75% means that most days Paras will progress in their career and that doesn't make sense to me. Regarding the wants system, I think that it would be better to gain them during the day depending of the para's actions or context. Also, I think there could be different types of wants depending on the amount of time that is needed. So we could have short term wants like "exercice", "eat a specific meal", "call a friend" and long term wants like "get a better grade at school", "write a book", "gain a new friend", etc...
Juan
2024-10-18 16:24:40 +0000 UTCSo I really like the way wants are handled in Sims 2 where you have smaller wants that change throughout the day but a big Lifetime Want that isn't really like a quest but just a large goal your character has in their life. I never enjoyed the quest like aspirations of other games but just having a "I want to reach the top of X career" or "I want to have 20 best friends" was a fun way to guide my characters life without feeling like I'm following the same script if I happen to get a similar goal for another character
Jax
2024-10-18 16:21:03 +0000 UTCAlright, thank you, very excited and can't wait to see it. I'll be patient though, the game is looking really good so far, I'll be surely buying it when it comes out in Early Access!
Renikee
2024-10-18 16:17:54 +0000 UTCEmotions will have various effects on your character, more on that soon! Regarding your other question, right now, we are planning on awarding point when completing wants and these points will be used to upgrade the personality of your character. See the end of this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/90908891
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:16:28 +0000 UTCAwwww thanks so much Filipe!!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:14:50 +0000 UTCI don't think we need the option to pin a want. I also like the possibility of having wants that are very small and responsive to the day the para is having. Like if you're walking past the cafe you could get the want to buy a croissant. But then additionally have overarching goals for multiple days like another commenter already said. I feel like these small wants just appear out of thin air in real life when we see or hear something and that males more sense to me than a daily reset. And also it gives the feeling that you never know what could happen next for your para.
Lealovescats
2024-10-18 16:14:28 +0000 UTCThank you so much! Regarding your question, see my reply to the comment below :)
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:14:24 +0000 UTCThank you!! Right now, we are planning on awarding point when completing wants and these points will be used to upgrade the personality of your character. See the end of this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/90908891
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:13:42 +0000 UTCThanks for the feedback! Weather will be added to the game after the initial Early Access launch!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:11:34 +0000 UTCPersonality traits should be in sliders, since just acting as one or the other (good or evil, serious or childish…) is too black and white. I crave a realistic balance and moral ambiguity!
Yvette Lopez
2024-10-18 16:08:44 +0000 UTCThanks so much for the kind words and the ideas, we are interested in adding household wants eventually and it's something we have thought about! Can't confirm yet though but I'm glad you like the idea!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:08:43 +0000 UTCThank you! The relationship aspect is going to be tested in second playtest because we wanted to make sure we have enough time to tweak the things listed first since a month is not a lot of time :)
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:07:46 +0000 UTCThanks for the feedback! I especially love the nice boss idea!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:06:06 +0000 UTCMost things will be easy to turn off in the in-game modding tools, yes! There will probably be a cheat to get a specific want!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:05:29 +0000 UTCI think it'd be nice to have the option of adding current wants to the to-do list. Like a teen might have a list like: eat pizza, play games, kiss [Para]. A random mix of big and small priorities. I've personally also had days where I see [Food] somewhere and three days later I still want [Food] and maybe want to try cooking it even though the moment that inspired it is long gone, so it'd be a nice place to store short term goals that just can't be accomplished right now.
BonaparteBardithion .
2024-10-18 16:04:39 +0000 UTCIt will be an option, yes :)
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 16:04:05 +0000 UTCI think wants could pop up during the day and be completable in that day, and when I think of those type of wants, I think like watching a cooking show on TV and then wanting to make a specific meal. But I also think there should be something representing more short-term "goal" which could expand over multiple days, things like getting a promotion, making some new friends, or getting in shape. Things that would require more than one action to complete. I don't know if those systems should be seperate or all be wants, but it's fun to have something you have to work a little for, but not be the life goal of that Para. When you were talking about having a bad day at work, I think it would be cool if those emotions and traits also played into wants for that day. Say a serious Para, maybe would want to work hard to make sure the next day was much better, but another Para would like to binge-watch the TV for the rest of the night.
Kvisten
2024-10-18 16:00:03 +0000 UTCIt also comes down to how long their default lifespan is and whether the success rate changes with that. 75% on a lifespan of 100 days feels like steady progress with occasional setbacks. The player spends less time with the Para and will want to accomplish more in that short time. In a lifespan of 1000 days 75% can feel like bad things rarely happen at work.
BonaparteBardithion .
2024-10-18 15:59:07 +0000 UTCAmazing work everyone!! Looks incredible! I would prefer to have the option to turn off the way-finding path. As for the wants, I love the idea to have shorter term situation based ones, and longer term ones based on personality! I wouldn't care about being able to pin the short situation based ones, just the more personality based ones :)
r m
2024-10-18 15:56:36 +0000 UTCWhat is the incentive for completing wants? Are there consequences for ur para being too sad?
Trinity Smith
2024-10-18 15:55:31 +0000 UTCI love this idea! It would make it so much more consequential to set these objectives for your Paras if their thoughts and moods were affected by them even before achieving them.
Kayleigh
2024-10-18 15:51:55 +0000 UTCI can see the pathfinding visual being useful for builders as well, maybe with a cue when a spot on the selected route is unroutable to identify trouble spots. But I agree it should be an option that's off by default since it would look pretty cluttered when five people are all routing at once.
BonaparteBardithion .
2024-10-18 15:51:27 +0000 UTCI'm loving the various live gameplay options being considered by all of you Devs, Alex. and especially the way you guys reach out to us for input! I like seeing the path line Paras will take from a point A to point B and I would love the ability to click on a Para to find them and auto follow them. Yay! As far as wants, so many have already commented on some things I like, but I want to emphasize my preference of the 'wants' system for daily wants to be spontaneous throughout that day, which is more true to IRL to me. As far as long-term 'wants', to me anything referred to as 'long-term' I see more as a 'goal' to achieve over time and I'm excited to see what the Devs have in mind in the developing long-term goals or aspirations as quests Paras will have to do to achieve them, since goals may have different difficulty levels for Paras depending on their chracter traits. Exciting times ahead! ✨️
tey711
2024-10-18 15:51:07 +0000 UTC100% agree about the personality characteristics being on a spectrum, that offers so much more nuance and individuality to the paras. I would much rather see this.
Kayleigh
2024-10-18 15:50:07 +0000 UTCI think having a mix of short term and long term wants/wishes would be perfect! The short term could be something more general, maybe tied to needs or working toward a larger goal (promotion for example)... or not! But a long term want should definitely reflect the Paras personality as much as possible. It feels so bland in other life simulation games when the wants are just "listen to X music" 5 times a day. I also think rolling them throughout the day seems more realistic. I know when I wake up, I have no idea what I want to do for the day! I saw another commenter mention fears, and while it hasn't been addressed by the team, my only concern is with their implementation. I wouldn't want them to be something debilitating that makes gameplay less fun, but maybe something more like avoidance to better shape and follow their personality traits.
tahirah
2024-10-18 15:46:38 +0000 UTCOn a similar note, could a player use cheats to select the current wants for narrative reasons?
BonaparteBardithion .
2024-10-18 15:45:29 +0000 UTCI agree with this, maybe there is some way certain Paras could be more likely or motivated to achieve more promotions and upgrades in their job. Whether that’s because of their personality being well suited to it (ie an outgoing barista) or aligned with their hobbies or interests. But if the job were a little more disconnected from their personality and interests and more like “just a job”, their motivation would be less and their chances for advancement also less.
Kayleigh
2024-10-18 15:45:25 +0000 UTCIn some versions of That Other Game™ all members of the household will roll the same want at once and it will be fulfilled for everyone once it happens even if they weren't the one that directly performed it. For example, everyone gets the memory of a child learning to talk and that fulfills the want. That gives the impression of something the household did together while using a very single person based goal system. Though I do like the idea of bigger quests that all household members can contribute to. Maybe have a goal list: collect X money, gather X/Y/Z plants, learn A/B/C instruments...
BonaparteBardithion .
2024-10-18 15:38:51 +0000 UTCLove this idea!
Kayleigh
2024-10-18 15:38:06 +0000 UTCI love this idea!
Impish
2024-10-18 15:37:52 +0000 UTCI would definitely like the wants to be a mix of short term impulses or whims and long term goals! And be able to lock them if we want or need more time to get to them.
Kayleigh
2024-10-18 15:35:26 +0000 UTCCounting on the days for 2025 to come and we finally have the opportunity to try the early access! I think the most exciting thing of all, while we watch the game coming to life, is to see the strong sense of character/personality/style that the game has and be keeping while it grows and expands. That’s very awesome to see it happening. I’ve been holding myself on giving any direct input because I’m always mesmerized with the vision you guys have (always trying to include the community voice). For this week, I’ll just say congratulations! It’s been quite a journey and I’m just proud of us (😂)! We’re all in this together! “What team? Paralives! What team? PARALIVES!”
Filipe Alves
2024-10-18 15:34:25 +0000 UTCi'm very excited to see how all of this develops, especially with the help of playtests! it sounded like those were very valuable so far! i'm not sure if this was answered before (if it was i forgot) but what happens when you do fulfil wants? is it just something the player can do for fun? or does it have an impact on the game like improving the mood or something else entirely? i wish you guys all the best with this next chapter of the development and may you encounter very few bugs haha
Melina W
2024-10-18 15:33:00 +0000 UTCGreat changes to the job system! We definitely need some negative consequences to make the game interesting. I also got really excited seeing that logic editor thing. People are gonna do so many cool things with that. Awesome stuff. For the wants I’m wondering what the gameplay purpose of them are. Do they give some kind of special currency upon completion like in That Other Game or is it just a boost to happiness or something like that? Maybe even some light punishment for not completing them? The answer would probably change what I want from the system. In The Sims I often end up doing every random little want just to get more of those sweet points, which can kind of derail things when the wants don’t feel in character or appropriate to the situation. On the other hand, if the incentives aren’t there the wants system might end up being ignored completely, which isn’t great either.
Oddface
2024-10-18 15:32:17 +0000 UTCI love the wants AND fears system in the sims 2, it’s one of the reasons the game is so fun to me!
Cesar A
2024-10-18 15:31:08 +0000 UTCI think the circle could be there for just for the selected parafolk? Personally, I like the pathfinder line but I agree it’d be best if it could be toggled on or off
just a little bawn
2024-10-18 15:26:47 +0000 UTCThis is a great idea!
Chiara
2024-10-18 15:18:01 +0000 UTCI think the pathfinding, and even the circle under the parafolk could be an option that can be turned off any time. The circle is alright but the pathfinding line is not something I would really want to use, maybe only when testing out mods. By the way, is weather, or a post about weather in the works? I would really love to see some thunder and especially snow! No rushing, just wondering because I love snow and I want to see how beautiful it could look in this game!
Renikee
2024-10-18 15:17:58 +0000 UTCI'm almost sure it's meant to be toggled :)
ladyteruki
2024-10-18 15:17:19 +0000 UTCi know we try not to directly compare paralives to sims here but sims 3 i think has a perfect wants system. some are more long term and related to traits/skills/career, others are more short term and in the moment (oh i saw a dog, i'd like to adopt a dog. i feel like going to the grocery store. i want to buy a new piece of furniture.) and you can pin 4 so you can hold onto the long term wants while zipping through smaller tasks. a system like that would serve paralives well i think.
HorribleDynne
2024-10-18 15:16:54 +0000 UTCHi Alex, thanks for this post :) I'm a bit tired of saying this every week, but THIS IS SO EXCITIIIIING ! Come on, can't you Paradevs have one disappointing week every once in a while ? :D I and many others come from a gaming community subjected to lots of bad corporate decisions, this is too much :P Jokes aside, this is indeed very exciting, but also fascinating. I really like what you're doing with the job performance, and find myself, once again, thankful that Paradevs listen to our feedback while still bringing their own approach to the game mechanics. "We will most probably have aspirations and/or a quest system for longer-term tasks" May I make a suggestion ? Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is that in a lot of life simulation games, aspirations/quest objectives (whatever they eventually are called in the various games of the genre) tend to be individual. If you think about it, it is VERY odd, because these are oftentimes games when you control an entire household ! Why are things so individual when characters live in groups ? It oftentimes feels like everyone is on their own path in life and they only interact for the bare minimum (in That Other Game™ 4, days can go by without parents and children to interact, even when in the same room... and noone seems to notice !). So I'd like to propose that Parafolks living under the same roof have a "household goal" (or aspiration/objective/etc.) they can set that cannot be achieved by only one member, but by several or all members of the household. Like, say, "Spring Cleaning", or "Packing for the big move", or "Planning an upcoming birthday", or "Making friends with some of the neighbors", or "Saving for a vacation", "Lift ourselves out of poverty" even (that one's probably going to be one I have to mod XD ). Something where Paras all get some satisfaction from pulling their weight relative to where the household is going, figuratively or literally. I think it would give a feeling of cohesive unity inside a home, rather than give off the impression that characters just happen to live in the same place. They could be longer term, too (a few months or even years, for instance). Even if different Paras take part in the goal in their own way (if they're saving for a vacation, the parents could get extra shifts or sell jewelry online, while kids sacrifice their allowance or open a lemonade stand), they'd at least care about the same things, you know ?
ladyteruki
2024-10-18 15:15:02 +0000 UTCI really like the upgrade to the work system and how you're keeping player modifications in mind when designing/improving a system. Would love aspirations and/or quests in addition to daily wants. I agree having wants popping up throughout the day is more realistic than waking up with them, but I can also see a para being too tired, 'in the zone', busy, or tunnel-visioned to really react to their environment to gain new wants on occasion. Couldn't help but notice that platonic, familial and/or romantic relationships were not mentioned under what's going to be tested in the internal play test. Is that part not yet at the stage for testing or is there another reason it's excluded for now? Looking forward to more news about live mode.
Zedef
2024-10-18 15:10:29 +0000 UTCWhat if the player wants to be an absolute "dictator" and wants to control every aspect of the character's life? Will it be possible to turn off "wants" completely so that they never appear? Honestly I doubt this would be my choice but I'm curious at the level of customization you intend to offer.
Chiara
2024-10-18 15:10:24 +0000 UTCThat feels like it really fits with the aesthetic of the game!📝✨
Lisa Hedlund
2024-10-18 15:06:34 +0000 UTCPerhaps a para wanting to pin it would result in it becoming an aspiration? Whereas the player can't pin any wants or perhaps just 1.
Zedef
2024-10-18 15:04:32 +0000 UTCThank you for the update! So excited to see live mode being worked on. - I think an option to keep the path finding on could be fun but maybe having it off by default would be the best choice. - I love making jobs a little more difficult and making sure your Para is ready for the day of work benefitting the character would be a nice way to do it. It's pretty realistic too that if you're not feeling great your performance will suffer as a result. So I really appreciate something like that. I don't know if it would be possible but maybe certain jobs, if your boss is really nice or a friend, maybe you could be sent home early (in a nice way) if you have a really bad day. - I think pinning wants would be great! I also think it makes sense to have wants that change throughout the day based on what happens around your para. That happens in real life and it would be great to see it introduced in the game. I think having a mix of shorter term and longer term wants would be ideal. It would add some goals to work towards. I think especially if any are personality tied wants like getting married, moving in with a partner, having kids or even getting a promotion. Having both short and long term wants would really make things flow really nice and add a small bit of challenge.
Trisha
2024-10-18 15:02:25 +0000 UTCCouldn't agree more. Good luck trying to fire someone with a permanent contract in my west European country. There are only a few instances in which you can fire someone immediately (stealing, fraud, refusing to work for no good reason) and the employee can still go to court to contest it; for dysfunctioning, such as poor performance, the employer needs to give a number of warnings, offer several ways to help the employee improve and/or offer a different job within the same company and all of this, including the performance reviews, needs to be properly documented before the employer can file a request with the court to fire said employee.
Zedef
2024-10-18 15:02:06 +0000 UTCI really like that! Then certain work places could be made more or less desirable to work at depending on the players preferences!🤩
Lisa Hedlund
2024-10-18 15:01:56 +0000 UTCPersonally, I would vote no for the visible path line, maybe it could be toggled on and off, may be useful for modders/cc creators when making cc furniture and the like. But for me, being a life simulation game, I feel it is unrealistic and would take me out of the immersion. On another note, as someone who is not a builder, I am very excited for the future live mode updates, you're all doing an amazing job. <3
simplepixelss
2024-10-18 15:00:59 +0000 UTCIn my opinion wants should change through the day, like if you are flirting with someone a want to kiss that para appears. I think harder wants that may take days to complete would be also fun because sometimes in these life sim games you can get a little bored if the game doesn't challenge you to do something different. But maybe that could be solved with a quest sistem like in the sims 3 where sometimes you would receive a quest that you could fulfill for money.
Lucas Medeiros
2024-10-18 14:59:34 +0000 UTCMaybe you can pin only up to a limited number of "wants"? So if another one you're interested in pops up and you've reached your limit you have to "discard" one you have previously pinned? This could be engaging for the player, they would have to choose "ooh, do I want this or that more?"
Chiara
2024-10-18 14:57:51 +0000 UTC@Nina I like these ideas!
Fran Smith
2024-10-18 14:56:51 +0000 UTCI appreciate the fact that upgrade points won't happen at the end of every work day anymore. This game is already cozy and low stakes, no need to make it super easy. 75% is still high, I just wish my Paras to have regular, "boring" work days more often than days ending with upgrades/promotions. Maybe it's just me! :-D
Chiara
2024-10-18 14:54:10 +0000 UTCI agree. The idea of "pinning" wants comes with its own question: who is committing to the want, the player or the Para? If it's the Para, maybe the pinned want has specific effects: for example, they dream/daydream about it, they talk about it with others, they get a bigger boost from achieving it, they get more and more frustrated if they don't achieve it, they are sad or relieved when they unpin it ("give up on it"), etc. Even if the effects are superficial or mostly aesthetic, it could mimic how in real life we have goals that occupy our minds until we do them. ("Ugh, I still need to get that toilet fixed." "Man, I have been craving a good pizza since Thursday!" "Can't wait to finish knitting that sweater.")
Nina
2024-10-18 14:50:21 +0000 UTCI vote No for the path line visible active by default. If you want to make it an option for people that may find it useful ok, but please not "on" by default.
Chiara
2024-10-18 14:46:36 +0000 UTCI really like the wants changing during the day, but I thought it would be fun if you/your para could write a to-do list. Like if your para needs to vacuum, do laundry, feed the pet/baby, apply for a job, practise the piano and so on and maybe the para gets a positive bonus completing the list or a sad emotion when failing. And the list would be optional because if the para don't have to do anything they can chill.
Amanda Hannu Näckros
2024-10-18 14:42:27 +0000 UTCI love the weekly updates 🩷 I'm impressed and everything I just read feels exciting! All of it sounds so cool and fun, can't wait to play next year! Thank you for all the hard work and please take care of yourselves guys 💕
Stephanie Marion
2024-10-18 14:41:26 +0000 UTCOh I like the idea of like depending on your characters traits and emotions they have corresponding wants! Like if they burn food or get demoted and then they're Angry and their wants are like "be mean to someone" or "break something"
Toria Stock
2024-10-18 14:40:08 +0000 UTCThat could work well! Yes, we are aiming to have effects based on emotions, like the examples you mentioned!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 14:36:59 +0000 UTCAnother super exciting and informative post. Personally, I would find it better if I couldn't see exactly where my para is going, because I would find that rather annoying. I am very enthusiastic about the revised work system. Consequences, terminations and different chances of getting a career upgrade point at the end of each working day, all sounds very good. I can't wait to try all of this out myself next year! 🫶
Josephin01
2024-10-18 14:36:57 +0000 UTCGreat post! About questions: 1. I think that waking up with new wants is nice idea, maybe after some events like for example break up - Parafolks new wants can replace some older ones and be like "crying in bed". 2. If we'll have aspirations system, wants for me can be small - but this all about how this aspirations/quest system will work. 3. YES. Would love that, sometimes you don't have time in the game to do something and you can just do it another day.
Argon
2024-10-18 14:36:49 +0000 UTCGreat post! Definitely have thoughts: You can classify different types of wants based on short-term / immediate, medium-term, and long-term. Short-term: Do X activity, chat with X para, etc. But those alone aren't very fun to play with (aka whims). For me, the best wants are medium-term: Make 5 friends, get promoted, earn X amount of money, reach level X in skill. You can work towards them while not taking an entire lifetime. Long-term wants are also important, but they can sometimes overlap with lifetime wants and goals, if that is a separate system. You may want to have each para select one lifetime long-term goal, so in that case it doesn't make sense for long-term wants to appear in a constantly updating and dynamic wants system. Instead of in paramaker, alternatively, you could have long-term/lifetime wants get rolled in the process of gameplay, perhaps as a teenager or young adult based on their choices, traits, and prior wants completed. Perhaps you can dedicate one or two want "slots" to the short-term actions. They can guide actions in the moment. But the rest should be medium-term or long-term. Locking or pinning wants is very important! At least two locks or pins, please! I like refreshing wants every day when waking up and after completing a want, at minimum. Finally, I want to propose the idea of want-chaining, or the concept of completing a want prompts a next-level sequential want to be generated. This adds a concept of progression and skilling in the want and gives the player the option to further go down the path of those wants, adding depth to their paras.
Michael
2024-10-18 14:36:21 +0000 UTCThanks for the feedback! Maybe some companies could offer you something after you are fired while others would not, depending on the perks offered at this company?
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 14:36:14 +0000 UTCI love the idea of wants appearing in reaction to events throughout the day. That sounds so much more realistic. As for the time range I'd love to see a variety of time ranges, but if you have a separate quest system for longer time ranges that could be okay too. I'd love to see very short term: here and now (I'd like an ice-cream at the vendor over there), daily (I'd love to read a book today/ I want to go for a swim today), weekly (I want to get a cat this week/ I want to buy a new hat this week), yearly (I want to loose weight this year/I want to learn to ride a bike this year), long term (I want to write a book/I want to have a baby), lifetime goals (I want to dedicate my life to teaching/I want to be a famous pianist). If all these ranges of wants/goals were available, particularly if they appeared at various times, the game would have a lot of depth and feel very real, because wants and goals come in all shapes and sizes. As for pinning short term goals, sometimes I want an ice-cream today and sometimes I still crave that ice-cream 3 days later. Is it possible that the rewards slowly diminish as the want gets older, or it's just worth a lot less if it's completed the next day after being pinned? Pinning would presumably block new wants from appearing too, meaning that there would be diminishing returns from pinning them. So perhaps ensure that the player only pins them if they REALLY want them. The job performance changes sounds good! Great post! I'm really looking forward to seeing more posts on the live mode!!
Fran Smith
2024-10-18 14:35:17 +0000 UTCAnd then perhaps all wants can expire at the end of the day, so if you had something pinned but didn’t fulfil it, it would disappear then
jamie
2024-10-18 14:34:09 +0000 UTCLooking forward to sharing more about the various live mode systems!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 14:32:08 +0000 UTCI really like the idea of dynamic wants that appear throughout the day but would love to pin at least one! Like maybe a want can be "make a friend" bit that's gonna require some time, so pinned. I hope there will be more consequences to emotions like being angry makes you burn food while cooking or being sad makes you build skills slower.
bonkybon
2024-10-18 14:31:36 +0000 UTCWhen it comes to getting fired due to low performance, I wish there would be an integrated system that can define what kind of social rights the Paras have. I'm in West/North Europe and in most jobs if you are fired you get compensation and get informed in advance. Whereas a friend of mine in the US last week got fired, effective immediately, lost all access to work email etc and no compensation paid. But these things vary from country to country and I just really hope that you choose to make Paralives a little less North America oriented, or at least give the global gamers the chance to define the social/economic systems that frame the entire universe of the game. Thank you so much for already doing such wonderful work.
Mayis Rukel
2024-10-18 14:31:10 +0000 UTCI'm here for the ✨intellectually tapped in Paras✨
ZLoves
2024-10-18 14:31:02 +0000 UTCThanks for the good feedback Stewby!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 14:30:51 +0000 UTCThat could work!
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 14:30:32 +0000 UTCHi there! Thank you! These would probably be included in the aspiration system which will be a system like wants but for lifetime wishes
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 14:30:19 +0000 UTCYessssss!! I was just missing you folks!! My thoughts: - Personality traits should be in sliders, since just acting as one or the other (good or evil, serious or childish…) is too black and white. I crave a realistic balance and moral ambiguity! - While the walking path outline is great for devs, the line is too distracting for gameplay. - Thank you for the (F)ocus button! - In love with the wants system! The target icon is cute! 1. I prefer a 24 hour system for wants but I feel like there could be an additional want when the character interacts with something new. This is actually a feature in other games where during holidays or new purchases, the character would develop a new want (buys guitar > is virtuoso > wants to play guitar). 2. I prefer daily wants over weekly especially if the wants greatly influence the characters. Or at least 48 hours. I would love if you could voluntarily grab quests from NPCs. 3. Please add pinning a want. We can decide ourselves if the want still fits the context. Thank you for another update!!
Yvette Lopez
2024-10-18 14:30:17 +0000 UTCPersonally - I love the idea of a quest line to achieve long term goals and wants. When you think about real life, aren’t our goals and aspirations just a quest line? Don’t we have to fulfill objectives to achieve what we want? I like the distinction between a quest for a more long term goal and completing more “simplistic” daily tasks. Quests bring a new challenge and a different take and possibly hint at personality rewards, career opportunities or relationship changes.
Jennifer
2024-10-18 14:29:30 +0000 UTCI really love the take On these systems and I’m curious to see how they work together and if it offers a meaningful complex experience
Trishy
2024-10-18 14:29:08 +0000 UTCI think pinning longer term wants like "I want to get married" or "I want to get a promotion" would be valuable, because then it simulates long-term goals for our paras that can't be completed in one day but keep their behavior directed and it's coming from the game/the Para instead of living inside the head of the gamer (which is what makes The Other Game feel so much like playing with dolls)
Toria Stock
2024-10-18 14:28:47 +0000 UTCThank you! Chance cards (popup with a question in the middle of the work day) are not planned for now
Alex Massé
2024-10-18 14:28:15 +0000 UTCHello from Paraguay! I adore the idea of wants reacting to the environment, though, how would that system react to life changing wants like wanting to get married or having a child? Thank you! 🫶🫶
Migs
2024-10-18 14:28:01 +0000 UTCI would like for the option to pin wants. For example if you have 3 or 4 want slots then you can only pin 1 then the rest will reset
Sydney Jupiter
2024-10-18 14:27:51 +0000 UTCAbsolutely adore the work update. Love it. Just love it. I would like a pin option, even if it is just for one want at a time. it allows you a goal to work towards. example... complete a book (sorry, very random and not good). maybe it will take my para two days to finish the book but i would still love them to get a wee boost from it. sometimes we remember wants that we had from a while ago and get a wee cosy buzz from achieving it later on. Just my opinion. I am loving the update, as always.
Stewby
2024-10-18 14:26:17 +0000 UTCAwesome! Also, regarding the job performance, will we have chance cards that determine if the para gets a bonus, promotion, demotion, termination?
Julio Saliba
2024-10-18 14:26:09 +0000 UTC
