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Town Services & Businesses Brainstorming Recap + New Theme + Poll

Added 2022-04-01 14:47:16 +0000 UTC

Hello everyone,

It’s Sandrine here, back again to share with you the summary of the latest community brainstorming session as well as the new theme for the month of April. Note that this Patreon post is for Patrons only so please don’t share it. Thank you!


Town Services & Businesses Brainstorming Recap

We’d like to thank you all for participating in the Town Services & Businesses brainstorming session. We gathered your ideas from the comment section as well as from Discord and Reddit. Here’s a general summary of the ideas that stood out to us. Please keep in mind that if you don’t see your idea there, it doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t be taking it into account when working on this aspect of the game. In the same way, listing the ideas below doesn’t guarantee that we will add it to the game either since we will be focusing on the most important features first in order to be able to release the game. More interactions and features will be added overtime after launch.

Special thanks to Patron and Discord user Axart once again, who made a summary of his own during this month. As always, it’s been helpful to us!

Here’s a word cloud to see what has been mentioned the most in the Patreon comment section of the previous brainstorming session. It’s the smaller words that get interesting! You can spot some specific services that have been requested enough to show up on here:


Results of the poll on the Town Services & Businesses brainstorming post showed that all of the options were really important to you but that the town service you were most looking forward to was a grocery store! It was followed closely by the “bar, coffee shop and tea room” option and firefighters.


Next Monthly Brainstorming Topic

This month’s brainstorming session topic is all about Cat Whiskers! How long should they be? Should all cats have them? What are the best whiskers: long and straight or frizzy ones?

You didn’t really think I would be all serious on April Fools’ day now did you? ;) Okay, okay, here’s the real theme for April: Basic and Complex Needs! Have you heard of the hierarchy of needs? Needs are not only for food, sleep, shelter, etc., but also for love, respect, freedom and more! To get started, you can ask yourselves the following questions:

We’d love to read all your ideas in the comment section of this post. It is very inspiring! As usual, we will open this brainstorming session to the public next week on Discord in the #basic-and-complex-needs channel and on Reddit.

Happy brainstorming!


Poll: Basic and Complex Needs

Now that the new topic has been revealed, we have a question for you: would you like fulfilling needs to be challenging or to take up less space in what you do with your day?

You can answer in the poll below. If you can think of something that is not in the options, don’t hesitate to share it in the comments. (Also, don’t hesitate to let me know about your favourite type of cat whiskers too!)

Have a good weekend everyone! 😺

Sandrine

Comments

I think a combination of both would be cool. Like you could easily go few days with no social interaction, but you have to eat everyday. And maybe you don't need to sleep for 8h, but a bit less so that we can play around with them more and an ability to pull an all-nigher (like the parafolk would be tired, but could still push through)

Cute Ghost

2023-04-19 23:29:38 +0000 UTC

Or have it as a character trait you can assign (i.e. "needy", "high maintenance")

Corinne Gross

2023-04-17 03:49:28 +0000 UTC

Could do diffrent game modes for people who want it more challenging.

MixiLight

2023-01-24 22:44:22 +0000 UTC

especially if they have like an ADHD feat/ hyper feat which means they may not be able to do one activity for long before getting bored but depending on person to person have one interest they hyperfocus on, whether it be reading, video games or skills (eg cooking, knitting etc)

Krayola

2022-11-05 15:43:12 +0000 UTC

I LOVE the idea of buying clothes and Accessories and having to go to a tattoo artist etc. 😍

Anna

2022-08-17 13:29:53 +0000 UTC

i think it should depend what the characters are doing that day, if they are just laying around, maybe they grow extremely bored and cannot lay around anymore. i think having sliders for traits would be SO good.

maya rose

2022-08-08 23:55:16 +0000 UTC

I think it could be so cool if a lot you hung out at had the same characters pop up (and if you could set this up!) like one cafe/bar is a certain characters “haunt” and you’re likely to run in to them there. Or if you become a regular at a cafe you will have mild relationships with all the other regulars. Or if you often see another Para you will eventually start smiling/waving to them when you see them in town (maybe depending on temperament??) this would be so cool 😅

Erika Roberts

2022-06-25 08:57:03 +0000 UTC

I feel like sims 2 did a good job balancing needs. But quality of the item used should influence quality of needs fulfilled. This game should still not shy away from challenges or negative effects on parafolk because then you'd fall into the trap that Sims 4 did - bland game mechanics and unexciting gameplay where everyday sim life is too easy and quickly gets boring. I would like my parafolk to get depressed and increasingly sad.

Marc

2022-06-08 04:33:21 +0000 UTC

I feel like sims 2 did a good job balancing needs. But quality of the item used should influence quality of needs fulfilled. This game should still not shy away from challenges or negative effects on parafolk because then you'd fall into the trap that Sims 4 did - bland game mechanics and unexciting gameplay where everyday sim life is too easy and quickly gets boring. I would like my parafolk to get depressed and increasingly sad.

Marc

2022-06-08 04:33:10 +0000 UTC

I would not want the game to make me increasingly sad or depressed if I wasn't able to fulfill a need like hygiene or hanging out with friends. I don't want my parafolk to get sad or depressed at all. I think the consequence to fulfilling challenges should be neutral to rewarding. For instance, if my parafolk doesn't meet up with friends regularly, fewer NPC's will interact with my parafolk over time. The more the parafolk invests in their fulfillment the more positive outcomes there could be - higher level of happiness. But, if they don't invest in these needs the outcome is neither good or bad - there just isn't an added benefit to doing them. Was there a conversation that I may have missed on Parafolk emotions? Do they become angry, sad, frustrated, joyful, etc? And, if so to what degree?

PNW Player

2022-05-06 16:43:56 +0000 UTC

i think the difficulty of the needs should vary depending on the quality of the objects they use to fulfill their needs.

Dovima

2022-05-04 13:28:14 +0000 UTC

It would be cool to have some kind of "life fulfilment" need that is influenced by how much the para acts on his aspirations and personality and how much the para is able to take time for themselves and their hobbies and whether or not a para even has any goals.

Jasmin Sartison

2022-05-02 16:36:20 +0000 UTC

I am so desperate to be able to buy actually new stuff in stores pls

Jasmin Sartison

2022-04-30 19:29:43 +0000 UTC

Wow, public transit and shelters?? I'm in love with everything on this list! I don't mind fulfilling needs and I enjoy the logistics of stacking actions to fulfill needs. However, I don't like when something takes such a long time that it affects other parts of the game, like taking hours and hours to eat.

Hannah Moody-Goo

2022-04-24 17:00:53 +0000 UTC

I feel like it should be somewhat challenging but also *quick*. I like having the challenge of daily needs, but when it takes half the day to take a shower and make some food, that’s when it gets annoying

LesbianRaichu

2022-04-22 15:17:12 +0000 UTC

Fulfilling needs should be challenging to a degree. Fulfilling basic needs; food, clothing, shelter, etc. shouldn’t be as challenging as complex needs like respect, love , freedom etc. Basic needs should be what is worked FOR and complex needs should be what is worked TOWARDS. To add to the complexity, every Parafolk could be challenged to meet complex needs based on characteristic/personality traits, environment, etc.

Cassidy Samantha

2022-04-19 12:32:12 +0000 UTC

Slightly off topic but would be sooo dope if, as well as a yacht parafolk who have really made it can purchase their own jets to fly to different cities or holiday destinations possibly something to think about in terms of transportation. There should maybe be an airport lot where this can be purchased and stored. You should also be able to travel to this lot to fly out of town.

Luther Duncan

2022-04-11 21:33:26 +0000 UTC

🔋 What needs would you like to see in Paralives? Social, physical and mental needs that take different amount of time to run down. Hygiene, two to three showers a week is usually enough unless you do sports, but you do need to eat daily and go to the toilet. Personality might affect social need, or even drain happiness if you hav a hermit para! It would also be interesting to see a long term "need" of overall happiness/content in life, ie. if the para is not fulfilling their life goals they get unhappy. However, I wouldn't want much more than 8-10 needs. Some ideas: Food, hygiene, bladder, physical activity, sleep, fun, social battery, "long term happiness" ⚖️ How would you prioritize or categorize needs? Maybe have basic needs all paras have, couple determined by personality, and one long term "goal/happiness" need. If a para is completely unhappy with their life they might die! (or become depressed) 😐 How would ignoring a need for too long impact Parafolks? I think some basic needs (like hunger) should cause them to die. Sleep, either pass out or not be able to do tasks well, everything turning out sloppy or half-assed, so even if you're trying to cook, the food will be worse quality. If you just continue to ignore a need like sociality, imo it could agagin affect the long term "life happiness" and drain it slowly until para is either depressed and has to go to therapy or something and improve it or fulfill major life goals to become happier. So in theory you could be a total unhygienic slob but the para's life goal is fulfilled so overall they're ok with their "life happiness" 🍽️ What would be different ways to fulfill each need? -Food, hygiene, bladder, sleep: basic ways, eat something, nap, go to the toilet, wash your hair, brush teeth. Maybe different effects from each, or if you haven't washed your hair/brushed your teeth in a week you get a negative effect. But brushing teeth imo shouldn't be a daily requirement. -Physical activity: many ways, walk outside, exercise, yoga, if you have a lazy para maybe depletes slower. -Fun: Personality dependent, watch tv, read, write, play music, gaming... Paras should only get fun out of things they like personality wise and then one universal fun activity, like tv because it's so varied in things you can watch. -Social battery: Introvert? Fulfills when you're alone. Drains when you're at work or social events. Extrovert? Fills when you're social, drains when you're hermitting alone in the house. I think including ambiverts isn't necessary and would make it too confusing. -"long term happiness": how well are you fulfilling para's needs + are they happy with their life goals and are you fulfilling their wishes

Lunal H

2022-04-11 12:47:28 +0000 UTC

I also love the idea of Paragolks having different needs based on their interests! Like maybe spending more time woth dogs if they love animals!

Stacey Justo

2022-04-11 04:10:04 +0000 UTC

I think every need should vary greatly in how quickly they deteriorate. For example, I would enjoy having my Parafolk cook more often but also not have to worry about something more mundane like using the bathroom🙈

Stacey Justo

2022-04-11 04:09:12 +0000 UTC

While this is nice in theory, I think too much of that would interfere with gameplay. When you’re out with your para for the day, perhaps at a wedding or something, it would be inconvenient if a habit like that kicked in while you’re at an event that is irregular from their daily life

Maxx

2022-04-10 14:03:22 +0000 UTC

I think that the difficulty level for needs could be individually selected in paramaker, with a sliding scale perhaps. I personally like needs to be less intense, but some really like the challenge. I also think that some needs can be unique depending on the personality. Like spirituality for example might be important for some paras, and not others. Same for athleticism, thrill seeking, the need to create, intimacy, need to be in touch with nature. Also some needs that are more standard might deplete faster or slower depending on personally too.

IdrilPuck

2022-04-10 07:20:05 +0000 UTC

Sorry another post, with higher needs, it would be nice if those are influenced by traits, personality and goals. Like a shy Para wouldn't feel great going to a party full of strangers and it wouldn't fill the social need well. Maybe for self-actualisation, a Para that dreams to make it big and is ambitious would hate working for a grocery store but another would feel amazing because they are more humble in character.

illykitty

2022-04-09 11:14:37 +0000 UTC

With basics, there's many approaches you could take. Like not everyone eats 3 meals a day but it would be nice if it was more regular and realistic. Maybe a para could form habits, and these influence when they are hungry, sleepy and such? If you repeat an action at the same hour or maybe a timezone (like 4-6pm) everyday, it becomes a habit. Just a thought.

illykitty

2022-04-09 11:12:15 +0000 UTC

Would playable paras be able to live in a homeless shelter instead of their own lot, or would it only be for npcs who don’t have an in-world home lot?

Aaron

2022-04-09 03:23:56 +0000 UTC

Interesting concepts! I'd be down for sub categories if they acted more as boosters maybe? I definitely want a para's personality to reflect in the way they fulfill/decay their needs. I'm not a huge fan of micromanaging my "Sims" and wouldn't mind autonomous interactions if they had more effect on their needs and mood

Kristen Rew

2022-04-08 21:38:13 +0000 UTC

NEEDS (MAIN CATEGORIES AND SUB-CATEGORIES) IDEA: In addition to the main need-categories, you also have sub-categories. The sub-categories will rise and fall at a speed that matches your Paras personality. MEANT TO ADD COLOR AND VARIATION TO THE GAME, GIVE AN EXTRA CHALLENGE AND REWARDS FOR THOSE WHO ARE BORED, AND SPARK SOME IDEAS FOR THOSE WHO MAKE THE SAME CHOICES OVER AND OVER. BUT FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO FOCUS ON OTHER ASPECTS OF GAMEPLAY, YOU CAN HIDE THE SUB-CATEGORIES, AND NOT USE THEM AS MUCH. BUT IF A SUB-NEED IS OVERLOOKED TO THE POINT THAT IT REACHES A CRITICAL LEVEL ACCORDING TO YOUR PARTICULAR PARAS PERSONALITY, IT WILL JUMP TO THE FOREGROUND IN THE FORM OF A REMINDER, MOODLET, THOUGHT, OR OTHER CONSEQUENCE. Some examples and thoughts. 🚿HYGIENE: HANDS – You will know that you touched that sticky dirty table that the waitress forgot to clean. And also. You do NOT want to make dinner with those sticky fingers. Better wash! TEETH – Did your Para not brush your teeth yesterday, nor today? Did Para just eat a cheese sandwich with lots of garlic? The need to brush your teeth will rise! BODY – You know what to do! No shower? Go and wash up by the sink, and use deodorant, it helps a bit. Camping? Swim in the sea and soap up, or shower in the rain. HAIR – Greasy hair? (it hasn't been washed for a week!) Wash it! No can do? Spray it, no? Well, then– wear a hat or a beanie and hide that greasy hair until you’re back home. FACE – In danger of adding too many options here, there could also be an option that if you forgot to wash your face for a longer period of time, you would be more disposed to get acne. 👩🏻‍🤝‍🧑🏽SOCIAL: FRIENDS – If playing with a very extroverted Para this need could rise more frequently than an introverted Para FAMILY – Unless you have a really bad relationship with your mother at some point (perhaps you’re a rebelling teenager who’s angry with the world, and particularly stupid parents) this need will arise from time to time. If the Para is really family-oriented – it rises more frequently LOVE – This would rise fast or slow depending on the Para's traits, and if the Para already has a boyfriend/girlfriend. Perhaps a Para with no need for love at the moment suddenly feels the urge of flirting/finding a partner if they recently have been in a wedding witnessing true love, or have been hanging out a lot with two turtledoves in love (or perhaps they get sick of the turtledoves and appreciate being alone, haha) If you already have a partner but haven't been seeing each other for a while, or haven't been able to show each other affection, had an argument that hasn’t been fixed yet – this need will also increase. BEST FRIEND – If you haven't been catching up with your bestie(s) for a while. ALONE TIME – if you are an introvert. 🥧FOOD: NUTRITIONAL FOOD: Our need for nutritional good meals that give a lot of energy throughout the day. So if Para has been eating nothing but junk lately, this need-barometer will tell you that it is time for your mamas' homemade dinner or that you should prioritize making yourself a decent breakfast. HYDRATION – Don’t forget to drink something during the day. If you drink water, it would fill the NUTRITIONAL nee too, If drinking something unhealthy, like very sugary drinks, it would increase fulfillment in the CRAVING category, but only a little in the HYDRATION category. (Usually, I don’t bother getting water, juice, etc in these simulation games, because it doesn’t really matter, I can survive just eating popcorn for six months if I want to, without even having a sip of water.) SNACK/CRAVINGS – The need for something sweet or salty, or your favorite snack could arise if very very hungry, if depressed or bored, watching a movie (except if you are a very healthy Para, or you are very self conscious about weight) So these levels would move slowly or faster according to traits. If you overlooked the urge to grab a bag of potato chips while watching a movie, the urge would eventually pass without conflicting directly with your mood and nothing negative would happen, but if you DID, you would perhaps get some contentment points or some sort of reward. (but if you are sad, hungry, or bored at the same time, you might get a bit grumpy for not eating any comfort food). This you could also do with a main "need" called SPARE-TIME ACTIVITIES. Sub categories that was tailored to fit your Paras traits. Perhaps one Para had subcategories like PARTY, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, GARDENING, EXERCISING. Another Para had sub-categories like ROMANCE, MOVIES, COMPUTERS, AND WORK-RELATED ACTIVITIES. They could ignore these. But having fun whilst doing their favorite things would fill the FUN-need faster and also give more points and a more happy Para. BRAINSTORMING SCENARIOS: For me, this could add a lot of diversity to the game. Attending to your Paras needs would be more meaningful and realistic, and would help shape the story. -If walking in town with your Para friends on a warm sunny day, and the need “Food: Snack level” is in dire straits – you get ice cream together, and also enjoy being cooled off in the hot sun, and this need would have created an action you might not have done if the need for snacks wasn’t there. If the snack need occurred at a cabin trip at winter, you’d want to choose to make some hot cocoa instead, and cuddle up on the couch. -If the need-level SOCIAL: family is very low because you haven't been seeing your siblings and parents for many weeks after you moved out, and it is also a while since you ate a proper meal, you could make a clever decision to invite your family over for a good meal. -A Para calls and asks you to go for walk. You can see that your hair is a mess because you just woke up from a long nap and you are starting to crave a snack (you have overlooked your hunger for too long, and now the body just wants to increase the blood sugar, fast! You can choose to not overlook these to get extra points, and if too bad – avoid a hangry Para. Hurry and brush your hair and pack the protein bars or chocolate to eat on your trip before you leave. BOOM. More satisfaction-points! (But if your Para is a slob, the sub-need might not be affected at all, because, well, the Para doesn’t really care if the hair looks like a birds nest. :P) So, for these sub-categories to work in a game, it can’t be too challenging or bothersome Therefore the sub-categories can be hidden under the main category, and you can push the button to extend it when wanting some more ideas/points on how to make your Para even happier. Some of them, you can choose to more or less ignore until they become critical, then there can be a moodlet that eventually says: “Really missing my boyfriend now!”, or “I’m really sick of eating junk”. So perhaps you need to be social but do not want the game to specify with whom you should be social, and that would be OK too. You will still fill the Social-needs when hanging with your besties, or even meeting new people, even if you haven't seen your sister for a very very long time. But you won’t receive the family-satisfaction points, and eventually, this hidden long-overlooked need will have to jump to the foreground to give a reminder that you are becoming a bit sad for not seeing her. Just some brainstorming. I can see myself using something like this A LOT in a game like this. (Sorry for this endlessly long post!)

Cosmic Dancer

2022-04-08 16:41:11 +0000 UTC

I love the concept of multitasking to address Parafolk's needs. I hope Alex's team could manage to implement the concept of multitasking as implementing this requires a lot of effort (from researching, coding, creating unit test cases, testing, animations, etc.), especially if the implementation of multitasking in Paralives is dynamic (I forgot the technical term), meaning single action can be paired with another action(s) and it is not a hardcoded action/animation e.g. Parafolk sipping coffee while doing their homework, then a Parafolk could procrastinate by browsing to their smartphone, or Parafolk can sip a cup of coffee while watching TV, having a bath (cuz why not lol), eating their meal, doing homework, working, etc. So a lot of possibilities for an action can be paired with another action~

Carlo Oseo

2022-04-08 06:18:18 +0000 UTC

Yes, and it would be immersive for us Para players not only to address our Parafolk's essential and complex needs, but also the type of culture we want to see in our Parafolk household. I would like to note that addressing their 6 essential needs (food, water, sleep, bladder, hygiene, & health) shouldn't be too cumbersome for us Para players (meaning a lot of unnecessary actions that can be simplified instead) so that we could focus more on storytelling, tackling Parafolk's complex needs -- security, social, aspirations -- (I think this should be one of the driving mechanics of the game for a Parafolk to have unique needs apart from other Parafolks), and exploring Paralive's overall gameplay.

Carlo Oseo

2022-04-08 06:07:03 +0000 UTC

That was exactly my reasoning, so glad we think similarly! I also think that masking would really increase immersion for cultures that heavily encourage preventative masking (like Korea, Japan, etc.). What do you think?

Finnelia

2022-04-08 04:16:19 +0000 UTC

Great idea! I'd love for paras to be able to do two things at once

S&M Gonzalez

2022-04-08 03:37:28 +0000 UTC

I think that is a good idea :) It also adds realism. I don't think it would be hard to implement (as a developer) but it depends on Alex's team, of course. It would be great if Parafolks should have an option to use a mask (Action: Wear Mask) as a preventive measure to avoid being sick when being around sick Parafolk or to prevent them from spreading their sickness in case they need to go outside/work.

Carlo Oseo

2022-04-08 03:34:36 +0000 UTC

Wonderful😍

Noveternal

2022-04-07 20:34:01 +0000 UTC

MULTITASKING AND ATTENDING MULTIPLE NEEDS AT THE SAME TIME I think it is a great idea to be able to solve several needs at once and also adapt them to your Paras situations at all times, playing a part in shaping a story. Examples: 1) Para has visitors. Para is low on hunger, fun, and socials = Para eats while watching TV with their visitors (or perhaps just socializing, if that counts as fun) 2) Para needs to do their homework but is too low on energy = Para drinks coffee and sips while she does her homework. (Perhaps also, if Para had a sore body after exercising, she could choose to do homework and coffee on a comfy couch or in bed, instead of a table) 3) Para is on a camping trip by a little lake. Para is dirty and is also in need of socializing and fun = Para can bring her shampoo/soap into the lake. Perhaps even there could be a fun action where two Paras could wash each others hair in the water while they splash some water on each other and have fun while they do so. Or maybe shower in the rain. 4) Para is feeling depressed and hungry. Her ability to make dinner is very low at the moment because of her blues. The dinner would not taste good and it would take much longer to make because she cries and sobs while stirring the pot. But she can text her best friend and ask her to bring a pizza and come over. Her tummy is happy and her best friend has also comforted her and been able to make her laugh! 5) Para is at school or a coffee shop. Hygiene is running low, and so is self-esteem. Instead of having to leave the coffee shop to reach a shower, or just wash your hands five times to feel cleaner, you could do a quick wash-up by the sink (washing face or under arms) and put on some deodorant (if you remembered to bring one). And while you’re at it – you can freshen up that makeup or maybe just let that comb slide through your hair. There, self-esteem feels a bit better.

Cosmic Dancer

2022-04-07 18:02:04 +0000 UTC

I totally agree!

Cosmic Dancer

2022-04-07 16:46:37 +0000 UTC

I would love that!

Cosmic Dancer

2022-04-07 16:40:20 +0000 UTC

Thanks for putting so much thought into this! With the health part of Paralives, what do you think about preventative action like masking? I think that could add a layer of depth but I'm not sure how hard that would be to implement.

Finnelia

2022-04-07 16:35:19 +0000 UTC

I love this idea!

Anouk Spiegelenberg

2022-04-07 10:45:16 +0000 UTC

Paralives brainstorming: 🔋 What needs would you like to see in Paralives? Basics: Sleep, water, food, hygiene, shelter and clothing. ⚖️ How would you prioritize or categorize needs? Depends on their personality, for example a parafolk who has a partyanimal personality trait, should prioritize their social needs over sleep. 😐 How would ignoring a need for too long impact Parafolks? Illness, mental illnesses, and death. When a parafolk does not sleep for one night, it should not be a big problem, it should for example affect for their focus/concentration, but they won't die from it. When they don't sleep for 2 days straight they might start hallucinating, any longer than that they might go insane and eventually die. When a parafolk sleeps a few hours a night for an extended period of time. They can't functionate like they used to do. Their work/school performance decays, they are getting shorttempered, they may develop an mentall illnes, such as anxiety, or depression. As for hygiene, if they don't fullfill their hygiene need they get sick. When they don't drink or eat they die of starvation or dehydration. 🍽️ What would be different ways to fulfill each need? When a parafolk want to go out to a club or something that night, but their sleep need is low, they could drink a cup of coffee, to freeze or fullfill their need decay temporarily. This works once in a while but if you do this too often they might get an cafaine addiction or go insane when not sleeping for a longer time. 👪 Should all Parafolk have the same needs? Should it vary from one Parafolk to another? Parafolks should have the same main needs. But some personallities comes with extra needs: For example: A parafolk who values sports, like a body builder, gymenthousiast, jock, active personallity. They should have a excersize need. A creative parafolk should have an artsy need, this can be fulfilled by making/writing/painting/creating someting, or by brainstorming with other parafolks (this could also take place at the internet) A parafolk with traits like gardener, outdoor enthousiast, nature lover etc. Should have a need where they must go outdoors, this can be tending the garden, go for a walk in the park, eating their meal outside. They should not be happy with being inside for a period time. Another idea I had about the fullfilment of their needs is that not every interaction should fullfil their needs in the same way. For example: when a food lover or a brilliant cook eats a dish of low quality food their hunger need doesn't go up much, they are not fullfilled. Same goes with fastfood, when a parafolk eats fastfood their hunger will be fullfilled but not for long. A nature lover/outdoor enthousiast will prevent going insane by eating their meal outside, or sitting in the sun for a while. But to make them feel happy (again) is by going on a stroll in the beach, swimming in a lake, taking a walk in a park or in the woods or something like that. My other toughts and ideas: An extravert parafolk means that they need more social interaction, when they don't fullfill their social needs they can start feeling depressed. But an introverted parafolk also does need social interaction but not in the way an extravert does. For example, an extravert goes to a party, that party was a lot of fun and they feel good about that even the day after. Meanwhile an introvert goes to a party and they get drained because of all the chitchat and smalltalk. The day(s) after they feel exhausted and are not in the mood to see other people, for a booklover this may means, staying in their room reading books and for a gamer playing video games all day. Or for an nature lover this may mean going on a long walk with their dog or alone in nature.

Anouk Spiegelenberg

2022-04-07 09:40:20 +0000 UTC

I have based this mostly on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, my experience from playing The Sims franchise, and things I would really like to see in the base game. I hope the team will read this lengthy post. 6 ESSENTIAL NEEDS FOR PARAFOLKS (IN ORDER): 1. Food (Hunger) - Food can be variable depending on Parafolk traits and lifestyle. Hunger decay for Parafolks that are on a diet can have a slow decay, while other Parafolks will have a default decay variable. It would be nice if the decay variable can make Parafolks eat two-three meals a day (breakfast -> lunch -> dinner, or brunch -> dinner). Making the Parafolk deprived of food for too long (days) should have negative consequences on their overall health. In real life, humans can survive without eating for days and/or as long as they drink water. 2. Water (Thirst) - Parafolk's need for water would increase as they do intensive physical activity like working out, jogging, etc. The need for water would increase if they are sick, and if they are eating spicy food (unless a Parafolk has a trait to tolerate spiciness). Making the Parafolk deprived of water for too long (days) should result in dehydration that will have negative consequences on their overall health. 3. Sleep (Energy) - The need for sleep should depend on the overall health of the Parafolk, the activities they are doing, the type of drink they drank that day, and medication. - Parafolks that are fit, meaning they are not depressed and/or have good health conditions, should have a good/default energy need decay. - If they are sick or depressed, their need for sleep should increase and it would depend on the severity of their illness. - Doing heavy activities like working out, jogging, etc. would increase the decay of their energy, but only a bit. In reality, people could still have plenty of energy or even a burst of energy after they do a heavy workout. - Working for hours should decay their energy levels, except if a Parafolk has explicit traits that deal with work e.g. Workaholic Parafolk (the decay variable could be less). - Drinking coffee should boost their energy but only for a limited amount of Paralives time. They could crash after the effect of coffee is gone in their system. - Drinking alcohol could increase their need for sleep. - Some medication that has a sleeping effect should increase their need for sleep. Sleep deprivation should have negative consequences on their overall health and force the Parafolk to crave sleep. 4. Bladder - The decay would be obviously based on Parafolk drinking and eating habits. However, if a Parafolk has a health problem e.g. diarrhea, their bladder will decay faster. Holding their bladder for too long should also harm their overall health. 5. Hygiene - Doing physical activities e.g. working out, jogging, doing dirty activities like dumpster diving, cleaning the house, changing the diaper, working in a workshop, etc., peeing or pooing themselves would decrease their cleanliness level. Parafolks that ignore their hygiene for too long should also harm their overall health. 6. Health - We need to take care of Parafolk's overall health as we play them in the game. There are several factors to consider for the health to decay: - Type of foods that a Parafolk eats e.g. Parafolk often eat oily, greasy, or processed foods - Type of drink that a Parafolk takes e.g. alcohol, sodas - Frequency of a Parafolk deprived of the 3 essential needs (food, water, sleep) to a critical level - Frequency of a Parafolk holding their bladder - Frequency of a Parafolk ignoring their hygiene need - The environment where the Parafolk is situated e.g. dirty environment, weather conditions, being exposed to a sick Parafolk - Lifestyle e.g. Parafolk drinks alcohol and/or smokes a lot - Stress due to work, school projects, etc, unable for a Parafolk to relax for a while - Mental stability, which will be driven by Parafolk's complex needs If their health level reaches the threshold, they could acquire an illness and be fatal (in some instances) if not treated well. To prevent a Parafolk from acquiring an illness, we must: - Take care of their essential core needs (food, water, and sleep) before it reaches the critical point. - Relaxing once in a while e.g. playing games, reading books for Parafolk bookworms, etc. after stressful situations like work - Changing their lifestyle and eating habits e.g. stopping the Parafolk from smoking or drinking alcohol, avoiding or infrequent eating of processed or oily food. - Cleaning often, avoiding dirty areas, avoiding sick Parafolks. - Addressing Parafolk's complex needs. If they acquired an illness, there should be a way to go to a Hospital/Clinic (I have posted this in the Town and Business Services post) to get them treated, and if Hospital/Clinic is not available, then they can self-medicate e.g. taking long rest, more water, healthier food. COMPLEX NEEDS: For the complex needs of a Parafolk, I would like to break them down into three categories: 1. Security (Finding a job, financial stability, shelter) 2. Social (Love and Belongingness) 3. Aspirations (Achieving multiple lifetime wishes, growth in their careers) These three categories for complex needs of Parafolk should be a separate feature to watch besides the 6 essential needs I have discussed above IMO. The complex needs under these three categories should be driven by Parafolk's list of traits and current living conditions to roll out the additional needs of the Parafolk. Moreover, it should impact the overall mental stability of the Parafolk. SECURITY: Parafolks would need to have a job (for teens it could be the desire to be admitted to a college or university), financial stability for them to pay their bills and buy food supplies from the grocery, and shelter. - If they don't find a job, they would get worried about their future (unless they are comfortable with their living situation e.g. rich Parafolk) - If they are not financially stable, they would get anxious about their food security and potential debt. - If they don't have a shelter, they will have no home to rest, in danger from outside threats, which will negatively impact their mental stability. It is also good to consider if Parafolks can have insurance e.g. life insurance, car insurance, or house insurance, to add to security needs. SOCIAL: Parafolks would like to feel they belong to the community, to experience love and friendship, and intimacy. However, their complex needs for the social category would depend on their list of traits. Some basic examples: - Introverted Parafolks don't need to socialize with other Parafolks frequently, while extroverted Parafolks would need to socialize to address their desire for socializing. - Hopeless romantic Parafolks would often like to have a relationship, while other Parafolks are okay being single even if they have been single for a long time. - Parafolks that have been shunned, abandoned or got in a situation like a break-up, divorce, loss of loved one, or being alone for a very long time, should feel isolated, lonely, and in some circumstances, depressed. These feelings should negatively impact Parafolks entirety. Depressed Parafolks would like to sleep a lot, increasing their energy level decay, would ignore their hygiene, would eat more/less, etc, affecting their overall health. ASPIRATIONS: Parafolks will have multiple ParaGoals as they progress with their life in Paralives. It should not be a one-time lifetime wish just like in The Sims. For instance, if they have achieved their ParaGoals to write 5 fictional books, there should be a succeeding goal. Their next goal would be something like writing a trilogy. In real life, people have multiple goals or lifetime wishes depending on their circumstances in life. If would be nice Parafolks could also feel insecure in instances wherein they would compare themselves to other Parafolks that have achieved multiple goals in their life, or a Parafolk friend/work/schoolmate achieving the goal that your Parafolk would want to achieve. Of course, this will depend on Parafolk's list of traits. Parafolk would get down when they didn't achieve their goal e.g. career promotion, academic excellence, etc. They may get depressed or demotivated for some time. I could discuss further my ideas for Parafolk's essential and complex needs. But I think this should be enough for now :)

Carlo Oseo

2022-04-06 15:38:17 +0000 UTC

Someone on discord mentioned this idea for needs I thought i'd place it here too, but paras not needing to have to eat every day. Like they can go a few days without eating or drinking water before the need decays just like in real life. I think this would be a cool approach to needs

S&M Gonzalez

2022-04-06 02:37:08 +0000 UTC

Yeah I'd like to be able to have paras be homeless straight from pam then work my way up to bettering them

S&M Gonzalez

2022-04-06 02:35:16 +0000 UTC

If we're talking needs, as in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, not every person becomes self-actualized, and a lot of that has to do with nature and nurture. A person may have the nature, but if the nurture failed them, they won't achieve it, and vice versa. Perhaps a Para just isn't smart enough to become a doctor, even though they would feel self-actualized if they were. Or, perhaps another is really smart, but they're stuck in a menial job, which drags them down. This is, of course, on top of the basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, security and love, which all Paras should have.

Maiden Minnesota

2022-04-06 00:20:20 +0000 UTC

I do like the idea some have mentioned of needs differing between paras based on traits and personality. More introverted paras need more alone time, and require more intimate relationships to fulfill their social needs, whereas extroverted paras need more socializing in general but can fill this need with acquaintances as well as close ones. Neater paras don't mind cleaning and need a cleaner environment to be happy, while sloppier paras dislike cleaning and could feel uncomfortable in an overly polished environment. Some paras need more structure/stability/routine, while some need more flexibility.

Aloysius

2022-04-05 23:47:00 +0000 UTC

Those are great ideas!

Tori Logiudice

2022-04-05 22:00:04 +0000 UTC

We could really show off personalities through needs. I personally take longer showers regularly where my boyfriend only takes quick showers. Some people are hungry first thing in the morning while others don’t get hungry until mid morning. Also, I really like the idea of a routines system.

Anna

2022-04-05 06:07:11 +0000 UTC

I love the idea of the 5 love languages relating to the attraction system!

Anna

2022-04-05 06:00:06 +0000 UTC

I totally agree, I think realistic time management is the key.

Anna

2022-04-05 05:56:46 +0000 UTC

Maybe it’s an option that opens based on the mood. I would like to see small changes in needs interactions that may alter our storyline for how that paras day is going. Para is tense so we can take extra long shower or para isn’t feeling well so may spend more time at the toilet or para is sad so that alters there need for food, some may want to eat more some may not want to eat at all. I think needs and moods could work together to balance each other. Mood first: para is sad and therefore more hungry. Need first: para has poor hygiene and is now embarrassed.

Anna

2022-04-05 05:52:30 +0000 UTC

I personally don’t think I would use this if it was too restricting and didn’t deviate from the stereotype enough.

Anna

2022-04-05 05:37:24 +0000 UTC

Love this!

Anna

2022-04-05 05:33:16 +0000 UTC

This is so much more realistic! It breaks the realism when you have to manually make them go back to what they were doing if they were in the middle of something.

Anna

2022-04-05 05:31:01 +0000 UTC

Morning and nighttime routines would be a fun way to mix up how we fulfill a paras needs. For Example, if a para has enough time before work they can select morning routine. On another day, they slept in and only have time for a shower and to use the bathroom, in this case you would manually select those objects for the interaction.

Anna

2022-04-05 05:24:57 +0000 UTC

What if for social needs, paras can have more fun doing things with others/group vs them doing an activity, hobby, visiting a store alone? Also paras being able to develop social needs over time based on interactions and their personal lives. Like say a para has a big family and loves being around them and have many friends as well. As they grow older and go to college they dont see these friends and family as much, so they begin to crave being around family still-but also a new social need develops which would be the need to spend time to themselves. Being around too many people for too long begins to make them mentally tired now in cases it wouldn't have before.

S&M Gonzalez

2022-04-05 00:41:01 +0000 UTC

I like the idea of a homeless shelter, I think it would be so cool to add real life consequences into the game so it’s not just “perfect life simulator”. I would love to see more things like that that could allow th paras to be down on their luck and then have to come back from it.

Kenzie Lippa

2022-04-04 17:56:33 +0000 UTC

unrelated but i was just thinking and i thought it would be cool for higher level jobs to have special quirks or tasks. like doctor paras can be on call, and bosses (or high ranked business paras) can get calls off the clock from employees with scenarios. i think it would be neat for a business para to be taking business calls at home, it would be a cool little quirk

Nicole Cottingham

2022-04-04 17:32:54 +0000 UTC

Loving the idea of more complex needs, but having them driven by personality traits! Like that a hopeless romantic para might have a strong need to have romantic love in their life, but an aro-ace para needs only friendship and familial love to be happy. Or that a loner para requires very little social interaction in general to be content.

Tiffany Stallings

2022-04-04 15:39:45 +0000 UTC

It would be fun to have some needs degrade faster (or even not at all) depending on personality type. For example, Charisma trait could have friendship degrade. Loner, once a friend is made, never loses relationship points. Para that loves cooking, gets hungry more often than someone who is absent minded or work-aholic, etc.

M. Findley

2022-04-04 13:37:06 +0000 UTC

I think it would be nice for need fulfillment activities to take about as long as they do in real life. E.g. you can eat in 15 minutes, but in The Sims for example, this can take an hour some times.

Annemarie Leunissen

2022-04-04 05:46:59 +0000 UTC

I agree with others when saying that the needs to be met shouldn’t be cumbersome and take away from actual gameplay. For the routines things of them being hungry or tired as time goes on, I think a good way to do this would being able to choose if a paras is a morning para or more nocturnal para. So when in paramaker we choose if they’re more nocturnal they’d be more hungry during the evening and nights vs a morning para. All needs would differ based on their ‘internal clocks’. This way I feel it makes it less overwhelming for players to have to manage everyone at once with basic needs (thirst, hunger, sleep, etc.) skills.

S&M Gonzalez

2022-04-03 23:49:37 +0000 UTC

It would be nice to see a physical change in paras for some things. Like if they are tired for a while, they could have bloodshot eyes or eyebags/dark circles under their eyes

Leaf

2022-04-03 21:41:42 +0000 UTC

The needs should definitely vary from one Para to another, but not entirely. The basic needs should be the same, and I mean basic (as in, would kill your Para or injure it, if not satisfied) : - Eating/drinking - Using the bathroom - Sleeping - ... Then there should be secondary needs, which would still be present for everyone, but more or less important depending on the traits, (affecting the mood slowing, but for a long amount of time, even able to cause illnesses) such as : - Socialization; (less needed by anti-socials) - Body hygiene; (less needed by slovenly people) - Entertainment; (less needed by workaholics) - ... And then we shall have the tertiary needs, which would influence mood quickly (and even affect the secondary needs), but for a short amount of time, and would likely be "desires" rather than "needs" : - Hobbies; - Addictions; - etc... : (Videogames; Watching TV; Daily achievements; Being the center of attention; Drinking alcohol; Snacking; Spending some time alone; House chores; Sports; Arts; Love interactions quota; Reading a book; etc...) What ever, depending on your Para's personality and habits, would end up being important, and that could even bring to a temporary bad mood, if not being able to do it for a certain amount of time.

Kyll

2022-04-03 21:41:39 +0000 UTC

Fulfilling needs should be a challenge, yes and no... Some people will love focusing on outside activities, and would probably get fed up if they were limited by house chores. But also, on the contrary, if the only thing players could do, was focus on the outside of the house, and have nothing to do inside the house, it would also suck for a lot of people. I think, just like in real life, some people love being outside, doing outdoors stuff and meeting people. And some other people love staying in the house, some love cleaning and doing house chores, some people even in real life, love putting stuff back into place, moving objects back to their original spots, etc... and enjoying the end result. If you make the house chores, or basic needs (showering, eating, sh*ting, etc...) too easy to accomplish, a lot of people will not get to enjoy the life at home... And I understand that on the contrary, if you make these too important and challenging, some people will be annoyed and slowed down for their daily outdoors activities. I have no clue if the best thing to do is to add a choice, like "what type of experience would you prefer", at the beginning of the game, giving us the choice between a gameplay centered on outside life, or focused on indoor life; or if it would just be easier to please only one of these two types of people; or maybe even adding setting that people could deactivate, like "dust accumulation in the house", or slider "hygiene difficulty", that would activate or deactivate diseases, illnesses and problems linked to chores such as "brushing teeth", "washing dishes", "hydrating skin", "cleaning dog bowl", etc... (which would activate or deactivate "acne", "trash smell", "cavities/tooth ache", "roaches/rats in the house", etc...) / even a setting "original placement", when checked, objects will automatically go back to where they were, originally, when they were bought - and when unchecked, Paras will have plenty of clutter to put back into place, here and there, leaving proofs of life everywhere in the house. If that last option was possible, god knows it would make everyone happy. Some people could live carefree, and run out to have fun - and the others could stay home and be happy keeping a perfect home.

Kyll

2022-04-03 21:19:24 +0000 UTC

regarding the needs, something I found really helpful was something they did in the sims 2 story games where you had hotkeys to have the characters automatically fulfill their needs. Something like that would be cool, so I won't always have to choose from a bunch of different options on the fridge/shower/etc. When I just wanna fill the basic need bars

Joshi

2022-04-03 21:10:43 +0000 UTC

Ignoring a need for too long, or a goal maybe for too long, should bring up a negative mood. And when that negative mood stays on for too long, it should get worse, until a permanent mood like "depression", appears. After which, you have neglected your happiness and desires for too long, that it affects your everyday life. A depressed Para could either be sad all the time, or lethargic, or tired, or completely absent and not feeling anything, or even binge eating ! And a way to then get rid of it, would either have to be : - Making the Para go see a shrink; - Making a close Para friend of family member interact with them, and give them pep talks, or deep conversations, or take them out to activities often enough; - Have them watch motivational speeches online, or going to conferences outside; - Have them go to anonymous groups, to talk about it, in a rabbit hole; - etc...

Kyll

2022-04-03 19:05:00 +0000 UTC

For me personally, I would like needs to be somewhat challenging, but also have an easy way to cheat needs (like in the sims 3 when you could drag their needs up). That way, if there is a specific save that you want to have needs be an aspect of challenging game play you can, but you also have the option to really ignore them with cheats. One of my biggest pet peeves with the Sims 4 is that you can't partially fill their needs up without mods, so I would really like a way to cheat needs without filling them up all the way.

Addison Grace

2022-04-03 18:45:57 +0000 UTC

I think it would be nice to have your typical static needs (eat, hydrate, restroom, socialize, exercise, etc.) but would definitely prefer that they’re not demanding the way they are in some other games. It would be nice to have to fulfill them on a schedule (like breakfast, lunch dinner for things like hunger/hydration), but then again it could get annoying trying to honor that each day. I definitely agree that having a setting to increase/decrease the need decay would be a great way to satisfy all players. Additional needs could be determined in ParaMaker depending on your Para's build. So for example a gym-rat could have an additional need for exercise which could decay more quickly, a partier could have a higher social need, (of course as an equestrian-nerd I have to say this lol) an equestrian Para could have a need for barn chores and riding (it would be awesome if riding could count towards the exercise need though), a clean-freak Para could have a need for cleaning, etc. etc. I know it would be really complicated for you guys to implement these needs for all Paras, which is why I think that having some sort of algorithmic code based on your character build would be great. So if you select any of those things in the aspirations it would either show up as additional needs or maybe you just get a whim for it, like "I need to go riding!" or "I need to clean the barn!" (although I think doing it that way would be harder for you than just making it a need because then you would have to create specific instances for each trait... like 'I need to go running' as well as 'I need to go for a walk', etc. That could get really tedious to create those). Also, on a side not: in other simulation games (we know the one) aspirations are limited to 3 or 4, which personally I find limiting and hard to make a fleshed-out character. It would be really nice to have 5-10, or just have no cap on it at all. Like, if you want to have a really friendly para who is also a bibliophile, a vegan, family oriented, and loves animals and going to the gym you can, without having to compromise on which of those things you'd like to affect their whims and stuff. Maybe that would get too complicated, but either way having more than 3 would be nice! I know you guys will come up with an incredible system, regardless, but that's just my two-cents. :P

LapeyLou

2022-04-03 15:12:14 +0000 UTC

I agree with that!

Leopoldine

2022-04-03 12:05:59 +0000 UTC

I'd like to see a clear separation of "needs" vs "goals". Goals could be more related to career, skills, wealth, social standing, fame, relationship status, etc. Certain activities could affect both needs and goals. For example, playing basketball with friends could increase social level, lower hunger and tiredness level, and increase fulfillment in the goals to have athletic skills and to become a professional basketball player. Also, I think that activities can strengthen or weaken the overall desire of goals. For example, that para that wants to be a pro basketball player, if you have them play guitar more often than play basketball, the goal of being athletic would get smaller, they might get a new goal of being musically talented, and their career goal might change to being a professional musician. So, the size of a goal could get bigger or smaller, and how much of a goal is filled could provide perks. There should be a good balance between how much an activity affects the size of a goal (i.e. it shouldn't take just a few activities to make big changes to goals, but it shouldn't take hundreds of activities to make small changes either). So, creating a para with certain traits might make it easier to reach certain goals, but as players we won't feel locked into having to always do specific activities based on the para's traits, Maybe a para starts with zero goals, the goals pop up later based on the activities done? Just some of my thoughts, I'm a new contributor, some of this stuff may have been covered in previous posts I haven't read.

Ozamataz Buckshank

2022-04-03 01:22:40 +0000 UTC

I think it's more acceptable for needs that aren't going to kill a para to be more difficult to maintain. It's really annoying when you play games where your hunger bar drains so fast because it will kill your character if it hits 0.

Dizzardy

2022-04-02 22:18:15 +0000 UTC

Ideally, not too much of a paras time would be spent looking after their basic needs....but I think a balance is important. It would be weird if paras rarely had to eat or anything extreme like that. (outside of bonus traits like "steel bladder" like the sims I guess, but in that case the player actively wants the needs to act like that)

Dizzardy

2022-04-02 22:14:50 +0000 UTC

This is a great point! Moodlets encourage lazy game development. Anything gameplay-related often boils down to a mood change with a text string and a pretty icon. Not very fun.

Michael

2022-04-02 21:36:30 +0000 UTC

I want needs to be important but not cumbersome. And I think priority of fulfilling certain needs be based on the para themselves. Like you might have a para who is lazy and they don't care if their hygiene is low where as a neat freak couldn't stand it

Alexi

2022-04-02 20:39:22 +0000 UTC

If there is easy need fulfillment, the gameplay needs to justify that. If we have more complex gameplay, then I wouldn't mind the needs being filled quickly. I concur that the needs of the Para should depend on their personality.

Sharane Alvarez

2022-04-02 16:14:49 +0000 UTC

FULLY agree the aspiration meter in the Sims 2 decays way too slowly. It's also too easy to get platinum aspiration with dates.

Michael

2022-04-02 16:08:40 +0000 UTC

I see your point. I would prefer separate energy, comfort, and health bars. Comfort I view more as a short-term status and would be affected negatively by sickness, work, or drinking too much coffee/ booze. Energy is sleep specific. Health is what you mention

Michael

2022-04-02 16:07:30 +0000 UTC

No moodlets, show not tell in every aspect of the game! #nomoodlets

etanoluna

2022-04-02 13:59:46 +0000 UTC

I wouldn't want to spend the better half of my para's day trying to care for their needs and unable to leave the house because their hungry tired or stinky.

kesionna

2022-04-02 13:02:33 +0000 UTC

I'd like a challenge mode where looking after your needs becomes very demanding. I can see myself using it sometimes, but not usually

Rodolfo Teixeira

2022-04-02 11:52:35 +0000 UTC

I think it would make sense to have an option in the settings to choose need decline speed (slow-normal-fast) that way any playstyle would be supported! As many have pointed out, I would also love a seperate thirst need (or at least having a threshold for the hunger need to not go up fully until you also get sth to drink?). Ofc with a full meal like dinner, it’d then make sense for paras to automatically grab a glass of water/juice along with it.

Maxx

2022-04-02 10:35:48 +0000 UTC

i find the needs: food, sleep toilet, cleanliness social and fun most important. But wish like: have more money or earn. owning a pet or engaging in certain activities.

Christoph Frederik

2022-04-02 08:26:26 +0000 UTC

ich finde die bedürfnisse: Essen, schlafen Toilette, sauberkeit sozial und spaß amwichtigsten. Aber wünsch wie: mehr geld haben oder verdinen. ein haustier besitzzen oder bestimmte acktiviteten zumachen.

Christoph Frederik

2022-04-02 08:25:35 +0000 UTC

I'd love to have routines! Then if I've got lots of Paras in one family I don't have to micro manage every one all the time, but I can know that the ones I'm not focusing on are doing what I want them to be doing rather than fooling around and suffering motive failure.

Scooter

2022-04-02 07:53:49 +0000 UTC

Okay so I had some time to think about this and I feel the two poll options doesn’t leave a lot of ground for a middleman.I’d like as I mentioned before having a very dynamic but also a somewhat realistic AI where some days to be easy to fill paras needs but I’d like for them to have their bad days and nothing satisfies them even if those needs are met. I also don’t want my paras to take 3 hrs to eat food or have the food fill their entire food meter either. I’d like some needs met to not full the need max capacity but a little or maybe even none at all, depending on the actions taken. I’d like there to be unique challenge to each them. I feel needs should be beyond the survival ones but also their social and outlook of their lives and it should also change based on their ages too. Like a child’s needs will differ from an adults or teens for example, maybe it could increase or decrease based on the age and also their personality. I think it would be cool if paras could have self-esteems where they’re happy with their self/lives, insecure, depressed, anxious etc. and their decisions and choices they make or we make for them will determine that. I do hope there’s a need for thirst, paras needing to have water or just beverages in general so they are not dehydrated. Types of Needs: Survival needs: hunger, hygiene, sleep, thirst, Social: relationships, working, love, self-esteem Life: wants, dislikes, fears, goals, hobbies, exercise, money, security Ignoring a paras needs could sour their mood, cause certain tasks to fail or succeed, make them change their minds about a want/need/fear/goal/hobbies etc. Ignoring a paras needs when it comes to others relationship wise could make them not want to do the action again or try even harder. I think there should be bad consequences as well as having some surprising results that could cause other paras to react to them.

S&M Gonzalez

2022-04-02 03:53:52 +0000 UTC

👪 Should all Parafolk have the same needs? Should it vary from one Parafolk to another? Oooh! I'd love to see (other than the obvious universal needs) different needs for each Para! As other people mentioned, the social bar should work for both introverts and extroverts - go up for introverts spending time alone and go up for extroverts spending time with people. And of course, because that's a sliding scale, work more like a balance determiner - high for a well managed Para with respect to their needs, low with a badly managed Para with respect to their needs. And we could certainly have different bars for each Para related to their personality - outdoors lovers, shopping lovers, education lovers, sport lovers, homeproud freaks, food lovers, family oriented, etc. Each of these could have various challenges in different situations. Eg a long-hour working doctor who loves the outdoors would present some challenge, a family oriented Para without one would present challenges, a poor shopping lover would present challenges, a houseproud Para living on the street would also present challenges. As for needs and difficulties, I'd say we definitely need some kind of difficulty sliders for the needs fulfilling difficulties. People play in different ways, with different purposes, looking for different fulfillment in their gameplay. I want a village, for example, with a vast variety of different characters, all with very different gameplay required, where each household and each Para does different things in their lives, has different challenges and has different personalities. So I want VARIETY of gameplay. Some people like to test out the game's limits with the weird and wonderful, some people like to make stories in their head and play them out, and some people like to perfect each Para to their best potential (but still want variety in gameplay so that there isn't a one 'best' system to do that!). So each of these styles will require different levels of need fulfillments. And I sincerely hope that enough people have reiterated over and over again that needs depletion and fulfillment should be TIME REALISTIC! I don't want my Paras taking an hour to pee! I hope that we'll get to choose how long a day is - if so that would be the most determining factor in my day length choices! 😐 How would ignoring a need for too long impact Parafolks? One word - differently! Everyone reacts differently depending upon personality, and depending upon the need, and depending upon what that Para is wanting to do at the time with a particular poor need. A child who sleeps badly will not perform well at school, for example. a hungry child who didn't eat breakfast could possibly go down in grade rather than up (they might also be rather grumpy and loose friendship!), nobody learns well when they're hungry. An introvert who has had too much social interaction might not want to join in activities, not want to go shopping, and forcing them to do so might have consequences in their social bar and fun bar, and wellness bar, even their sleep bar (stress makes people need more sleep). And bars might differ in how fast they deplete or fill, depending upon personality. A fun bar would fill very differently for every Para, depending upon personality - a Geek might actually increase their fun bar by studying, an outdoorsy type might mostly increase fun in outdoors activities, depending upon their other personality traits (interesting mixes like an outdoorsy type who loves studying...hmmm...studying in the park perhaps?). I'd also love to see a more complex needs system than a simple depletion bar for each need. A simple depletion bar is going to make personality a lot more difficult to find if all bars deplete and fill similarly and all Paras react similarly. I'd like to see a kind of secondary long-term bar/system for each need bar. Perhaps with the daily bar feeding into the long term bar. This would mean that one bad day wouldn't have as much effect, so that Paras might function worse but still do the interaction, but long term, the effects might be more palpable. Paras with very low 'long term' bars might actually totally refuse to do the interaction. So that adds some difficulty levels, particularly if those bars fill and deplete at different rates, so that each Para needs different gameplay to keep them manageable. And if we can have a variety of sliding 'difficulty' levels in the settings than some people might choose to almost escape any Para managing difficulties altogether. Some might want to make it manic in difficulty to the point of survival. Their choice.

Fran Smith

2022-04-02 02:48:46 +0000 UTC

Yes! Love this. This would make our Paras different to play.

Fran Smith

2022-04-02 02:34:09 +0000 UTC

I'd prefer to see an 'energy' bar than a comfort bar. I don't mean 'energy' bar in a simplistic way (like Stardew Valley). I mean a long term bar that is effected by lifestyle things such as exercise levels and healthy/unhealthly eating and social levels (perhaps injuries and 'juice' intake etc could also play into it) over time. Energy could effect how efficient a Para is (how fast/the chances of success/how well they do something). A high energy bar might mean that they can exercise longer without fatigue, do stuff generally without tiredness, learn faster, effect their moods generally. Like a kind of encompassing health bar. This would add some of that extra 'difficulty' levels that some people are hoping for. The difficulty being how well your Para functions over time. An unhealthy Para is going to be a lot more difficult to manage, won't develop skills as well, but on the other hand have a lot more free time, because they'll have skipped cleaning their teeth, do more quick microwave cooking (rather than longer term healthier cooking), cleaned the house less often and thus live in a less pleasing environment, exercise less etc. But that has consequences in slower skilling, more mood problems etc over time. This could effect gameplay quite dramatically if tweaked well...

Fran Smith

2022-04-02 02:28:12 +0000 UTC

It could also be done with appliances. A poorer household without them would take a long, looong time to make marshmallows, for example (all that mixing!) and with considerable energy, whereas a richer family with an electric mixer could make marshmallows considerably faster, consuming far less energy.

Fran Smith

2022-04-02 02:13:45 +0000 UTC

Yes! I think this should be a thing too!

Fran Smith

2022-04-02 02:11:27 +0000 UTC

I like this. Perhaps this could be achieved with some kind of double bar system? A needs bar might have two levels - a 'current' and a 'long term', where the 'current' level affects the 'long term' levels over time. For example: Sleep: A 'current' bar - how sleepy they are at the minute from last night's sleep, and a 'long term' kind of bar - how their general sleepiness is over time. So a Para who just slept 'badly' or fewer hours last night might still function relatively well that day, but over time if they've had bad sleep lately they might function considerably worse, so that the long term 'lifestyle' bar has more harsh effects than the 'current' bar. The 'current' bar might moderately affect a child's learning in school for a day, but the 'long term' bar might keep them failing. Others: Hunger bars could also contain a kind of health bar behind it. If they've eaten well usually, then eating badly might affect their concentration mildly for a day. But eating badly over time might affect a whole range of activities. A low 'current' social bar might make a Para wishful for company, but a low 'long term' bar might cause a type of depression where they don't feel like doing anything. And so on...

Fran Smith

2022-04-02 02:09:28 +0000 UTC

I don’t want it to be really challenging but I also don’t want it to be too easy. A realistic balance for me would be ideal, but with exceptions so paras don’t need to for example, use the restroom 6 times per day (24min IRL). That would just feel annoying after a while.

LightDeficient

2022-04-02 01:52:24 +0000 UTC

Moodlets don't and never did work properly in that game. I'm thinking that this clever team will come up with a much, MUCH better concept than moodlets. Moodlets is just one system for one (not very thoughtful) game - ideas are infinite...

Fran Smith

2022-04-02 01:37:14 +0000 UTC

The needs of each Para should depend on their personality. As a introvert, I much prefer to stay home doing different activities than going out.

lee staal

2022-04-02 01:34:15 +0000 UTC

Ok, so here me out! If the Para needs will be not only the basic/fisiological ones, but also secondary (social/personal/complex) needs to fulfill - I think must of us are assuming that LOL - depending on their personality, the latter should decay waaaay slower than the former (and in different speeds overall). Secondary needs should be long term! I love the idea that their whims are not totally optional for the player because it definitely adds to the character and complexity of the game (and it feels that you are truly looking out for them in a more well-rounded way). BUT I think it's also crucial that it's not overpowering to a point where my Paras end up dictating the way I must play instead of the other way around. Clearly a delicate balance to pull off, but I think it could be amazing that way! P.S.: The basic needs should decay in different speed. Like: I won't be/feel dirty and smelly after a regular day, but I will be hungry if I only had eaten one meal at the start of it - and even that should depend on the Paras traits/personality. And they should have different consequences on gameplay depending on its level: a smelly Para will mostly prompt negative reactions/responses from other Paras, a sleepy Para could have a worse performance in school etc.

Natan Peixoto

2022-04-02 00:53:15 +0000 UTC

Oooh! Maybe like how Sims 2 has the zodiacs affect their personalities, it could be love languages instead

shyguy

2022-04-02 00:04:46 +0000 UTC

Agreed, my sim shouldn’t take 30 minutes to eat a bowl of cereal before work

shyguy

2022-04-02 00:03:41 +0000 UTC

Yes!!

Natan Peixoto

2022-04-02 00:02:37 +0000 UTC

I like that as a way to make wealthy families more interesting to play, but to not leave poor families out of intangible wants, maybe when they get to practice their favorite hobby, etc. they’ll get a way higher boost in happiness then a wealthier family. Because they usually don’t have the opportunity to

shyguy

2022-04-02 00:00:47 +0000 UTC

One thing that might be cool is adaptive/habit autonomy - like, if you tell your Para to take a shower every day before work, they will start doing that autonomously even if the hygiene bar doesn't demand it. Similarly if you give them a midnight snack of cake a few nights in a row they'll do that autonomously and complain if you stop them 😄

All-Natural Fig Jam

2022-04-01 23:54:52 +0000 UTC

Yes!!

Natan Peixoto

2022-04-01 23:46:49 +0000 UTC

My very least favourite part of the Sims is how having a low need can make it harder to fulfil that need. Like, a Sim who's busting to pee will SLOWLY creep towards the bathroom. A Para's level of need should affect how they fill that need - a busting Para should SPRINT to the bathroom, a starving Para wolfs down food, an exhausted Para sleeps more deeply.

All-Natural Fig Jam

2022-04-01 23:46:23 +0000 UTC

I feel like needs should be challenging, to an extent, but shouldn't take up MOST of my gameplay. I'd rather explore or whatnot. I'm all on board for different needs affecting different Paras in different ways. For example, an extroverted Para being restless and unable to focus with a low social, with a quick social need recharge when interacting with other Paras. However, and introverted Para might be less worried about a medium/lower social with a slower decrease in their social need, while interacting with other Paras drains their energy need faster.

Hannah

2022-04-01 22:55:14 +0000 UTC

I think having the difficulty of some needs influenced by characters’ personalities would work really well. E.g. those who are extroverted require more social interactions to fill up/maintain their social needs. If there’s a fun need, characters might find certain activities more fun than others depending on their interests or personality too!

Clowo

2022-04-01 22:52:06 +0000 UTC

i love all of these ideas 🥺 especially the garage sales and the rotating clothing/having to buy addition clothes and piercings.

Nicole Cottingham

2022-04-01 22:36:00 +0000 UTC

oh I love that this idea includes a way to make playing rich families more difficult!

Megan Santucci

2022-04-01 22:30:35 +0000 UTC

Maybe have an “easy” “medium” and “hard” mode? One of the things that annoys me about simulation games is how long it takes the characters to do something. I get that they need “fun” but do they have to play a computer game for 6 hours to refill the need? I think if you play on easy mode, you’d fill their needs faster (or the needs wouldn’t decay as much), they’d get promotions easier, their relationships would build faster, etc. and hard mode for those people that want a challenge

Melina Roxanne

2022-04-01 22:26:10 +0000 UTC

Everything sounds wonderful! I'm so excited! 😆

dyeawkward

2022-04-01 21:37:48 +0000 UTC

I agree with some of the other comments. I think Paras should naturally have slightly different need decays. Like some paras just naturally don't need to socialize as much. Where some paras need to shower extra often due to natural odors.

JokarGirl

2022-04-01 21:07:17 +0000 UTC

Nicely put!

Christine Harvey

2022-04-01 21:03:23 +0000 UTC

Wow, did not think I would be in the daily challenging camp lol 🔋 - On a basic level, I think things like hunger, bladder, hygiene and energy need to be maintained daily for alllll paras across the board. ⚖️ - There should be extra needs like social, happiness, fun, empathy, etc that deplete at a slower rate (if possible). So the basic needs are prioritised but then maybe we would need an "off-night" once a month where paras could wind down or hang out with friends and get their happiness etc back up. 😐 - As mentioned above, if happiness is ignored for too long it could affect other parts of the secondary needs, like maybe the para would stop showering or get hungry less. Reflecting a little on how Mental Health treats us all. 🍽️ - I think the basic needs should be filled pretty unanimously, i.e. eating for hunger, washing for hygiene etc. Other than that I think fulfilling needs should vary depending on what type of folk the para is. If they gain happiness by sleeping then it should but another para might hate sleeping (note: night terrors) and will find happiness somewhere else. I think Hobbies is a really big one, creativity is a huge recovery step for those with Mental Health difficulties, I think a likes/dislikes system should heavily influence emotions and needs. I know if I'm at a concert with a tonne of people I not only get tense and anxious, but I also get frustrated and sometimes angry if I don't leave. It would be great to see real impacts of emotions and needs. 👪 - Basic needs should be the same yes, but maybe secondary needs could vary depending again on the para. This should be easily editable (as folx can change over time). Just read Beth Annes comment, which is written way more comprehensively than mine!

Olivia Washington

2022-04-01 20:47:49 +0000 UTC

Grocery stores are very important to me in this game but I would also love to have an opportunity to buy new clothes for my parafolk!

Julka

2022-04-01 20:39:19 +0000 UTC

I think safety could be counted as a basic need. In an unsecured situation like a fire or natural disaster, I doubt anyone worries about their stomach immediately.

Anatasia

2022-04-01 20:12:57 +0000 UTC

I completely agree with Jones here. Even though I chose the challenging option because not everyone could fulfill all their needs in reality, I also do not want to spend all the time managing their needs. Hence, if there is a scenario like rags-to-riches built in-game (in which player able to define starting money), it could satisfy both type of players.

Anatasia

2022-04-01 20:06:23 +0000 UTC

Reading this comment, now I want an "insomniac" trait that makes sleeping harder but also more needed.

ladyteruki

2022-04-01 19:06:28 +0000 UTC

I'd also like to see personality traits affect needs. Maybe an introverted para would have their social needs decline slower and be fulfilled with less interactions than an extroverted para. Or a self-disciplined para would have their overall mood less affected by unfulfilled needs.

Jacklin

2022-04-01 18:59:33 +0000 UTC

**Bare Bones** Food/Water Sleep **Important But Not Urgent** Hygiene Companionship **???** Safety I feel as if neglecting the bare bones necessities should start to wear away at a Para's health/lifeforce/quality of life, resulting in death if neglected long enough. It would be easy for a Para to skip a day of meals or a night of sleep and catch up on it the next day, but multiple days in a row would take a toll. Long term neglect of the important but not urgent things can result in a progressive mood drop or eventual illness. These things often affect quality of life and mental health but can easily be ignored when critical needs are low. It would be cool if a Para with family could go to a family member's house for a meal or ask a family member to bring them something. (A good relationship could unlock this, maybe. I know if I ask my mom to feed me, she will, even though I'm 30+ with kids.) I'd also love to be able to put a snack in my Para's bags (granola bar or something) to eat if they're going to be out all day. Naps could be a critical stopgap for slowing down sleep loss. Also, Paras can have different intensities of reactions for need loss. My husband can fast for a whole day, but I get hangry if I miss one meal. He can function with 4 hours of sleep, but I'm dead on my feet even with 6. Extroverts need companionship more often, and introverts can go longer without. Pets can fill the companionship need if your relationship with them is high. Perhaps instead of having to keep needs FULL, which is a little annoying for people who NEED to be at full at all times, it can be a kind of warning system, where the more you skip certain needs the more negatives your Para experiences. And they get buffs from eating 2-3 meals a day and sleeping X hours. And there's a baseline zone where your Para won't suffer ill effects, like 1 meal a day instead of 2-3 or 6 hours of sleep instead of 8, and then a bonus zone where your Para gets buffs by getting 3 meals or 8 hours of sleep. That way, we can avoid drawbacks when we need more time to do other stuff and put in the effort on days where we want the buffs.

Beth Anne

2022-04-01 18:57:16 +0000 UTC

Puh.... that a difficult question. But I would be for different and frizzy whiskers, that would be something different to the normal cat *laughs*. ------------- I would like to have somehow everything a little. The needs I think are already important. In the Sims, for example, I like to see it as a challenge if you have kids or pets. But I also like it when you don't have to actively take care of it and can do your daily tasks. But it will be an exciting thing, that's for sure. =D

Vodi Sim

2022-04-01 18:54:11 +0000 UTC

As someone who loves struggling in games (my favorite part of Rags to Riches challenges is the rags...) and who, in past iterations of That Other Game™, has used the tools to create post-apocalyptic worlds where the life simulation was a bit more survival-like, I must say, I'd love to struggle every day to fill basic needs. My ideal of a survival game is : survival-but-without-violence (and also dinosaurs, but that's another topic for another day), and using Paralives for that would just be perfect for me. BUT I do realize this is not what others want. And as such I think that, as with many other things, some sort of difficulty slider would be ideal. Also I know I missed the boat on the brainstorm about community lots, but I really wanted to reiterate my suggestion : fully customizable lot types https://www.patreon.com/posts/48775350

ladyteruki

2022-04-01 18:53:14 +0000 UTC

Yes!

S&M Gonzalez

2022-04-01 18:49:07 +0000 UTC

I enjoy the challenge of keeping characters alive and happy! Unmet needs can provide deep gameplay. And it makes for a great laugh - "Sims 2 on Expert Mode" by Plumbella: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpvEG3EVp2A Enjoy

Lex

2022-04-01 18:26:46 +0000 UTC

I think needs gameplay mechanics should be more inspired by Maslow’s hierarchy. I mean more than The Sims franchise, which has already attempted to transcribe it. The problem is, in the Sims successfulness and happiness mostly end up being materialistic: the more money, furniture and friends you got, the more successful and happy you are likely to be. One major flaw in gameplay design for life simulation games would be having a too materialistic approach of needs. The aspiration system from the Sims 2 is, in my opinion, the best attempt to match the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs we have so far. But it has its limits: ignoring most wants of your Sims barely affects them. Your Sims can do any job, practise any skills, have children or not: the game doesn’t really penalise the player for doing what they want as long as needs are taken care of. It is implied that the most important thing for your Sim is to have a great and well-furnished house rather than doing what they want. It is obvious as you see how purposeless and easy the game becomes once your household is rich. This should take more than being rich to make Paras happy – or not. Needs could be prioritised into layers according to the level of fulfilment reached by each Para. If you’re playing with a poor household, the game would emphasise on basic needs. Happiness at this point should be having a roof over your head, have decent wages to pay bills and food… You don’t really have much room to mind other things if you’re already struggling to make a living. On the other hand, if you’re playing with wealthier families, basic needs would become secondary as the game would emphasise on psychological and self-fulfilment ones: doing the job your Para wants, practise their favourite hobby, developing their self-esteem, having an intellectual life, spend time with their friends, meeting their soulmate… Paras would have their mood affected by doing OR NOT what they want. The longer their wants and dreams are left unsatisfied, the more it will take a toll on their morale. Rich households would then be more challenging to play, as intangible elements such as their desires, their fears, their self-esteem or even the slightest change in a relationship would deal a great change on their mood. Finally, regardless of their wealth, important events could strongly and lastingly affect their mood and behaviour. It may even lead them to neglect certain needs: a grieving Para may refuse to eat properly, for instance.

Jérémie Silvestro

2022-04-01 18:22:59 +0000 UTC

Ooooh, this is a really cool idea!

Kaitlin Farley

2022-04-01 18:06:15 +0000 UTC

Everyone should have the same needs, but they should decay at a different pace for everyone

Trinity Smith

2022-04-01 17:52:39 +0000 UTC

Well I wasn't sure what the poll question meant exactly. I don't think whole days should go by before a para has to eat or go to the toilet, but perhaps they should be able to take care of basic needs without instruction, and not take quite so long about it as in some games where a shower can take two in-game hours.

I JONES

2022-04-01 17:50:46 +0000 UTC

It would be neat if it was possible to click a room to make the para do a certain routine, depending on the time of day. Like clicking the bathroom in the morning could make them do the full bathroom routine (shower, toilet, brushing teeth/hair), and in the afternoon a pre-set routine could be making and eating dinner with the family and then doing homework. Or the routines could be pre-planned for certain times and days, and the paras would follow the routines autonomously.

MHope

2022-04-01 17:46:39 +0000 UTC

I'd love for some traits to effect what needs a para has, and to change how some needs are filled or drained. For example, a para with an extrovert trait would have a social need that drains quickly when home alone and is best filled with face to face socialization, where an introvert para would have a social meter that fills best with online interactions and drains on public lots no mater what. Also these two would have different reactions to an empty meter, the extrovert would go stir crazy they'd likely autonomously try to leave their house and talk to the closest para available, whereas the introvert would autonomously try to run home and hide in their bedroom. An average para doesn't need an environment score, most people are fine with anything so long as it's not disgustingly dirty or smelly. But a neat para would have an environment score that drains if they don't clean or are visiting a messy friend. A sophisticated para would have an environment need that drains if their surroundings aren't fancy enough, conversely a down to earth para would hate fancy environments and love their old worn in furniture.

Scooter

2022-04-01 17:40:16 +0000 UTC

I think it’d be cool if basic needs were easy day to day but maybe some days are Paras aren’t satisfied and it will be more challenging maybe depending on what’s currently happening with their lives. But I’d really like paras be different fulfilling needs due to their personality

S&M Gonzalez

2022-04-01 17:25:04 +0000 UTC

Yes, the original Sims games were like this. The core personality point metrics affected need motive decay. I think particular traits, depending on what they are, should also be thought to affect the needs

Michael

2022-04-01 17:16:16 +0000 UTC

Comfort and environment!

Michael

2022-04-01 17:14:21 +0000 UTC

I've seen a few suggestions in this thread about manually adjusting maximum/minimum needs in character creation and I think that's a great idea! That way you can manually make it easier or more challenging to meet your paras needs depending on your mood, playstyle, personal preference or the character you're playing. Potentially each need could be represented by a slider that moves between a value of 0 and 100 and whatever number you set it to in character creation is what that para needs to reach to be satisfied or content. Different interactions would cause those needs to go up/down by a certain value (e.g. A snack could make Hunger go down by -5 VS a full meal which makes it go down by -20) so a para with a lower hunger limit could be healthy and satisfied from just one meal a day VS another who needs more food to fill that bar.

Lowri Tanner

2022-04-01 17:07:53 +0000 UTC

I really like this idea and was going to suggest the same thing. I really want each Para to feel unique and need at least a somewhat different approach. Having their needs vary by personality would be great.

Canary

2022-04-01 16:59:59 +0000 UTC

Potential Needs: Sleep, Sustenance, Toilet, Hygiene, Social, Leisure/Fun. If you want a couple more potential ones: Comfort (being pain-free or minimal pain/discomfort-- which could be impacted by both low needs and other external things) and Movement (being stuck in one place or too sedentary will make even me a bit stir-crazy with pent-up energy) Same needs for all Parafolk-- by default but I'd love to have the option to adjust how much certain paras need each one, or even toggle some off as a cheat if I want to play a character as an android or something. Since you're suggesting it, having the option to customize how much is needed and what actions fulfill or drain them would be awesome for playing my supernatural characters.

RysingSun

2022-04-01 16:54:22 +0000 UTC

The option to toggle need fullfilment would be ideal.

Mercury Starlight

2022-04-01 16:50:38 +0000 UTC

I'm much more interested in fulfilling a para's wants & wishes than their needs. In fact it would be really cool if some needs were taken care of autonomously, possibly depending on the para's personality. For example a sloppy or neurotic pata might not take a shower on their own and need to be directed, but a clean-freak might spend too much time washing their hands and have to be told to stop!

Mercury Starlight

2022-04-01 16:49:53 +0000 UTC

I like the idea of having two sets of needs: 1. Basic needs that are the same for all paras, such as body temperature, eating, sleeping and peeing (generally things that will cause serious health issues if too low for too long!) 2. Secondary needs that vary depending on personality. This could include things like socialisation, independence, fun or even hygeine. So for example, an introverted para would have a lower social need that an extroverted one (or the need would be quicker/easier to fulfill) Of course, basic needs would change/degrade throughout the day but secondary needs could potentially be more long term, degrading slowly over a week or so. So building from the previous example, one day of not speaking to anyone probably won't have a huge impact but a week of no interaction with other paras could be a big issue (especially for an extroverted para!)

Lowri Tanner

2022-04-01 16:45:10 +0000 UTC

When I play The Sims .I always use cheats and mods to stop the degradation of my sims needs. ^^

KittyPara

2022-04-01 16:38:21 +0000 UTC

Realistic needs. Like in the sims they die of hunger after 1 day. That’s not realistic as people often fast for days at a time. The sims pass out if they haven’t slept in 24 hours. Again it’s unrealistic as many people pull all nighters. The social need seems to decrease so quickly and it’s frustrating as it takes too long to fill. A quick conversation should suffice? I feel like exercise should be a need as well. Everyone needs exercise to maintain their health, even if it’s just a quick walk around the block

Carol Gray

2022-04-01 16:34:35 +0000 UTC

Hey Sandrine, one thing you should do for research is create a sim in Sims 1, 2, 3, 4 as well as any other life simulations. Give them a neutral personality, max motives, and turn off AI. put the game in fast mode and time how long each need takes to drop. Write it down and compare the times. A lot of people, including me, are referencing these games. But what does it actually mean? It's important to ground these comparisons with numbers.

Michael

2022-04-01 16:33:08 +0000 UTC

I would like basic needs to be challenging at first but get easier over time. A great way to do this is make cheaper objects fill less of a need or do it more slowly, and the expensive items to fill needs quickly and fully. Skills could also factor into this such as cooking skills speeding up cooking time, etc.

mandalabunny

2022-04-01 16:32:56 +0000 UTC

I think it would be neat to have introverted paras to have a social meter that works in the opposite direction or at least a buff. When they are talking to paras outside their household they begin to get "burned out" and need to "recharge". If they continue to talk to paras while burned out from it they will become stressed or overwhelmed.

BroSkittles

2022-04-01 16:30:38 +0000 UTC

I think it should be a mix. The basic needs like eating, peeing, cleanliness, etc. should be easy and take up less time. In fact, it would be nice if paras could eventually get into a routine and start doing these actions themselves according to the time and frequency that the player has them do it. As for the other complex needs like socialization, that could be more of a challenge depending on the para and what their personality is. If the para is shy, then socializing should be more difficult than with an outgoing para.

Jazz

2022-04-01 16:28:34 +0000 UTC

My issue with some needs systems from various games is that they are kinda unrealistic and same. For example, energy; I sleep sometimes around 5 hours but I still can spend entire day in school without falling on ground exhausted. Needs should be important and they should have consequences, but I want them to actually make a sense. So maybe low energy could lead to higher chance of failing task, to worse outcome of activity and maybe slower skilling. Low hunger could have negative impact on para's mood. As for the needs, I'm fan of hierarchy of needs / needs pyramide, so I would really like to see gradual development and need. There could be a need of self exploring and developing, which could give para bonus when they do some activity

Wondrous_Mickey

2022-04-01 16:26:29 +0000 UTC

I would like to have more time to carry out the projects of my Para. Than to waste my time always satisfying his needs. Eat, pee, bathe, sleep.

KittyPara

2022-04-01 16:23:09 +0000 UTC

One need could be tidiness or sloppiness. Based on their personality. But just the need to do dishes or vacuum.

H-m M

2022-04-01 16:20:59 +0000 UTC

Maybe ignoring needs too long could make them stressed, grouchy, or depressed. It would be nice if needs varied between parafolk to make them different from eachother.

Meghan Melear

2022-04-01 16:12:54 +0000 UTC

There’s one thing I would absolutely love and that is a DoorDash system, so my Para could make money the way I do IRL 😀 even an Uber food/taxi system as well.

John Bergstrom

2022-04-01 16:10:02 +0000 UTC

I think each age should have different needs or different decays. Toddlers definitely have different needs than say a senior citizen

Adam Snyder

2022-04-01 16:08:05 +0000 UTC

Challenging would be fine if the activities took less time. Having to eat 3 times a day would be fine, but they shouldn’t have to lose half the day to do that, for example.

Juan Martin

2022-04-01 16:07:54 +0000 UTC

I was thinking about that, but I was worried that players might get upset if the longer shower cuts into work time etc. so I wasn’t sure! I definitely love the idea though.

Tori Logiudice

2022-04-01 16:06:39 +0000 UTC

in my opinion I think need shouldn't really be "challenging" since eating, going to the bathroom, taking a shower, etc. aren't really challenging irl and don't take up too much time. Maybe paras can have certain traits to where certain things like eating or taking a shower takes them longer than the average. Another thing is that I think autonomy should be pretty heavy on needs so that you can focus on one para at a time without the others in your household literally dying. There could be some restrictions on that though, like some paras don't value hygiene that much so they won't get in the shower on their own unless they get near the end of their hygiene bar. One thing that could make needs "challenging" is like a secret motivation gauge, so if your para's mood is low they will lack the motivation to cook, clean, read, etc.

Staz Charlie Blood

2022-04-01 16:06:11 +0000 UTC

Agreeing with many others - this poll is tough to answer because it’s not black and white. My biggest desire, and what I think will be key, is how long actions take to fulfill needs. This has a lot to do with the game clock speed as well, which may need to be slower than The Sims (at least on “normal” speed). It takes a sim 20 in-game minutes to walk across their home. WHAT?! It drives me crazy that basic activities take so long and other more interesting actions are glossed over. Essentially, I think fulfilling needs should be relatively challenging, but I believe this will naturally occur if the game engine, actions, and Paras have the appropriate level of complexity and depth we truly need.

Matthew Geller

2022-04-01 16:02:23 +0000 UTC

Obviously the needs can keep fulfilled by non-romantic partners as well. Also if you got to a certain status with person maybe you would require those needs filled by that specific para as well as over all

Madison Rains

2022-04-01 16:01:13 +0000 UTC

This is super important to me: I would love some thought regarding the animations for when the needs are low. Reactions/ thought bubbles/speech audio are imporant. I will likely play with a lot of paras in a household. I don't want to have to switch between all the paras and check the status of their needs in the UI to discover one is about to die of hunger. There should be obvious signs just by watching them.

Michael

2022-04-01 15:57:52 +0000 UTC

In regards to needs other than showering, toilet, etc. I think having the 5 love languages maybe have a moveable bar (percentage like) where if you put all 5 at 100% your para would be very needy and hard to satisfy but if you put 1 at 60% and they rest at 20% they would need the other 4 fulfilled infrequently while the 60% would need fulfilled most often

Madison Rains

2022-04-01 15:57:50 +0000 UTC

One thing that annoyed me with The Sims 3 (don't remember TS4 as I haven't played it in a while) was that their needs seemed to drain rather quickly. I'd prefer a gradual drain of needs so that I won't have to quickly wrap up my Para's current interactions just so they can fulfill a need that'll drain again in 5 minutes. So I'd love it if the needs of Para weren't as demanding. Of course, the should drain and be fufulled, just not as quickly.

Charmen Young

2022-04-01 15:54:58 +0000 UTC

I'm finding it difficult to vote in the poll. I wish you grounded each survey response with some examples or related games. Because so much is up for interpretation.

Michael

2022-04-01 15:51:54 +0000 UTC

If there is a way for needs to match the para that would be cool. Like of course they should all have the basic needs like hunger, hygiene, sleep etc. but like if a para has a certain trait like friendly, they would have an additional need to be around family/friends or something like that.

Ashley McEachern

2022-04-01 15:48:12 +0000 UTC

I like both to be honest. This is a huge ask but can there be a normal and hard mode? Or something similar? That way we can have both.

Danielle Ellis

2022-04-01 15:48:03 +0000 UTC

That's actually really cool! It can be based on how a para feels too. For example if they were tense, they might automatically spend more time in the shower.

Danielle Ellis

2022-04-01 15:47:14 +0000 UTC

I think the challenge wouldn't be about the time that actions take but a depth in those needs Like hygiene Irl u need to brush you teeth, wash hands and face and take bath/shower So the challeng could be on that, that for example the hygiene would be divided in mouth and face and rest of the body separetly or something like that I think it would not take more time bc the actions would be quick but you will have the need to do them so they won't be useless Like brushing teeths in ts4 The next example would be the hunger Like, irl you need to eat at least 3 meals a day So paras should eat at least 2 a day And defeeent dishes should have different nutrition If u eat a cake at the breakfast your hunger should drop faster and it should not be fulfilled completely But if you eat scrambled eggs then your hunger would be high longer and it would fulfill more of this And in the evening paras should need to eat again But depending on what they eat at their breakfast they would need to eat more or less And socialisation szhuld be different for each para depending on their personality If they are introverts they social drops slower and if they are outgoing it should drop fast etc. I hope all of it makes sense Love u guys and wish u luck making this masterpiece of a game

HATORI

2022-04-01 15:40:25 +0000 UTC

Better just make it optional then, no? When you start a save just have it ask if you want it to be easy, normal, or hardcore. Then it could have a brief description like "Easy: for those that want to focus on the big picture." and "Hardcore: for those that love micromanagement!"

Crash Miranda

2022-04-01 15:34:41 +0000 UTC

This is definetly the best option of them all! To be able to "slide" the "difficulty" would be amazing

Kiiiwiii

2022-04-01 15:33:45 +0000 UTC

I think this would be like the whims in the sims, rewarding tasks to do when you have your needs are filled so you have something to do.

MrPinguv

2022-04-01 15:31:34 +0000 UTC

Please make the need sensible! No 4 hour showers and toilet runs! I am seriously sick of unrealistic time management. I want the needs to be challenging ofc but not take up 90 percent of the daily time a para has. That's too unrealistic for me.

Vanessa Albert

2022-04-01 15:31:04 +0000 UTC

I love the idea of need to freedom mentioned in the post! It could be more needed for younger paras who are too overwhelmed with school, or teenagers who are constantly studying and working and have no time to enjoy themselves. But also adult paras, if their job takes too much time or energy, or their children/relationships, maybe that could make them want to travel more, or change jobs or breakup. I am sure there's more that could be done with that. Also could depend on their personality, if they are more workaholics, hopeless romantics or independent, more adventurous or not..

Marjolaine

2022-04-01 15:30:52 +0000 UTC

perhaps introduce some cheaty rewards objects that paras can interact with to boost their needs for the players that are struggling to keep them high

Michael

2022-04-01 15:29:39 +0000 UTC

I'm going to clarify a perspective I have. I don't want moodlets to replace meters or bars representing needs. They serve two different purposes. Moodlets are for more volatile and specific positive or negative buffs that affect mood - they also have a duration. Need bars are consistent...you always have specific human needs....I can't wrap my head wround only seeing my para's hunger status through a moodlet. I do want to clarify that in a system with both need bars and moodlets, I never liked how they sometimes overlapped (TS3 and 4). For example. If I have a low hunger need bar, I don't want to ALSO see a moodlet for low hunger with a -30 mood. It's like a logical duplication in my mind. The low need bars should *already* be affecting the bulk of the mood. Moodlets are for *additional* positive and negative buffs logically *outside* of the basic core needs. So throwing a great party or falling in love is an event-based positive moodlet not tied to the needs.

Michael

2022-04-01 15:27:19 +0000 UTC

But the challenges would come with having lots of children, low income, high bills, self imposed goals... I think no one is thinking "I want a real challenge, I want my para to take 4 hours to pee"

MrPinguv

2022-04-01 15:26:26 +0000 UTC

Agreed! :D

Travis Cox

2022-04-01 15:25:59 +0000 UTC

Brilliant🤩

Noveternal

2022-04-01 15:23:44 +0000 UTC

Can't wait to make the belcher Family and run a restaurant!

Sophie Goodman-Merel

2022-04-01 15:22:53 +0000 UTC

Wants are so important. And there should be some consequence for not fulfilling anything a para wants to do. It adds challenge and makes the characters feel like they have significance. That's why the aspiration meter was and continues to be so popular.

Michael

2022-04-01 15:22:44 +0000 UTC

I don't know coding, so maybe it's not that easy, but it seems to me like this could be a toggle or a sliding scale? Just a change to the speed with which some needs decay. Even better if you could change it on a family by family basis, so you could have one family for chilling and another for challenges.

Madegeeky

2022-04-01 15:21:55 +0000 UTC

I think need maintenance is important to the simulation genre. If it's too unimportant, then it feels like a pure sandbox. Someone called TS4 a moviemaking tool for our imaginations, not a game, and I can't stop thinking about that. If the mood is low, then we as the player should feel the consequences of that. Prevent the paras from doing "hard" tasks like building skills and studying, make socials more likely to flop, etc. I would say add some challenge because players can maybe use some cheaty rewards objects to increase all of their needs if they don't want to play like that. That being said, I think the Sims 1 is too much about resource management and keeping all of the plates spinning. It shouldn't be that extreme. So if you're thinking about the hunger bar for example, it should go down past halfway every 24 / 3 = 8 hours roughly, for 3 meals a day.

Michael

2022-04-01 15:20:55 +0000 UTC

As long as eating breakfast doesn't take literally all morning like in some other games. :)

Pike Martell

2022-04-01 15:20:42 +0000 UTC

Its a hard choice to make especially since managing needs can be entertaining in itself it would just be a bit sucky if it would take too much time off my day.

lleniva

2022-04-01 15:18:39 +0000 UTC

Somewhat of a random thought, but I think it would be interesting to consider having different shower interactions? Sometimes I just shower quickly to get clean, but if I’m having a bad day, I like to spend some more time in there. Maybe a longer shower could help fill something like a comfort/happiness need when a para is having an off day.

Tori Logiudice

2022-04-01 15:16:12 +0000 UTC

I like micromanagement so I want fulfilling needs to be challenging but also we should be able to buy rewards (such as by fulfilling aspirational goals or wants etc) for each individual para that then makes fulfilling needs easier :) i also like the idea of a hierarchy that affects other needs for example a para that is exhausted or starving may not be able to fill a fun or social need before they take care of their most basic ones

Lotti

2022-04-01 15:14:53 +0000 UTC

I think it's important to have an overall "mood" value under hood that from -100 to 100. and the threshold between a good and bad mood would be 0. This could be represented as a bar. Needs, moodlets, and maybe even emotions would sum together to get to this value. But It's important I think to sort of funnel all of these elements into a single mood bar so that a logic can be applied regarding whether or not an action is successful, what actions automatically done by a para, etc.

Michael

2022-04-01 15:13:58 +0000 UTC

so I have an idea: shadow needs. needs that are available only if your basic needs are fulfilled. For good paras, when everything alright with them, a 'need for help somebody' appears - so you can voluntering, give charity ect. For outgoing ones the shadow need could be 'extra socializing" - fulfill it with getting know someone new, ect. For evil ones - do something bad would come up as a need this system would give you a reward if you keep your paras basic needs high

teszter.bp

2022-04-01 15:13:24 +0000 UTC

I am fascinated, and quite excited, about needs that don't stop at eating, peeing and sleeping. Having deeper needs would be so welcome!! It would make the Parafolk seem more alive. I am always impressed with the wonderful ideas that you guys have and the constructive feedback and suggestions that come from the patrons of the game. It's awesome, really.

Jennifer Huber

2022-04-01 15:12:34 +0000 UTC

I agree! You really summed it well. Basi needs should be the same for every Para, but Social needs could change depending on their traits and personality. It adds individuality to every Para :)

Mauro Fantin

2022-04-01 15:10:01 +0000 UTC

I think focusing on your Para's needs should obviously have benefits (making them happier, more relaxed, or maybe giving them the ability to be more productive when they feel fulfilled), but they shouldn't interfere with other more fun activities. All Para's should have the same basic biological needs (eating, showering, going to the bathroom, etc.), but I do like the idea of different Paras having different needs depending on their personality. For example, an animal lover might need to interact with an animal every so often or they'd feel sad and lonely. Or an artist might need to make art to feel happy and inspired. Though I wonder if those should be "needs", or sectioned off into separate system like "wants", or "desires". Ps: cat whiskers should be as long and adorable as possible ❤️

Mauro Fantin

2022-04-01 15:06:45 +0000 UTC

imo needs should be on the more challenging side, but either way modders could tweak the mood depreciation values/rates to make needs easier/harder to maintain. I think a middle-of-the-road approach would be best here.

YourCheezyPatron

2022-04-01 15:05:21 +0000 UTC

This right here basically sums up how I feel

Court12413

2022-04-01 15:04:45 +0000 UTC

I'm imagining needs being represented by moodlets instead of needs bars like in The Sims, but this can work with bars as well, or any other system as long as it allows for showing an indication of how critical a need is. I'd really like three "tiers" to how critical a need is: 🕛 Address soon: An indication the need is nearing needing to be addressed. At this stage there would be no effects on the para for ignoring it. It's just information that there'll be effects in a bit. E.g. "I'm starting to get hungry". If we're thinking in bars, this could appear when the bar's below 25%, I'm thinking for most needs this stage might last a couple of para-hours. ⚠️Address now: The para is starting to feel some effects from not addressing the need, like being uncomfortable from a very full bladder, moody from being hungry or yawning from being tired. In bars, this would happen when the need is completely empty. For most needs, this could last another few in-game hours. 💥Critical: The need must be addressed very promptly, or there'll be a critical failure of the need. For bladders that might be peeing themselves, for hunger it might mean death for the para. In this stage there could be strong effects on the para - though importantly, not effects that would prevent them from fulfilling their critical needs! Like a tired para might be slower at skilling or increasing work performance, might be more prone to fail when creating something, etc. The more severe the critical failure at the end of this stage, the longer this stage should be, e.g. up to a day for starving before the para dies, while bladder could be pretty short before they pee themselves. The last stage could even have some lingering effects, like a more faster decaying hunger for a short while after starving (stole that from RimWorld), to really drive the point home that you don't want to be in that stage.

Zahlea

2022-04-01 15:04:38 +0000 UTC

I want a balance for needs. I like how they work in the Sims 4 because yes, you still have to fulfill them, but the sim still has time for hobbies, jobs, etc without constantly being about to pass out. Just like humans. It would be cool to see needs vary from para to para, like some paras are introverted and don't need much people time, some paras could be high energy and need less sleep, etc.

Orin

2022-04-01 15:04:02 +0000 UTC

I think it would be cool if there is an introvert/extrovert option which will affect how much social need the para needs.

Harley brune

2022-04-01 15:03:05 +0000 UTC

I understand why people don’t want to needs to take up too much time daily because you want your Paras to still be able to do all the tasks you personally want them to do but let’s say we do have a hierarchy of needs, some needs should definitely be more difficult to fill than others and should also take longer to deplete. For eg. the bladder need or hygiene need should be easy, a quick use the loo interaction or shower interaction to easily fill that need up, but let’s say there’s a ‘basic needs’ and ‘social needs’ tab - the social needs would house the complex needs that tie into the paras personality. So an antisocial para may need more me time than a social para and that might require you to not interact with any other para for 8 hours. On the flip side there may be a social need where a social need may need to interact with other paras to fill that need. Maybe there’s a romance need and a flirty para may need to go on a date or another event that will take up a significant amount of time compared to filling basic needs which I believe shouldn’t take much time at all. It shouldn’t take 5 para hours for your para to eat a meal or take a shower. But I’m all in favor for having more complex needs that if neglected will have an impact on the paras personality or overall state of mind. For eg. a social para who hasn’t interacted with other paras for a week may become depressed and that might give a moodlet that affects the para for a whole week if not solved but if a para doesn’t get to the bathroom in time and their bladder fails that might affect them for a few hours but not significantly. Love you guys Xx

Joanna Hinds

2022-04-01 15:02:15 +0000 UTC

omg I love you guys :D I was wating for this topic to come up with the maslow pyramid idea, about the complex needs, but you just did it and I'm happy now :D

teszter.bp

2022-04-01 15:02:05 +0000 UTC

Since I think paralives will be much more interactive and give us more to fill the day to day, I don't want to worry with the needs AS much. I think fulfilling needs is an important part of simulation games and I don't want those to fade to the back too much. But it seems like there are going to be lots of activities I'll want to do each day. I hope there's a good balance of the two

Skye Sandoval

2022-04-01 15:01:23 +0000 UTC

I think there's room for an interesting balance in the idea that if needs are being kept in balance and everything is going well, then needs are really pretty easy to maintain. It's something that can be thought of if someone's maintaining good habits and stress-free life. Meanwhile, if a need is ignored too long and sinks into a sort of "crisis" state, then yeah, maybe digging out of that state is harder than just having a good meal, talking to a random para for a while, or having a single night of rest. Like for real people, if we're getting consistent rest, we can have a single bad night and be okay, but if we're frequently sleeping terribly, it takes more than a single night of good sleep to come back from that. It would add a layer of complexity/challenge to the system and a bit more depth that doesn't have to be entirely realistic, but could be relatively easy to tune as a difficulty option for players. Just a thought!

Eva Cantor

2022-04-01 14:56:37 +0000 UTC

I don't see point for that poll. Specially when sometimes people want challenge and sometimes they just want to chill out. Switch tingle would be the best option.

Bogusława Zajączkowska

2022-04-01 14:55:57 +0000 UTC

I think it would be better to make the daily needs (food, shower, sleep, bathroom) to be easily fulfilled. I would like time to be able to teach my pets tricks, do the homework, socialize, teach toddlers... Without needing to break the routine with a 2 hours shower. Also it would be nice if we could have a snack doing any interaction. Example: You’re helping your child to do his homework and your para is hungry. Click the fridge and select “get a snack and come back” and your para goes for the snack, comes back to the child and helps them while you’re eating the chips at the same time. This way you fulfill the hungry need and still help your child. Same for the toilet, add an action that makes the para use the toilet and come back to the previous action. And maybe separate socializing family and friends? Like maybe your para has a family trait so the family need decreases faster or they have a extrovert trait and the friends need decreases faster (the other way if your para has a lonely trait or antisocial)

MrPinguv

2022-04-01 14:54:35 +0000 UTC

I REALLY like the idea of mixed use lots. I'm not sure how they would work, but having mixed use lots like we see here in Europe would be super cool. You could own the store downstairs, or you might not. It could be owned by someone else, or you could own the store but have a stranger living above. Just a super cool idea in general

Callum Brunt

2022-04-01 14:53:18 +0000 UTC

eurgh... the answer is both. i know that's not possible but i want some needs to be challenging to fulfil and others not to. so like eating and elimination (peeing, etc) shouldn't take up much time but socialising (if we have socialising as a need) should be more challenging.

Stewby

2022-04-01 14:52:37 +0000 UTC

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