Town Showcase: 3 Families and Their Houses + Exclusive Stream Next Tuesday!
Hi everyone, Léa here (back at it again!), and I have an exciting post today: a new video showcasing some of the recent builds I’ve created for the town and the Paras who get to live in them. Enjoy! 🎥
🤫 This post is for Patrons only. Please don’t share it, thank you.
All three families are in the same neighborhood, facing the sea and the beach. Let’s introduce those new Townies!
The Patels: A Family Affair ☃️
Asha and her husband, Rahul, live right in front of the Lighthouse on the outskirts of the town. Everybody knows something is wrong with them; their house looks run-down, and they don’t seem to ever take down their Christmas decor. Their neighbor Emma doesn’t mind the mess they put in front of their lawn; she understands better than anyone what it means to miss someone you love.
A little fun fact: Alex built the exterior of the house himself during a playtest with the team. We loved it so much, we wanted it in the final version of the game!
Asha and Rahul, awkwardly posing in front of their house.
Emma Wake: The Lighthouse Keeper ⚓
Emma lives alone in the little house next to the Lighthouse. She was once married but never had the family she dreamed of. Some could say that she is rough around the edges: not the smiliest person in town, but definitely one of the kindest.
Emma, in front of her house.
Maggie Vaughan: Rebuilding the Legendary Loft ⭐
Maggie was the first Parafolk ever revealed and got multiple makeovers during the early stages of Paralives’ development. Designing her loft was a big deal for us, and it was time for me to roll my sleeves and bring back this iconic build into our brand new town. You will now be able to meet her, and visit the loft with your own Paras, or choose to play as Maggie herself! ✨
Since the cats won’t be in the game for the launch, I didn’t bring back the cat tree, but don’t worry, her cat Youri will join her as soon as possible!
Maggie, standing on her terrace, watching the sea.
Paramaker Challenge Livestream Next Tuesday!
Ahoy! It’s Rina :) On Tuesday, January 20th at 11am EST, join me for another Paramaker livestream on Discord! We’ll be doing a challenge in the Paramaker where I try to create many different styles using the same woman Parafolk as a base👩
If you’d like to drop us some inspo before the stream, you can pin it to our community Pinterest board here! I look forward to seeing what you guys add ✨
That’s it for this week! I hope you will love exploring the builds in the game. We’ve put lots of little details in them for you to discover!
Have a nice weekend, take care!
Léa 🐕
Comments (63)
i LOVE how lived-in every house issss
From the dad’s setup, it makes total sense to think in terms of someone disappearing. SO! How cool would it be if, once police are introduced to paralives, even if the career itself stays a rabbit hole, certain events in town could still trigger related side quests? For example, if they implemented runaway children or teens, that situation could generate a case tied to the police job, or even appear on the town quest board for a civilian to take on. WE could find the Patels missing kid!!! god that would make everything feel SO reactive, alive, and interconnected!!
"she understands better than anyone what it means to miss someone you love." umm?? this plus the pristine child's room in the Patels' house??? i was not expecting to have my heart broken today! (I love it, I love them, I love this post!) I will absolutely be mushing Emma, Asha, and Rahul together as a found family when I get my hands on this game <3 Also LOVE seeing Maggie's new loft!!
Looks SO good guys! All so different and unique. It looks like you guys have put a lot of work into shaping the lighting and its reflections as well :)
Maggie's loft definitely needs more plants next to the bookcase, other than that y'all recreated it so well!!
Thank you for sharing about these characters’ stories. It was all very interesting and exciting to learn. I love how much depth they all have. Especially the Patels. Also, thank you so much for the photo descriptions. I can’t really see them. So I got emotional knowing you took the time to make this post more accessible.
Emma looks like she has a beard 🤔
Yeaaah I thought Emma was a man haha
it so lovely
God this is so great, the interiors, the exteriors, the characters, and Maggie looks amazing in her house!, i have a lot of feelings, but, the Patels are a very interesting family, i have a lot of theories of what happen, a dead child bu the train station incident?, his child dessapear?...or something more different and significant for them happen?, i'm excited to descover it!
Can I just say, I LOVE the Patels, specifically because Paralives sits within the "cozy game" genre. I love cozy games because they are calming, comforting and provide some escapism and optimism to cope with stress and adversity in our real lives. But inevitably, they often run into trouble with perfectionism & toxic positivity - If everything and everyone is flawless and pretty, it can become tiring and even boring for players. The game will also feel inorganic and disingenuous. So adding some counterweight elements of adversity, hardship and conflict without being afraid of the possibility players feeling some unease is IMO what makes a great cozy game. So I'm very happy that you thought of this by adding some run-down houses and their struggling residents and not just presenting a flawlessly pristine town. The Paras feel like real people! You guys never fail to surpass my expectations 🩵🩵🩵 Also, I don't know if it was intentional, but I think it's really cool that 2 (or even 3?) iconic Paralives staples are placed in the same street of the town. Two are Maggie's loft and the lighthouse of course, but the Patel house also reminds me a LOT of that blue house that's been the YouTube channel pic and in-game build mode icon for ages 😉
Can you change the name/physical appearance of pre-existing (created by you) characters? Is there a cheat code to see a gallery of all the townies? Is there a way to "erase" their pre-made stories and start from scratch (if one so wishes)? Also: will we be able to rewatch the stream if it's not possible to catch it live?
The Patels hit my feelings, I love the depth of the game's storytelling. And I saw some menstrual pads! That was exciting.
Wow, so excited for these stories, the depth of emotion & character shown by the houses and the music is incredible. Looking forward to playing so much!!! 🤩🤩
the pin link isnt working 😭
It doesn't work for me either. 😔
Oooh I already have a storyline in mind for Emma then 😌 Can't wait to play with all these families and houses!
I freaking love this! From everything to the clutter to the storytelling and individual personalities shown in each house through furniture styles. It's just chef's kiss. Can't wait to learn more about our lovely townies!
That was... depressing. The Patels have three stockings up and what is clearly a kid/teen's bedroom. But there's only two of them and they're clearly depressed. And Emma clearly wanted to have a child before she lost her husband. I'm so sad for them!
So much storytelling opportunities and lore there if someone is willing to look for it. The Patels have an air of grief and mystery and Emma’s packed up baby room says a lot about her history. Can’t wait to explore all of it!
A Christmas train set!! I love it!! I used to have one at my grandparents' house growing up. What a lovely little memory. I also noticed the storytelling of the child's bedroom with a baby/toddler crib and it stacked high with boxes. 💔 Will the trash bags and boxes be placeable by the player or do they populate when households move in? Is laundry playable or only cosmetic at this juncture? Thank you for sharing!!
I'm so happy you like it! The trash bags and boxes are decor objects, you can place them on any builds! Laundry will not be playable at launch, it's just decor for now :)
Emma reminds me of Agnes Crumplebottom, I am loving it. Is she widowed?
Omigosh!! Maggie's loft!! I literally squealed when I saw her loft! I was also so excited to see the iconic Lighthouse and I love the blue house Alex built! I'm so ready to play Paralives! So many exclamation marks! 🤭 And the inside of the blue house just pulls you into what must be a sad story, indeed, making me want to know more immediately and wonder if the player may be able to help them.
What a heartwarming video and story behind our townies. Thank you for putting so much thought into it. I love that Patel’s house looks lovely and bright throughout with the exception of the current junk, you can tell it was a lovely home once. Also, judging by the amounts of newspapers around Rahul’s laptop section, I’m thinking maybe their son disappeared / got kidnapped? Also looking at his bedroom, I’m thinking maybe some alien abduction? Idk 🙈 I was thinking, how will we be able to find out more about the lore of the townies? Will this be possible by getting to know the paras and eventually shared in together cards? I’m so so excited to play this 🤩 also love Maggie’s loft, despite agreeing that the lighting and shades previously seen made it a bit more magical, it is such an original and lovely built nevertheless. And I’m sure we’ll see plenty more original houses throughout the town. ✨✨
You will learn more about Paras and their story by talking to them and getting to know them! :D
The houses (and environmental storytelling) look amazing! Seeing some more townies has got me wondering - if we play as a townie household, instead of creating a new para, will the townies have preset relationships that reflect their lore? So for example if I played as the Patels would they start off with a "good friend" relationship label for Emma Wake, or "annoying neighbour" relationship label for Maggie (if appropriate)? Or would we have to create all relationships from scratch like we would with a new para? I hope that makes sense!
Oh thank you for asking this, hope they get back to you as I also would like to know. I do hope that’s the case, that the townies come with already established relationships, skills and jobs to backup their story! It would make the most sense and add to that town lore.
Wow! The builds, the lore! It’s all amazing! Thank you for your hard work! So EXCITED!
These builds are great! I really like the lore you’ve written for these Parafolk, it makes them feel real. I wasn’t able to access the Pinterest board, is it down right or do I have to do something before being able to access it?
Hi! The sharing permissions seem to be okay on my end, but here's the link again just in case: https://pin.it/7HOS2qNaV. If you keep having problems, reply back and I can look into it further ✨
Ngl Emma's house (the interior) looked so much like my grandparent's house. They both passed away last year and it made me tear up a little. I love the old timey furniture <3
Wow it's really cool to see washing machines and dog bowls. I assume they won't be functional upon launch but are still in the game. Waiting to be updated
I really feel for Asha and Rahul. I love that the townies will have some deep lore to them, and that we can figure it out in game by your environmental storytelling <3
i will not lie, I forgot to turn my headphones on when watching the video for a moment. When I turned them on I was looking for where the music was coming from and thought it was from spirit city but remembered I don't have the program open. The music is so good and I love it. excited for the livestream
Awww Maggie!!!! Her loft looks amazing. I'm so curious about the family in the run down home. They seem so interesting. And "Emma Wake",,, so clever. Cannot wait to get this game in my hands!
The room in the Patel's house makes me think its a teen or pre-teen either died or maybe they were trying to adopt and it fell through or something. Which is kinda a nice change from the only sort of couple longing for a child we get to see has implied infertility issues in games.
Oh my god my jaw drop i love Asha and Rahul house and Maggie Vaughan the bedroom is so beautiful and detail can't wait to play
The environmental storytelling is beautiful❤️❤️❤️
I just can’t wait to play 😍🔥🔥
Is emma wake a pun because she's awake to take care of the lighthouse? 🤔
I think so ahah Sonia named her!
i saw the puzzle! & i love doing puzzles, please tell me our paras will be able to use them & hopefully frame them & hang them up on the wall 😭 my mom & i do puzzles together and i would love if that was possible 😊
We would love to have them playable! for now it's just decor, but that would be a great activity for your Paras!
Maggie’s loft didn’t change almost nothing since the last time we saw it, can’t wait to live in there 😍
So glad we got to see maggie's loft again! It is beautiful!
Wow...this got me a lil emotional. The way Asha & Rahul's house is stuck in a time where they probably last had joy and their child's room was the only clean room in the house 😔 And then you hit me again with Emma's home & the crib that never had a baby, and her reserved nature who still has it in her to be kind? I'm in pieces!!😭😭 And as always, I LOVE the decor. To see the sanitary pads, pills, ivy on the walls, dirt & garbage, sunlight on the water, I'm loving everything 💕 It's amazing that this is just 3 neighbors' lives in a little corner of the Paralives town. Amazing showcase, guys, thank you 💕
And I'm just seeing the apron's on the wall, I'm gonna go cry now. And wait a minute, you can customize stockings? 😮
Besides the fact that what you have achieved is amazing and I am very excited about the game, I have to reiterate my only criticism of the game, because this video shows it very well. Maggie's loft was so magical and atmospheric in the first video, and this was mainly due to the lighting. I miss that, and I really hope that you will reconsider this over time and return to the original concept instead of the dollhouse atmosphere. Although I am not sure how resource-intensive this would be with the new graphics. Other than that, everything is 10/10 :) <3
Have they said in the past what their reasoning was for switching to dollhouse lighting? I agree that the original lighting made everything so dreamy and special. These builds look great but they're missing that cozy quality from before when the lighting streamed through the windows.
I am now deeply invested in the connection between the Patels and Moustache Man.
The fact that you guys kept the same style from 2019-2020 for Maggie's home is true commitment to me and i'm loving it <3
Soooo good to see the Maggie's loft once again!! It's actually insane how close you guys managed to keep the loft with the early versions Also, those characters have such interesting stories! Nice work team!
I have something in common with the Patels. I never take out my Easter decorations from my door 😀
I literally can not wait!!! To have followed this from the very beginning and see it where it is now. I’m so excited to finally be able to play it. Your hard work and passion shows in every detail!! 🩷
I am forever in Love with Maggie's Loft 😍
The Patels story is so saddening! I love the details of the old news bulletin and the Christmas decorations and also the trash and unwell kept look of the house (but the only room that's kept tidy) You can tell they don't have anymore strength to live anymore
I absolutely love the detail y'all put into the houses. They feel so alive and lived in! I feel like they have actual lives and hobbies. Emma's gravestone area was so bittersweet. I knew just from it that she loved/loves someone dearly. Also, the puzzle on her table is adorable. I can just imagine her spending hours on it. I'd love to play as her <3
Loving the look of the game.
This is so nice to see different stories sprinkled throughout the town. Feels very immersive
When can we expect another live mode stream?
On Tuesday, January 20th at 11am EST, join Rina for another Paramaker livestream on Discord!
I’m so excited guys!!! It’s looking so so good 🤩🤗 Thankyou !! 💕✨