Question Thread: July 2025 [CLOSED]

Before they close; How would Qiu or Tamarack react if MC literally turned into a talking cat for just one day? Friends/Crush

Hello GP and David! Hope you have both had an amazing July and are doing well. Of course if you cannot answer these questions for whatever reason, then please feel free to skip them. 1. How would Step 2 Qui feel about having a crush on an MC that is very shy or hesitant to show that they have a crush? Such as, avoiding being too close or clingy with Qui. 2. From what we have seen in Step 2, Qui doesn't spend time with other people like they used too and even their friendship with Renee is strained, so what would trigger the MC to be jealous over Qui's attention? I hope this makes sense. 3. If the MC didn't exist, would Qui and Tamarack still decide to be in a committed platonic relationship in Step 4 with each other or would they both just stay as friends? Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and for all the hard work you are doing!

Hello! Thank you so much for your hard work and for the amazing games and characters you've shared with us. And thank you, David, for your hard work too! I have questions about my favorite set of German grandparents and our angel princess: In Step 1 Omi (and I guess Opa too) seemingly finds Tamarack and the MC's obvious crush on each other as amusing puppy love. In Step 2 I assume Tamarack would try to be less obvious about her crush. Would they still pickup on it? And would they be worried because of how young the kids are, still think of it as puppy love, or would they support it as something that could potentially be meaningful in the future? And would Tama ever come to them for romantic advice or would it be something she'd rely more on her friends for? (I don't mean in game, just what you personally think.)

Hi! Hope everyone is doing well!! my question is about current projects! Will you guys ever pick up working on any old projects, and can you name them? (it’s okay if not!!) what projects would you say are definitely scrapped?

Are the voice overs for the Step 1 young characters (Baxter, Darren, Qiu, and Tamarack) going to be added to the game when the Public Demo on Steam and Itch is updated this Fall? Is there going to be a separate downloadable voiced name pack (Qiu and Tamarack) like there was for OL1, or is it going to be a part of the game itself (Steps 1-3) when the game goes Gold/full game on Steam, Itch, etc.?

Hi again!, it's been a little while since i checked patreon and saw all step 1 moments have been made! congrats! i loved every second of it! My question is: Does Qiu still like the nickname 'autumn' in step 2? or do they dislike it? or maybe only like it when MC uses it? Thanks!

Hiya, fellow writer here, currently obsessed with the kind of character focused story-telling you're giving us in the Our Life games. I admire how you really make your characters come to life. I wanted to ask about your approach when sitting down to create a new character. Do you just start writing and let their personality and history come to you, or do you have a process you follow first to get a good idea of them? If so, what does that look like for you? Is there a trick that helps you get inside their head and understand how they think?

I hope I'm not late, this is my first time asking a question. I'm sorry if these have been asked before. 1. Once OL2 is finished, how will the jealous and envy options work? Will they be manual only or can the options be predetermined depending on what you chose in the previous step? (I hope this was clear) 2. For Baxter in OL1, would he feel jealously towards others, if he's dating the mc?

1. are the dlc moments being released at the same time as the full game? 2. will the dlcs be separate moments (like ourlife1) or altogether? congrats with moving onto the next stage >.< im so excited for the full release!!! we're cheering the whole team on! you have our support!

Hello, my question is how does Qiu feel about motorcycles since they're kinda similar to bikes? Would they at least try riding one? :)

congrats on Step 1 Done!! Your guys’ hard work is so so appreciated 🩷 - This is just something I’ve always been curious about ever since I played- when you tell Step 3 Baxter that people are allowed to know that you’re dating, he says ‘My parents are likely to hear the news eventually’, and he mentions dating MC to his mother on the phone at the lodge. Did he always announce to his parents when he was dating someone? Or was MC a special case? It always struck me as an interesting thing for him to do, given his personality at the time. - Would any of the LI’s need glasses/reading glasses once they reach middle aged and older? Would any of them be annoyed about their hair going grey?

Cove, Qiu and Tamarack all have songs in the game named after them. If you had to imagine songs for Derek and Baxter (or other characters), what would they sound like?

Hey I hope you and the team are doing well! I don't know if this has been asked already but do you guys plan on adding a way to delete saves instead of just writing over them when in game? I figured I would ask as I have been wondering about this for awhile. Hope you all have a nice day and stay healthy!

Hey! I hope the team is doing good! So for my question this month, this isn't really Our Life or game related, it's a more personal set of questions directed to the dev team to be honest, so feel free to skip if you find it unnecessary. :> I just wanted to ask: 1. What were the team's favorite games growing up? 2. What games inspired you to be a game dev? And what game inspired your writing style the most? 3. Finally, what games are you guys currently hooked on? That's all :> I hope you guys pace yourselves and remember to take breaks! (Cuz burnout sucks frfr)

Hello! My question is 'What will Liz say at MC and Baxter's wedding?' You know, her congratulatory speech at MC and COVE's wedding was really interesting, warming, and funny.And for Baxter, Liz's attitude has always been dramatic, so funny.

Hello again! I asked last month about step 1 Qiu's thoughts on hugs(I think it's so precious that he thinks they're a little embarrassing haha!) so this month I was curious about step 2 Qiu? Does step 2 Qiu still think hugs are childish/embarrassing from the MC?

Hey, my question is how has making visual novels developed you as a person and as a creator?

Hiii!! When looking at the sprite we never get to see the shoes so it got me wondering what shoes does everyone (tamarack, qui, ren, baxter, cove, and Derek) wear and if they like a certain type of shoe? Also, since Renee is my favorite, I can’t wait to see her in step 2!! I was wondering if you had any fun facts about her? Thank you sm!! Have a good day and good job to everyone :D 💚

Okay, we know how Baxter initial concept was being an arrogant/smug boy band member for the XOXO series until the idea was scapped and we have the Baxter we know and love in OL1. If Cove and Derek were in the XOXO group, how would they act? It's hard to picture them as an XOXO boy tbh, they're so cute and wholesome. I think this question has been answered before but what did Baxter think about MC if they kissed and cuddled, etc in step 3? He says he's a suitor of the season and obviously wouldn't think of anyone else the same way he thinks of himself—so even if MC sees him as a partner, could teen Baxter manage to see MC as a s/o even with the way he thinks about himself? And, and—for sanity sake even though Nate is a very detail oriented person busybody, would he appreciate a slow morning? I feel like he'd want to do something all the time. Maybe when he's older, he'd appreciate a warm coffee, breakfast and some morning cuddling if the man has time for it 😂. Have an amazing day/night and thank you for answering to the best of your abilities! ❤

Hi, hoping you're having a good day. Got two questions. First, and sorry if this has been asked before, if Tamarack and Qiu are jealous, will they only get jealous of eachother or when MC talks to other people as well? Second, if MC enters a relationship with Qiu and Tamarack, would either be open to date other people in the future, or are they both gonna stick to only dating the MC?

Hello hi! I recently found out about Qiu's ADHD whilst digging through old asks on tumblr (I had a suspicion and I'm glad I was right lmao) so now I'm REALLY curious if there are any other neurodivergent characters in the OL2 cast? If you don't have an answer for this that's totally fine!!

hey hey! quick question- is there ever going to be a chance for people to get their hands on the XOD artbook? Weather it be as an influencer gift or otherwise? Thank you!

It was sad that there wasn't an option for the MC and Cove in OL1 to stay in Sunset Bird, the closest we got to that was 'The Back-Up Plan' pretzel shop that the two made up while their families were celebrating the MC and Cove's graduation (which was more of a daydream/fantasy, rather than something that they would do). Could we have the option to decide to stay in Golden Grove or return to live after going to university/college? Whether the MC moves back in with Opal or maybe somewhere else in town? I'm sure there are plenty to happily ditch Golden Grove for greener pastures/larger towns/cities, but after so many years there, it kind of becomes part of the family. 😁

Hello GOAT! Y'all never cease to impress me with hosting these monthly Q&As despite how busy y'all are. I hope you, our other GOAT David, and the team are staying cool this July! Skip whatever question for whatever reason if you so please hehe. 1) You've stated that Tams and Qiu aren't fluent in their parents/grandparents' first language (if I remember correctly). Do either of their reading or listening comprehension skills surpass their speaking skills in German/Mandarin? I know that's the case with me as a 1st gen English speaker lol. 2) Regarding the challenging nature of writing OL2's step 2, is there any element of writing this step that you have particularly enjoyed or found especially interesting as opposed to step 1 thus far? Or rather, what's been your favorite part of writing this step so far? 3) Very generally speaking, what are the Baumanns' impression of Qiu in step 1? What are the Lins' impression of Tams in Step 1 and in what scenario did they first meet her?

Hi! Hope you and your team are doing well. My questions are a little silly, haha 1. Since it’s summer and you know, OL1 is based on summer and such. I’m curious how would the OL2 cast (Qiu, Tamarack, and Renee but Vianca and Serenity too if you have an answer) would spend their summer? 2. What would the OL1 boys be like as Uncles in a far far future? Like say one of Derek’s brothers had a kid of their own or something (I’m not sure what example to use with Cove and Baxter lol) 3. Kind of silly… why does Cove wear skinny jeans in his ORCA outfit (at least in the art book), unless he like— has to for uniform?? But it seems kind of funny in blazing heat he’s wearing skinny jeans. 4. Does Opal have a favourite movie or a favourite genre at least? Or does she not care / generally would like whichever movie MC would like? thank you !!! have a good day and make sure you’re staying well hydrated in the heat ><

Hello hello! Hopefully this hasn't been asked before, but are there any plans to make OL2 compatible with the steam deck? OL1 runs into an issue where it doesn't play nicely with the in game textboxes and requires some roundabout measures to get working, so I'd be delighted if that was fixed in OL2. Regardless, hope you're both doing well and thank you to David for the transcripts- they're the easiest way for me to read these Q&As.

Thank you so much for all these QnA’s! Hope everyone is doing well. My question is: What would Qiu and Ren’s dynamic settings be in step 2 since we already know what it would be in step one? And why?

Thank you for doing the QnAs, this is my second month participating! I always come up with so many questions before the month can end, so I hope the question barrage is alright. I hope you, the team, and David have a great month and get lots of rest. 1. Why does Opal start calling you by your nickname in Step 2? 2. What are some things that influence the LIs dynamic meters over at least Step 1 to Step 2? I know in the tutorial there was the example of challenging Tamarack's leadership leading to her being Teamworking or Deferring rather than Contesting, but I've yet to fully see any non-manual changes from the status quo from people so far. 3. For when the protagonist can set how far away their previous hometown was, I know 'really close' can be fairly self explanatory, but how far is 'not close' or 'really, really far', especially in comparison to each other? I know narration can change based on this, so I'm curious if you have any examples or metrics. 4. Do any of the Step 2 kids use social media? If so, what would their usernames be? Would they have a lot of followers, or keep a private account? 4.5. On a similar note, do they keep any special or silly contact names on their phone? Or just keep it simple? 5. Is MC able to struggle with their own gender identity in Step 2? In the public preview, as far as I'm aware, we can announce that we are nonbinary, or male, or female, and MC seems fairly firm in that decision, even if they can be nervous sharing it. I understand if it'd be too much to code, but I was curious. MC also says that they wouldn't want people calling them 'the wrong stuff' when Opal offers to tell everyone about their new pronouns. I feel like adding an option to say maybe something like "I might be [gender]" or "could you try using [pronouns]?" rather than "I'm [gender], and I use [pronouns]" could add a lot. 5.1. Related to this, when you decide to come out to Qiu and were initially cisgender, the dialogue says something along the lines of not being able to imagine what it'd been like to go through that alone. Will there ever be an option to say that maybe we'd discussed it with friends before coming to a conclusion (obviously offscreen). I know my friends were graced with many a gender crisis ramble when I was around that age, haha. 5.2. Additionally, this might be a question better suited for the critique channel on Discord, but will we get further clarification on the gender options for MC? I understand that 'nonbinary' can encompass a whole variety of terms, but having the menu have specific examples under it would be great. For example, would a demigirl or demiboy want to pick "nonbinary" or "female/male"? and if they pick one or the other, how does that affect the options they have? I know if you're nonbinary, you can say that you're 'kinda' or 'sometimes' a girl/boy, but I feel as if that not being clarified until later on can lead to some confusion among players. 6. How would the Our Life LIs feel about the MC overusing or straining a limb? We know they'd try to help, but how worried versus strict would they be? Would their approaches differ? (Ie. Making sure they still had fun, doing things for them, making sure they didn't strain themself further, etc) 7. Will we ever have an opportunity to talk about/discover our MC's heritage outside of picking it in the prologue? Such as discovering it in Step 2+ if they didn't remember/care in Step 1. 7.5. Will it/their culture ever come up again outside of Fancy Fun, or potentially the Mid-Autumn Festival? I understand that it'd be difficult to implement, but I think potentially getting to bond with the LIs or other characters about these things would be so fun! 8. Why/how did you come up with the name Sunset Bird? How about Golden Grove? 9. How tight on money were Opal and MC prior to moving to Golden Grove? I imagine Opal wouldn't legally be able to go through the procedures to have a child on her own if she wasn't able to support them fully if it's anything similar to the adoption system, but she and MC were still stated to not be particularly well-off in the past. 10. When they're adults, would Qiu/Tamarack ever be open to helping an MC who struggles with depression/some form of disability with things like showering or eating given they were dating/cohabitating? Or would that be too weird for them? Here are some more Step 2-centric questions. I hope writing is going well regarding that, and I'm always excited to see what's to come. 11. If Step 1 Qiu and Tamarack met their Step 2 selves, what would it be like? How would they feel? 12. How would Step 1 or 2 Tamarack feel about a 'Girls' Night'? Either with just the MC, or maybe with Vianca/Serenity too. Going shopping and stuff, dressing each other up, doing each others' nails, skincare, all that sort of stuff. 13. Are we able to match outfits with the LIs (or even just have silly matching corsages/etc) in Homecoming? 14. If Qiu and Tamarack had the customizable dynamic meters in Step 2, how would they look at the start? And a question for David! Dear David, how much trouble do each characters' names give you in the transcript? Who gives you the most? Thank you for reading all of these, I wish you the best!

I know that Qiu doesn't believe in magic and Tamarack doesn't think ghosts exist. What would they do if confronted with a reality that had those things: Qiu seeing real magic or Tamarack meeting a ghost? Specifically for Step 1: would Qiu handwave it as something else, like a trick? Would Tamarack try to fight a ghost?

Hey! I was wondering if there going to be more black hairstyles, like more of the creative hairstyles and some alternatives hairstyle as well. I also would like to know if we could add more piercing to our mc (Lip, eyebrow, etc).

HIII!1!1 I never really comment much, this isn't really a question but I just want to say I love your works and the updates and all!! keep it up :D!! you all are doing amazing !!

Thanks for making time for these questions! I’ve been wondering, how exactly will it work with the OL2 MC, LI’s and other characters being newly graduated in Step 3? Will we be able to be in university? That sounds like a HUGE set of game mechanics and plot devices and alterations, no? What new graduate content can we expect? Will we have flavor text for things like our university and our major? Also, what content can we expect in terms of the OL2 LI’s being envious of the MC even though they’re close, crushes, or dating?

Hello! I love OLBA and have been exciting following OLNF. This game made me fall in love with Visual Novels! Sorry if this has been answered before, I did look around but I know I could have missed something! I was just wondering is Baxter a vegetarian? I feel like (and again I could have missed something in the game) that he never seems to eat meat and it made me curious if this was an active lifestyle or a casual preference

Hey, hope you’re doing great, I’m just gonna cut to the point! A few months ago you were asked what you planned on doing after project W and if you’re planning on making more OL games, your answer to this has stuck with me. You said that you didn’t plan to make more and that the idea of having a different person make it but keeping it under the name GBpatch felt weird to you- Do you still feel this way? I think this was over a year ago.

Hello! What does Derek actually do at 23 as a job? It’s never stated but he’s able to get a 2-bed apartment by the ocean in California, that’s gotta cost a good sum amount of money. Also what did he study for in college?

You don't have to answer this if you don't have to, but as a dev, I'm curious: how did you learn to start doing things like organize a team, launch a Kickstarter, or basically start working as a professional game dev? Did you consult people who helped you, or used resources, or went to class for it, or anything like that? Unrelated, but thanks for all your hard work, both on the game and in connecting to your community! You get a ton of questions every month, I'm amazed at the length every time lol ^^

Last questions, and sorry for not adding it together before - I didn't want it to look like too much text. Do Vianca and Darren (in Step 1) have anything in common in the sense that Darren doesn't like girls (like Tammy), and Vianca doesn't like (male MC)? Are their rejections of the opposite gender similar or different? Can the MC get upset or just ignore her? Why does Tamarack feel intimidated by Vianca? Is it because of her personality?

Roughly when do you imagine Tam and Qiu's Step 4 sprites will be released? If Ren and Baxter had customizable dynamics with the MC, what would be their defaults in Step 1? Also, in OL1 what would Cove, Derek, and Baxter's defaults be during the first step that you meet them? (ie Step 1 for Cove, Step 2 for Derek, and Step 3 for Baxter) What would Step 1 Tam and Qiu's birthdays look like? Would they throw a party, go anywhere special, have a fancy dinner/dessert, ask for anything specific? What kind of sandwich would Step 1 Tam and Qiu make if they were in OL1? Where did Step 1 Tam learn how to make a paper airplane? What would be the relationship dynamic between Tam and Qiu in Step 2? How old was Qiu when they started going by they/them? At this point did Ren know she was also trans? If Step 2 Tam and Qiu aren't crushing on the NPC, do you imagine they've realized they're queer (ie attracted to multiple genders) by that point in their life in other ways? How would Step 2 Tam and Qiu feel about going to therapy if the MC encouraged them to go? If they tried it, would they continue to go regularly or feel awkward and not go back? How old was Qiu when they got their ears pierced? Would they ever want to get more piercings? Typically in America 18 year olds graduate high school in the late spring, then they have the summer off, and then by the fall they're either in college or doing some other plan for after high school (ie gap year or starting working). At least in my circles, it's assumed that if someone is still around in the fall it means they made the conscious choice to not enroll in college the way most teenagers do. Will this be touched on in game or will it just be assumed that they haven't decided yet? If we have jealousy turned on, do you imagine that will affect the Step 4 polyamorous route? Will that step touch on some of the more difficult aspects of balancing two partners at once, or will it be more of a feel-good story since it's the epilogue? Also, do you imagine the process of beginning the relationship to be covered in-game? Totally understand if you don't have an answer since it's still far from development - although I'm not looking for a guarantee, just curious about your thoughts on the subject at this point in development. In the last Q&A you mentioned that multiple characters were designed kind of to be foils to other characters. It seems pretty natural that Tamarack and Qiu would fit into this category, but what are some other pairs of characters that were designed to kind of contrast/complement each other? It makes sense that there aren't any cameo characters in Project W considering it's set in a fictional universe, lol. But hypothetically from a game design perspective, if you were to include a cameo who would it be? How have you gone about deciding which characters were cameos in the past?

Hi! Hope you have a good day. I just have to say that the Our Life games have given me so much to look forward too and I’m in a part of my life where I really needed something like that. So, thank you! Now, my question is probably quite hard to answer, but I’ve been wondering for so long what kind of brush the artist for the OL2 game uses? I think it’s a beautiful and unique art style but I just can’t figure out how the outlines of the character work are made. Genuinely curious, but I can understand if the artist rather not tell.

Does Tamarack’s hair really shine? I remember the MC said their hair seemed to shine (because of the little white specks in it).

In the first our life game Kyra mentioned that Cove talks to her about the mc. I’ve always been wondering what specifically Cove talks about with his mom?

If Tamarack existed in Skyrim, do you think they would study magic, become a bard, or prefer an ordinary life away from trouble?

Hey, hope you and the team is doing well during those hot days and remember to drink water, as always feel free to skip questions I only have one question about personalisation. I remember you saying that later in the game, we could decide to call our main character by her name. Could we do this in step 2, or do we have to wait until a later step? Oh, and one more thing, will there be more gender presets, like demiboy and demigirl? That's all my questions. Keep pulling out such good content and stay hydrated

Is there anyone else in the group of kids, wether the boys club or at school that may have a crush on MC at any point? Not counting Tam or Qiu. Thanks so much for the work you do!