Recap of the Comiccon + A Look Into Quality Assurance + Build Challenges! 🐛
For this week’s Patreon post, brought to you by Alex and Charlotte, we will take a look back at our experience at Montreal Comic Con, followed by a look into Charlotte’s work as a Quality Assurance tester and her hack week!
This post is for patrons only, so please do not share! Thank you! ✨
Paralives at Montreal Comiccon
Hi, it’s Alex! Last month, we had the opportunity to showcase the build mode for a 3-days weekend at Montreal Comiccon. People had 20 minutes to test out the tools, decorate an existing home or come up a new floor plan.
All in all, the Comiccon was an incredible event and it allowed us to collect more feedback for the build mode. We had trouble making people stop playing, giving us confidence in the state of the game for when it will be released!
I’m handing the keyboard to Charlotte now, bye!
Bug Life Cycle
Hello everyone! Charlotte here with my very first Patreon post.
As the Quality Assurance ( game tester) on the team, my main goal is to find and report bugs in the game. So, for my first post, I wanted to give a bit of a ‘behind the scenes’ look for how bugs are entered and what happens to them! I will also showcase some build challenges I’ve done as part of my Hackweek.
The first step in the life cycle of a bug, well, finding the bug! Either one of the other members of the team will flag a bug, or I’ll come across one during my tests. Once this happens, I will investigate further to see what triggers the bug.
Once the trigger of the bug is clear enough, I will enter it on Notion, the task-tracking tool we use. Here, I will write down the information the programmers/artists need, such as a GIF of the bug, an error code (if applicable) and the steps to reproduce (STR) the bug.
Once the bug is entered, programmers or artists will take a look, and they will then go on to fix it and/or discuss it if it needs a game design decision. It only comes back to me once it’s been fixed and goes into what we call ‘Regression’-- all that is left to do is for me to check if it’s been fixed or needs to go back into the pipeline!
Hackweek - Build Challenges
As you might have seen in previous Patreon posts, the hackweek is a time where we can dedicate an entire week to something for the game of our liking. It was very exciting since this would be my very first Hackweek!
For mine, I decided to try a few build challenges to test the game in a more casual manner. I did a few challenges, and so I will showcase a couple of ones that I think turned out quite well.
For the first one, I wanted to create a tiny home following certain criteria, which was the following;
No more than 81 m2 (so 9 x 9 meters).
Coastal-esque theme
Room for 2 young adults, a teen and a child
Here’s what I came up with! A cozy coastal-esque home for a family of four.
The next and last one is the build I am most excited to show off– a shell challenge of PARALIVES spelled out, with each letter being a different home! Essentially, you make a shape with walls, and then you cannot modify, move or delete any of them. I decided to do this with each letter of Paralives.
The goal was to make sure every letter used all items from a certain style and was a functional home– so each needed a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen at the very minimum. I allowed myself to add walls inside, but I could not remove or modify the exterior walls that made the shape of the letter.
I also had a blast making up little stories with each of the letters, trying to portray the life of the people who lived in each letter. A single mother here, a lone bachelor there, a detective on a case, or a once renowned musician…
Anyways, that’s all from me today! ✨ For all the builders out there, what’s a build challenge you’d like to do once Paralives releases? Let me know in the comments below!!
Signing off!
Charlotte 🐛
Comments (65)
Quick concern: having only ‘walls up or down’ feels limiting. Is there any chance this will get expanded later? More nuanced visibility options could massively improve the workflow be it live or build. ( love what im seeing, keep it up <3 )
Wow wish I had a chance to try out the game like this, though like those there, I wouldn't have wanted to leave, 20 minutes wouldn't be enough, lol! I wish there was a free demo of the game just before release, like about now, not with everything mind you, but just either the Paramaker or the build mode, just so I could play around with it while I could play around with it while I wait for the early access release. But I guess that would be like a glazed donut having powdered sugar put on it, kinda over doing the trial period, lol! But then we are paying for early access, a demo is free and also can be temporary as well.
Is the bed in the letter ‘I’ functional?!
Unless they modeled the paras to crawl over beds to sleep (which would be amazing) I wouldn’t think it is 😓
Those Paralives shell houses are seriously cool. Such a fantastic way to showcase the creativity of Build Mode. The D&D game board is the cherry on top.
Como eu queria estar nesse Comiccon, com certeza ficaria triste quando meu tempo acabasse. Muito ansiosa pra jogar. Aliás, se quiserem alguém do Brasil pra testar tudo com muita sigilo podem me contactar 😃🤭🥰
I love the little coastal house, I hope it is available in game.
I spy a coffin, is that a fun detail or maybe a hint to optional supernatural gameplay?
Probably just a fun detail 😓
The idea for the Paralives shell of each letter being a functional home is insanely awesome!
I like the D&D style game board.
At this point, Sims 4 should be renamed Sins 4
The mention of young adults has me excited! These rooms look great, but I’m also glad that the team might be adding another life stage to the list of ones they previously had (kid, preteen, teen, adult, elder)
Oh I thought they may have already had Young Adult, and then Adult, I didn't realize their Adult somehow covers young adult and older adult or middle aged. I do hope they plan on having young adult and middle age/older adults. We really need to have young adults and older adults, then elderly, because elderly shouldn't cover all of middle age as well. This reminds me of The Sims 2 and 3, I don't want my Parafolk to jump from looking like a young adult to elderly when they next age up. Or not look like a young adult at all, and just look middle aged, which I know that isn't the case, since a lot of the Paras have looked like young adults, like Maggie for instance! So I do hope we are going to have 3 adult stages, the other way is too old school life sim, just having a youngish adult and then bam they're elderly with their next birthday. Unless it's more gradual with the aging, and not them just suddenly aging up like in The Sims games. It's kinda confusing!
Oh wow...those Paralives shell homes must be available in game! Such a cute concept and marketing tool! The R shaped house with the orange sectional pit, omg ✨divine✨chef's kiss✨oohlala✨ Phenomenal way to portray decor & building tools! Thanks so much for sharing what might possibly be my favorite post 😍 And good luck with that pest problem 🥹 lol #takemymoneyyyy
Hello ZLoves! Aw, thank you very much for the kind words, means a lot to read them. :-D And yes, the programmers and artists are hard at work dealing with all those bugs !!
Paralives Houses? I love it! But where is the toilet in the P House? Also I'm totally excited to build tiny houses after seeing this post. ❤️ The look inside the Bug Life Cycle is very interesting as well. I think that could also be a job for me. :D
Hello Tyra, Charlotte here, thank you for the question ! It's a little hard to see, but the toilet is in the top left corner, hidden behind the wall :-) Hope you enjoy tiny house building once the game comes out ! QA is a lot of fun !! I definitely recommend looking into it if there's interest.
Oh I love the "paralives" shell challenge! Maybe you could incorporate a screenshot of that into the loading screen somehow?
I like that idea. It would be a waste to never see it in the finished game.
you NEED to make that shell challenge publicly available once the game releases
Omg the miku type figurine!! So cute
THE CONVERSATION PIT OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE
Yeess, it was fun to build ! Love me a good conversation pit. :-)
May you please include the Paralives letter houses in the game's release? :)
Squinting trying to read all the bugs :-P
these tiny homes have me excited, it’s such a fun challenge! i’m curious about Para routing - what are the limitations on how close objects can be to each other before they become unusable?
I am in love with the lil R home decor, the colors bring me much joy
Please give the cows more space.
It would be nice if animals would also find their way into the game.
It's great to get a sneak peek into the Montreal Comic Con - only wishing I could have been there in person to be one of the lucky ones to not leave the seat haha 😂 Also great to look behind the scenes into Charlotte's work, sounds very cool! Really nice Hackweek builds as well - I really like them both, and the letter shell challenge is a great one. Since Richard's post a month (!) ago, I've been dying to build a proper hobbit hole, so that will definitely be my first build challenge in Paralives (I'm sure that this raw wood plank dining table will fit this one nicely!); and after that is achieved, I'm sure I'll go back to my usual every house is a tiny house mode 😅 Have an amazing weekend all, and thanks for the amazing start to it as always Paralives team! 💚
I love the letters in Paralives build challenge. Definitely tucking that one away for when the game releases :)
What an amazing update 😂 thank you all for your amazing work, and for keeping us along for the ride!
I'm excited to play this game next year, wish I could've gone to comic con and tested build mode, thanks for working hard on the game :)
I'd like to be able to build a treehouse around a real tree, if that's even possible. I found this post super interesting. I wonder what it means that some bugs aren't fixed. How is it decided which bugs are not fixed? Or are there general topics that are not fixed? The houses are all super different and so are the styles of the letter houses, which I think is very good. I also think it's great that you'll bring in all the basic items for every furnishing style, such as kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms! Thank you for that. I'm very happy and grateful that you got such good feedback at the con! If a team deserves it, it's the Paralives team! I'm really looking forward to the EA of the game.
That bug list is insane!! Good luck in trying to clear it 😅 also, those houses are amazing, I hope other players make this shell challenge when the game cames out
I just noticed that there are different wall thicknesses available!! I don't know if it automatically makes the outer walls thicker and the inner walls thinner but I like that added bit of realism, you could do load-bearing walls in that case as well. Very cool, guys!
Those Paralives houses could almost be a main screen title.
Yes it would look so cool if they took a direct overhead shot of each letter then edited them all together, so you could just see directly inside without as much perspective warping.
What was the most challenging letter tho?
Hello Luiza, thank you for the question ! I'd say V was the most difficult-- very narrow and long halls definitely had me trying to figure out how everything would fit haha.
I wish I was at the comiccon! It must be so cool getting to test the game just a little *cries in Brazil*
Getting more and more excited for every update we get! LOVE the letter houses 🤩 (would've been fun to see a curvy version of the S too, mega super hard shell challenge 😈)
I enjoyed this peek behind QA form your side of things. Seeing the way you decorated paralives is awe inspiring. How long did it take? I look forward to making tiny houses. Glad you had a good response at the Con.
Hello Maxayn, thank you for the kind words ! As for length, I want to say about 9-12 hours spread over the week. Every letter took me about an hour or so to complete.
Soo cool
Charlotte, I love the different decor styles you demonstrated and again, I can't wait to get my hands all over build mode! As far as a challenge, I would like to see one for a completely circular (if possible) building with the lot type, decor theme, and landscaping all be of player's choosing. 😊 You did wonderful on your first posting... well done, and I look forward to more to come! 🌟
Hello, Charlotte here! Thank you very much for the kind words, means a lot. And oh, what a neat challenge ! :-) I'll keep it in mind if I ever do more build challenges.
These look magnificent! And the most magnificent thing of all is that, just like in the character maker, every single room looks completely different with a completely different atmosphere and ambiance. I've never seen anything close to that in other life sims I've played. This game is really going to look awesome!! I'm not at all surprised that people didn't want to stop playing at Comiccon!! If I'd got to test it out, I'd certainly have had a very difficult time vacating the seat, too!! Congratulations!! :)
Beautiful ❤️ the game looks amazing! I'm waiting patiently for the release of Paralives as a impatient person all these Patreon sneek peaks help a lot 😆 love you guys and take care!
Love the post ans think the builds from players doen provide valuable feedback. I have spent some time looking at the Shell challenge. It looks amazing and the range of ascetic that is available is just epic. I have just noticed something, the S. I haven't noticed a door to enter the Shell unlike the rest. I also saw some stairs. Does that mean there is a second level?
I couldnt find a door either and I wonder if its at the top of the stairs
Always great to see a product with creators dedicated to Quality Assurance! Thanks!
Really cool challenge! That's a beautiful coastal home!
Thank you !
Very cool update post, especially the screenshots of the builds!! Question: in the bug-pipeline there is a square for "Bug will not be fixed". Out of curiosity, which bugs would that include? Very simple visual glitches or things that occur too rarely to pinpoint?
I was also curious about this.
Amazing post as always. It really shows that you guys aren't just makers but gamers yourself. You know what we would want, and you LISTEN to people. Love it
Hi Charlotte, thanks for co-authoring your first Paratreon post ! :) It's fascinating to read about your job, since it's a little-known aspect of development. Your reports are so thorough, I would have happily kept reading about STRs ! It's also very cool to see how you use Notion internally, we all know the roadmap ( https://paralives.notion.site/f138c4f6cb234604be16fe4198d17f51 ) but of course we don't see everything about what's being worked on. Ugh, don't you wish sometimes you could color-code MORE things ? Honestly, "only" 45 bugs during development sounds like a pretty good deal. Has it sometimes happened that fixing a bug created a new one seemingly unrelated ? What's the hardest part of tracking bugs ? Are there bugs that hold some kind of record (hardest to fix, most steps to reproduce, etc.) ? How often are bugs flagged as "will not fix" ? Your hackweek builds are so cool. I really like the detective's desk, and the L building with the platform which would make for a fantastic survivalist bunker. It looks to me like you're the person who, to date, has been playing the game in-depth the longest. In your testing, do you sometimes flag things that are not bugs but things that you feel are missing ? Congrats on a successful ComicCon ! If folks are curious, I translated an Alex interview here : https://new.reddit.com/r/Paralives/comments/1e7cmck/paralives_interview_at_montreal_comiccon_2024/ (and props to Jérémie for wearing a mask) "Some mysterious things are happening on this player’s lot" ...Sometimes you just don't want to know XD And you certainly shouldn't ask.
Hello Lady Teruki ! Charlotte here. Thank you for all the questions!! I agree, gotta love color coding haha. It doesn't happen often, but yes I have noticed that when I test to make sure a bug is fixed, a new one might pop up. For the hardest part of tracking, since we have a lot bugs now, it's making sure I haven't already flagged it! Oh man, in terms of records, there was one that definitely held the title for 'longest time searching'-- I spent several hours over the course of 2 weeks looking for a game-breaking bug (eventually Jérémie found it and it's been fixed since!). It's very rare to flag bugs as WNF-- to give an idea, out of about 270 bugs now, only 6 were flagged as WNF. We usually only do it if it's not really a bug, if fixing them would be difficult with the systems we have in place OR if it's intended for now, but will get fixed as we advance in the game's development. And yes, it has happened a few times that I mention things that are less 'bugs' and more gameplay topics, such as questions about a feature's design or use. And thank you very much for the translation and the kind words on the builds, much appreciated! :-)
From a fellow QA-er, I love learning about your bug bashing process! Thank you all for your incredible work, it’s already my favorite game and I’ve never even played it
The fact that everyone at montreal comicon couldnt stop playing gives me so much excitement for this to come out!!!
I always rush here when I get a Patreon notification because I am so excited for this game and love the updates! I appreciate everything you guys are doing for us players and it’s so amazing getting to see it unfold :D
I love the dynamic lighting in this game. I love this game period. I NEED it so bad!!!😩
I really really love the build mode. I can't wait to spend HOURS building with every little detail I can with this game