💼 News on Jobs and Schools

Negative Work Choices ?? maybee a bit like - Started a rivalry at work (Motivation buff - Creates a Work Rival relationship) - Took credit for a coworker’s work (Immediate performance boost - relationship drops) - Delegate your work to someone else (Less stress - Coworker relationship drops) - Cut corners on a task (Finish shift goals faster – Higher chance of mistakes) - Falsify timesheets (Extra money – chance of being fired) - Hide a mistake (Avoid immediate consequences – Bigger fallout later)

Not sure if this is already incorporated, but I'd love if desirable shifts weren't as easy to get / didn't pay as much. As a nurse we always started nightshift and had to pay our dues before getting to dayshift so I'd love this realism in the game in some form. Or for another example weekend or night staff at a restaurant making more than the dayshift / weekday staff since the schedule is not as good. Everything looks great I am so so excited!!!!

Oh this is AMAZING! i love the school system the most, because of all of the personalization!

i love how detailed school is! i am a big fan of the rabbit-hole style jobs and stuff because they feel repetitive in real life, so im all for not playing that part directly

I'm glad grades don't depend completely on homework because that's more true to real life!

hey this is great

Amei a ideia de você poder transferir as notas conquistadas na escola para competências de trabalho. Ajudará muito na progressão dos empregados. Uma dúvida, é uma possibilidade as universidades?

Will there be more subjects then what is shown here? Like Science, History and Social Studies? That's what I grew up with, along with Math and Gym/Physical Education, Literature was called English, I believe in my school here in Michigan USA!

As someone from the UK I'd love optional uniform, or private/boarding school with uniform instead. Looks amazing!

This is amazing. No repetitive mini games required, but still provides av satisfying amount of involvement and achievement

this is sooo cool! Maybe in the future add the option for private school 👀

This is amazing, I'm so excited to try this system. One suggestion is that you please heavily consider a pen and paper/book option for homework, especially math.

This looks amazing!! 🤩

i love how you can choose which subjects you wanna delve into more than others. Say a jock-type character who's more into PE and extracurricular activities than history, art or math will have different grades in different subjects.

That system looks amazing! Can’t wait to play the game! Maybe Uni could work more or less the same as school (that meaning, being a rabbit hole)? And certain jobs could only be acessible if you have a certain degree

i love this! Will it be possible to add in a popularity/clique system for schools for some added realism?

OMG SO HYPED

I love this!

This sounds awesome! So much thought and attention has gone into this system. Normally I never cared much about rabbit hole jobs or school in life sims, but I'm excited now to play around with this one and use it as a tool to mold my para's personality in delightful new ways.

Love it!

Hope there will be a school bus!

Love it ❤️‍🔥

It's really nice to see that the rabbit holes will actually have an impact on a paras development and feel more interactive than in and out! Thank you for the weekly updates ❤️

That's for the updates! Just wondering if university will be included in school as well or if right after high school they enter the job market?

love it❤️❤️❤️❤️

Are jobs rabbit holes ?

Woah ! Everything seem really polished !

Very detailed system ! Cery excited for the school system, I like how you can hone in on selective subjects

Oh this sounds really cool! Reading it made me have some ideas. In a different comment you said that the schools are separated between elementary and highschool, I think it would be cool to have some "festivals" related to school. I think something like a "first day of school" celebration for small children and their families and maybe a "high school graduation" festival for those teenagers/young adults? That would be really cool! I think it would also be cool if maybe down the line there would be something similar to the private school even from the sims 2. Probably not for the initial release, but this specific event is very popular. I really loves the principal times event, but with this system I think it would be really cool if maybe something similar could also be related to a paras grades and extras? Also I have a question, are these school point systems going over into the points an adult para has for jobs? So a para that studies alot might start of with better background knowledge for "academic" workplaces, whereas a para that was maybe lacking in school but had alot of clubs might have points regarding these field (for example a para in a music club and a social club starts with better people knowledge and music knowledge and might not be able to do a manager job but maybe music teaching or something like that)? I hope this question makes any sense 🙈

I am so loving this! I'm loving how things are evolving & can't wait to see what the other careers are as well as what things you've left for us to discover when the game drops.

I am so excited about the school options! This sounds like a lot of fun and can be personalized per Para! 😁

Oooh, this is interesting. I'm loving how things are evolving & can't wait to see what the other careers are as well as what things you've left for us to discover when the game drops. Thanks for sharing 💕

Nice thing with homework! I do think having a way to do homework offline would be nice, since I often play off the grid households. I was also wondering if some paras (gifted or genius maybe..?) could progress through school without doing much homework while some others (difficult learners?) have to put in more work? Since sometimes doing more efforts doesnt always mean better grades

I love the fact that being a good student is not meaningless !😭 we actually can get a high career thanks to our efforts!!

Multiple jobs, optional homework, my heart was literally racing reading this post! I love the Paralives approach to school! I do have a question though- when you refer to company buildings could that be things like the cafe from the live action reveal? As in are company lots functional to go inside and also have your para work there (but invisible or something bc rabbit hole)?

I seriously can't wait even one more minute to play this game!! I'm so excited X)

Can we get a graduation ceremony that the kids and their parents can attend, even if its just a rabbithole? 🥺🥺 it would as so much to family gameplay to have this sorta thing. Dressing up your teen paras in their first formalwear etc.

Interesting the bit with homework being an optional choice to improve your grades but not only one available

I'm very excited about the school system, as well as the additions to the work system! I have lots of thoughts and questions, but tried to limit myself... Some questions: - Can we change the grading system to numerical, rather than letters? Perhaps through the modding system if not a choice option in the game settings. - The example shown for the school system is about high school; is primary/elementary school the exact same or would, for example, subjects be different? - At what age do para kids start school? - Will there be a (rabbit hole) preschool? - Are there different types of school and if so, would the mandatory subjects differ between, say, an art school and a science school? - When do paras choose their optional subjects? Is that only through upgrade points or will they start out with x mandatory subjects and y optional they can expand on? - Is there a limit to the number of subjects 1 para can take? In RL scheduling of classes would be an issue, but I suppose that wouldn't necessarily be so in a rabbit hole. (I'm in favor of limiting them, though) - Are there requirements to join these school clubs? For example, one would need x skill points OR y grade to be eligible and once they've joined they can expand on their skills and increase their grade within the club. - Do paras *have* to graduate school or can they also drop out? Perhaps they could opt to repeat their final year and if they fail again, they drop out. Or drop out at any point (perhaps with parents' permission). - If further education will be (eventually) added to the game, could we get different options? Like a 16 yo para could choose to go to trade school rather than finish high school (or maybe have to pass for x number of courses) whereas others could choose to go to college or university? Personally I'd be fine with further education also being a rabbithole and just continuing the system of expanding knowledge and/or skills and specialize for further career. - If paras can get tutoring, does that also mean another para (teen or adult) can become a tutor as a part-time job and/or for extra-curricular points? - Will there be different grades/years in school and are paras progressing through them with their classmates or will it just be “school” from kid through teen and they can basically befriend any school-age para? - Can paras do homework together? Either with a friend or adult (informal tutoring), possibly even set up ‘homework sessions’ at a friends’ house or public location and be ‘study buddies’? - Does personality affect how well/poorly they do in school? Some suggestions: - If there’s a preschool/Kindergarten and/or difference between elementary school and secondary school, it’d be really neat if the little ones could get more realistic homework assignments, like ‘go to the park’, ‘collect x flowers’, ‘take care of school pet over the weekend’, ‘give a presentation about dogs’ and so on. - Have the option for school-age paras to discuss their options for additional subjects and extra-curricular activities with other school-age paras, their parents/adults or the (rabbit hole) guidance counselor. Maybe through together-cards. - Have (grand)parents and older siblings encourage/force school-age paras to ‘do better in school’, ‘take an extra-curricular activity’, ‘join x club’ if they have certain traits and/or took those things themselves and want the younger para to follow in their footsteps. - Could some of the subjects be grouped together for a para to focus their knowledge/skills on career areas, like the sciences, social, cultural, financials and so on – if they pass all those grouped subjects, then it gives them a boost in expertises or extras (or something new) for entering the workplace. Could perhaps fit in with the ‘domain’ thing for jobs? - Allow paras the option to ‘study’ ahead of a test/exam so that even if they haven’t completed (all) the homework they could still pass it with flying colors. Perhaps study could be through a book. - Could the ‘2nd homework’ for ‘more homework’ be changed to ‘2nd assignment’ or something? - Give the school-age paras (and teachers) school vacations, preferably spread out over the year versus the very long American summer vacation - Give working paras maternity *and* paternity leave, with the non-birthing para(s) being able to choose when to take it - Give working paras parental leave to take when they see fit for their toddler-through-child-aged para, they could use it during the school vacation, for a day trip, a school excursion, when the para kid is sick and so on - Allow paras to use the (physical) newspaper, cell phone and computer to find a job in addition to the hiring poster

OMG Absolute brilliant system, I am so loving this! I love that these points work both for school and the work force, so excited for this. Is there by chance a full list of jobs/career options as of yet?

I love how unique the systems are. Especially wotu school. I love the idea of homework for different classes and the extracurricular. I hope one day we get some active ones. But from what I've read you all have been very thoughtful about the school and work systems. I am on the edge of my seat for EA! 🫶🏾 keep up the amazing work seriously!

would be cool as well if when you upgrade something and have to choose, theres also an option that tells you what your para would "want" to upgrade (could be random or based on traits).. i feel like it would add a sense of autonomy

looooove the schedule options!

I’m loving the school system, Are they separated? By high school and primary school (I don’t know what Canada calls there lower schools.) or is it just one of those big academies? IE (just school) Second maybe yu could add this latter but it would be fun if the pears randomly of (if possible personally) get in trouble in school, and get detentions making stay late like the tutoring but with a native effect. Or maybe for the high schooler sometime ditch. I know it’s not for most people but I due prefer some consequences in my life sim. Lastly meaning making, and hanging out with friends is a big part of a person’s school life (persona to assist with social links haha) will the kids/teens get to do this as well at school. Or will it only be when yu can control them again to make friends with their pears?

This is just so… Awesome! I loved the originality you’re bringing to the school system. I was myself someone that had great grades but didn’t really like to be at school or do homework - so I used to use all my breaks at school to do all the homework so as soon as the day ended I could just do nothing at home or play my games or stuff. So the fact we can actually give different “study styles” to our Paras is so personal and wholesome. I can’t wait to play!

I love this!! I think the school and work systems are really great. I disagree with people saying it seems too easy. One thing I disliked about the sims was getting kids to do their homework everyday. It didn’t feel like there was enough time and it was such a chore. Having homework not due immediately the next day is great. And there are kids that don’t do homework and still get good grades, so I like that it can boost your grade but doesn’t hurt you. Also love the work system!! The upgrades points are really cool. I like the small progress each day - it seems like you won’t hit a wall at some point where you can no longer improve. And I like that we can shape the Paras progress and choose which skills to focus on!

this system looks really interesting but I feel like it would also be interesting if different paras would start out with different grades and have slower or faster progress based on their personality and things you did prior to school, like having a parent read to a toddler.

I wouldn't mind if the grades got lower if you didn't do your homework. There could be projects for extra points. The possibility to skip classes would also be great. And could result in Bad grades. Still really like the concept so far :)

Will we be able to choose different kinds of schools (like public school, private school, performing arts school), similar to how we'd choose different kinds of jobs, or will there be only one school that everyone goes to?

I really like the shift system! It will allow for more customisation and more storytelling because now a Teen might pick up weekend shifts and work during weekdays, and not be limited by the number of jobs. I like how the upgrade points can be used neutrally to change the shift pattern, instead of just having to be spent on rewards to make things easier. The school system looks really fun and engaging! I really like how it's split into different subjects, so a Para can excel in something that aligns with their assigned talent, while performing poorly in something else. That allows for more nuance. Instead of black and white "good student vs bad student". I also like how the player won't be penalised for not doing their homework. Because in big households or once your grades are maxed out, it's just tedious and pointless. And I appreciate the "in danger" mechanic for adding greatly needed challenge in game. My one negative feedback is: homework needs to have a non-electronic alternative before Early Access. Having it only be doable on computer excludes historical/retro gameplay, technophobe Paras and poor families (as they need to spend money on a computer to fulfil basic game mechanic, whether the player wants it or not).

I really like this school system! I do wish that homework could be done in more ways, such as on paper, so that if my paras can't afford a computer or if I don't want them to have computers they could still do their homework.

I have a question about the last picture. I guess the "application points" box is the points the Para actually has (in the example, they have a total of 9 points so they can't apply for that particular job, that requires 12). What does having "Food" points means? Meaning the Para likes food or...? I don't understand :-D

Will you have to choose or get an option for an upgrade everyday? I can see that being cool for the first playthrough, but it might get too easy for your sim to level up and too much and micromanage-y after a while. Is there an option for these upgrades to happen in the background while you play? Also, there should be negative consequences for stuff like not doing your homework. There should be negative consequences or random events (negative or posting) while people play. Personally, I think that makes things more fun and unpredictable.

I really like the scheduling options. The system gets so much deeper for it ! "It’s not only about the challenge of being a good student, it’s also about making choices about what your character likes." I love that. Childhood is a time when you slowly build who you are, define what you like, find things that resonate. I really like the self-discovery aspect of the school gameplay as announced here. It's perfectly cohesive with the progression of personalities (and not just jobs) for adults. Are there plans to differentiate middle school from high school ? "It means this subject starts to get a little hard for your Para and you have to get their attention on it (only if you want to!)" An excellent way of not making school feel repetitive. "Have your work pay a part of your bills" I don't quite understand what that looks like for now. "when applying to a job, all of your experience in a job of the same domain will count" That's pretty cool, and incentivizes lateral moves. Quick unrelated question, if a Paradev sees it : I vaguely remember reading, a while ago, that when creating a new Para (or household), we wouldn't have to move them into a lot if we don't want to, meaning that it could be possible to RP an unhoused Para (or household). Did I dream that ? With so much of the archives having been deleted when Patreon changed the community pages, I can't look it up anymore.

This isn't related to the post but talking of toddlers made me think it would be useful to be able to hire a babysitter (a NPC that comes to your house and just "stays" there looking at your child): this way your Para parent could have some time "off" from their children to get out/see people/practise skills etc. etc. Although I have no idea hw much absorbing it would be to raise a child in the game. edit: ops, sorry, I meant this as a reply to Jordacious and Lautel above but instead made a new comment.

I hope there will be a school bus!

I am just in love with this system. I can’t wait to play with it, I’m literally in awe!

This system is so detailed and diverse, can't wait to test it ^^

I really like where this is heading for the school aspect. I really do like how there are different subjects. Will there be projects with due dates?

I love the level of uniqueness this game has for each para rather than the same few tasks over and over

I think the school system sounds fun! I am wondering if you plan to make a homeschool or remote school option?

Will there be summer holidays or will kids go to school 365 days a year? Similarly for jobs, will you be able to take 1 or more days off (beside your normal week schedule)?

I was thinking... What about Paras who don't want to attend highschool after middleschool? Will there be an option to make them graduate from middleschool and go to work afterwards or get an apprenticeship? And if they do, can they go back to school as adults attending an evening school to make their graduation certificate to go to university? 🤩

Wow, this update has me SO excited! I really appreciate the options you’ve created for storytelling. That I can choose for my para to work more hours without more pay - it might not be a benefit but it allows me to tell a story about an overworked Para! Or maybe my kid goes to a really intense school and they receive homework every day (whether or not they complete that homework haha)! I love the idea of a subject randomly being “in danger.” Because the subject matter learned in a class changes throughout the school year and my Para might have a harder time with trigonometry than geometry, even though they are both “Math.” Reading some comments, I can see why people are afraid there’s not enough of a challenge. Even though Paralives is a cozy game, sometimes challenge is necessary for storytelling. If I want to tell a story where a teen Para fails all their classes, will there be enough “in danger” events before graduation to make that happen? And will there be consequences for such a thing? Overall, I am really looking forward to playing with a whole family in Paralives, coordinating their work and school schedules, and developing their personalities through their choices!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

Literature homework? A bit confused as I never had such a subject in school.

"Chance to get to know your colleagues during work hours and level up the relationship you got with them": this is interesting. Are we talking about something like Together Cards? Questions/proposals/demands/suggestions from your colleagues that you have to react to? Your coworkers will be characters that you can also meet and interact with when you're off the clock? Interesting.

Will there be different types of schools to enroll? Like a school focused on arts or sports? I went on an school focused on arts in middleschool and at the gradeschool in our neighbourhood every kid learns an instrument from 3rd grade onwards. That would be fun. :) I'd also like to have classes where you do crafting or sewing. I did have that at school too.^^

I love how all of this looks! I have never seen the week displayed as MTWTFSS before, though.

Woahh this is blowing my mind!! Each para is going to have the opportunity to be so unique!! I love it so much and im going to cry

I love how kids and teens are going to get a more involved school experience. Not just sending them to school and having them do homework for grades, but actually making it specific to each Para. School is such a major part in kid/teen's lives in life simulation games but it always feels lacking and a tad boring, regardless of how much outside-of-school activities and objects you add for them to interact with. These additions are huge in making playing with younger Para's more fun and characterized!!

This looks AMAZING!!! I love the school system & that it’s engaging even with a rabbit hole system. So great! I’m wondering if it would be possible for there to be non-rabbit hole events related to school, like a school trip or even just seeing students run track one day, things like that? This looks great guys!!

I love how you can pick what to do about school in this way, its not just one block of school and that's it. With this you can have student who has otherwise full run of A+ yet still flunk a class they don't care about. And the possibility of more than core classes is so interesting. Though while I do like the that work system it seems right now little too easy and fast to get better at job with every day point system so personally I might go to every 2 to 3 day for a point, but at the core I really like the idea. Maybe it's the part of me that has RPG as my favorite gaming genre but being able to "lvl" your para to affect them and their life is something Im really looking forward for.

I love how the homework works, and the use of extracurriculars to gain skills and friends. And the flexibility in work hours/days is awesome!

Wowwwwww love this!

I’d love to see an honor student system and after school events! I’m absolutely in love with the work schedule system. An honor student would basically work harder than a traditional student. But they’d be rewarded more often for good grades. But if the student couldn’t maintain their grades, they’d revert back to a traditional student. It’d be neat if certain clubs required high grades. Clubs with logic based skills (debate, student council, chess) could require high grades. Clubs with no logic required wouldn’t need a minimum grade requirement, but they could have a minimum level requirement (though it’d negate the purpose of joining to gain skills). For after school events, they could be held after school or on weekends. These could be school competitions, or social activities with club members (basically like prom and field trips in TS3).

Ooh. Cool addition that you can change work hours. 😲

Another question is: if aging is turned on, when the kid becomes an adult, do their passions/skills/expertises they learned in school transfer to and shape their adult personality?

I am excited for further development. But I do not love this system for school, or for work really. I love the ideas around it but this system lacks a certain sense of achievement. I don't necessarily think this needs to change, as I think this is meant to be a cozy game. So that does fit. I just prefer a different experience. But this doesn't take away my excitement for the game!

Interesting

Awesome post!! This looks really cool! Some things I thought of ~ -Will there be another option besides ‘do homework’, the same option can get boring quickly , perhaps some options like “Write English Report,” “Finish History Presentation,” “Research Mathematical Strategies,” might be fun to spice it up! -Will doing homework only boost grades, can it also boost skill? (doing math homework boots logic) -Are we in complete control of upgrades and points? Might be interesting to spice it up and add a bit more spontaneity! Doing the same action everyday while garnering points may get boring easily. Maybe some fun events can happen? Like your para is at work and a rude customer comes in - how they handle it impacts their performance!

Love it!

Metalhead, edm/dupstep, art, movie geek here. 🤓 🤘🏻 Oh I would love it we got metal music in the game too. 👀 recently found a band that matches those vibes too. 😆

Very interesting, thank you. I like that your approach to school is "low pressure", I personally don't like playing with kids too much so if I'd had to do homework and such every day I'd have likely never tried that. At the same time, and perhaps a bit contradictory, I'm very interested in (optional) aspects and settings that can make the game more challenging and difficult, choices that can have "negative" consequences (always relatively speaking in the context of a quiet, comfortable game) for the player. So for example my suggestion is: if the kid constantly gets bad grades for some time (lower than C), maybe their relationship with their parents can become more "tense"? I don't want to put it too harshly, nothing dramatic, but maybe they're less likely to get something from them when they ask? Maybe they start getting Together Cards about it?

I'm loving this plan for how jobs and school work

I like the concept of how the school grades work!❤️ but if I understand correctly, is the only option of doing badly in school to instead choose to do well at extracurricular activities?

I really really love they system you've come up with for jobs and schools! One of my big pet peeves with other life simulation games is that school seems a little pointless, your kids don't actually gain skill points. Will Para children/teens be able to use points to gain skill levels as well as grades? Also will there be any private school or homeschool options? Honestly even if the answer to all that is no I still think the current iteration is better than what we've seen elsewhere so good job to the whole team!

Kudos for making Monday the first day of the week. 😇

Will graduation be something we can attend? Better yet, will there be events for certain milestones (such as graduation) that we can celebrate with our Paras, and will these big life events be something that other Paras around us will be conscious of? Like, can other Paras engage with us in a new way during these milestones, and can these milestones also be reflected upon? I love everything here, I'm just curious how deep, or how surface level, major life events are.

I'm loving the deck-builder vibes I'm getting from the school and work upgrade systems. It's so simple, but it adds a lot of flavor to what would otherwise be pretty boring stretches without interacting with your paras. I'm excited to see what other extra perks are possible!

this looks really promising to me so far! i really like that both school and work can be used for storytelling and character development purposes rather than just feeling like a waste of time where my character disappears for hours. i'm super curious about what extras there will be to choose from! if i remember correctly you mentioned universities in the past too or am i mistaken? if there will be higher education, will any para get into any major or would their grades from school make it so it's more or less likely they get accepted? (and how would that work with a para that "spawned" as an adult? would it default to having had Cs in all classes or would it go based on skills or something different?) also is there a way to skip classes or do paras just automatically go to school and it's out of the players' control?

So for the schooling, will there be grade levels? You know like preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade all the way up to college?

This sounds so fun

That’s so cool!

Me (a historically homework procrastinating person currently working their cyber security job listening to Bodysnatcher) - “they see me” I love the way y’all approach school. Making it about more than just grinding out the grades. I think it will let a lot of people feel seen and included.

This update makes me wish for a university update or dlc.

Love the concept of favorite subjects and the different homework topics!

Wii their be a option to enrol in different schools

I absolutely do not like the upgrade system. I am having a hard time understanding the challenge behind going up on the ladder in your career and getting good grades in school. There is no challenge if all I have to do is press a button.

I can’t help but do a mini screech for every update 🥹