Answering Your Questions + Get A Signed Postcard
Hey there,
Summer has arrived here in Montreal, Canada so I'm writing this week's post while drinking pink lemonade. Cheers!
Get a Signed Paralives Postcard
It's time to send our third official Paralives postcard! We'll send it in June to everyone who will be pledging on the Hero tier ($20 USD) or Legend tier ($50 USD) next Tuesday, June 1! If you are already on one of these tiers, make sure your address is up to date on your Patreon profile. We always create an exclusive artwork for our postcards and I think you'll love the one Sonia made this time! We'll keep it secret for now until people discover it when they get the postcard in the mail. Here are the artworks Léa created for our last 2 postcards :
EDIT: The postcards have now been sent! The next one will be around the end of 2021.
Answering Your Questions (For Patrons only! Please don't share)
I'm trying something new this week! I thought it would be great to answer the most common and interesting questions we get about Paralives.
1 - When is Paralives coming out?
We have an estimated release window in mind but we prefer to keep it secret for now to avoid disappointing people if we need to delay it a bit. We still have a lot of work to do and estimating the exact time needed is never easy in game development. We are working very hard to prioritize the game features needed for the release and to organize ourselves so we can release a great base version of the game as quickly as possible. Our goal is to keep updating the game for a long time after launch to add more content, more features and improve the gameplay based on community feedback.
Take a look at this page on the Paralives website to follow the development progress.
2 - Are the Paralives developers fans of The Sims?
Totally! Most of us have started playing The Sims 15 or 20 years ago and never stopped since. Some people might think that we're making Paralives because we've been disappointed by The Sims but it's quite the opposite! We love that genre of game so much and we think there should be more than one product exploring the concept. The Sims franchise did so many great things and changed the lives of so many people. We aim to make our own game with our own twists and innovations but we'll always have a huge amount of respect for the groundbreaking work done by all the talented developers behind The Sims.
3 - How do you handle the pressure and suggestions from everyone?
Paralives' development couldn't happen without the support from you Patrons and from the community. It's a blessing to work on a game and get so many ideas and feedback as we go. It's true that we are under a bit of pressure because people share a lot of ideas with us and expectations are high. However, we have a strong vision for Paralives and it's pretty close to what the community expects, I think. Our goal is to stay true to that vision and deliver a game that will hopefully satisfy the expectations but it means that we have to focus on what's important. We often sort ideas from the community and keep them aside or for updates after the initial release. It's a bit of management but it's going very well so far. Having the support from the community has been a wonderful thing from the very beginning.
4 - A life simulation game is about managing characters so why did you start with the build mode?
A game like Paralives is basically 3 games in one: a house building game, a character creation game and a character management game. It's pretty complex and ambitious! At the start of the project, I was the only developer and couldn't create every part of the game at once so I started with the build mode. Parafolks won't be able to live without a roof, furniture and items to fill their needs so it made sense! Then, as more and more developers joined me on the project, we started to work on other parts of the game like the characters, the Paramaker, the animations and so on. We're getting closer to a fully fledged game and being able to show you live mode snippets. I think that will be pretty exciting!
Have a great weekend and take care!
Alex 🍹
EDIT - August 12, 2021: This post is now public so feel free to share it!
Comments (53)
I'm so happy to be a part of this wonderful and creative adventure! Thank you, Alex, for the care you and your awesome team extend to us in the community. I feel the same as you about the Sims games and I will continue to play and enjoy them. However, there's always room for more and I'm so looking forward to the day I can build, create, and manage characters in Paralives... and know I played a small part in bringing a well deserving game concept from dream to reality... this will be the icing on the cake for me. All my best to you and your team & I love the personnally signed cards!! Stay true to your vision!
Thanks so much for all your kind words and support, it's really appreciated!! <3
Thank you for your hard work and all the dedication you are putting into Paralives creation ! ♥♥♥
Thank you!
Even year? 😔
No year to announce yet, sorry!
Will there be a demo version of the game released prior to launch?
A demo is not planned for now but it's a possibility that we might look into
Just got mine, super cool, definitely going to collect these
I don’t think I’ve received my postcard yet 🙁
Take all the time you need to make this game. If it takes 5 to 10 years, I'll gladly, albeit maybe a little impatiently lol, wait because in the end I just want a good game. I love what I've seen so far from you all. 💚
Awesome update! I’m excited to see where this is going. I recently moved would it be possible to get the postcard sent to the new address?
Thank you so much Alex and Team❤️❤️
how compatible is this game going to be with Macbook + Mac? TS2 glitches out and barely works, TS3 doesn’t work at all on my mac, and we all know about TS4 glitches & terribleness, i feel like it’s because i don’t have an upgraded RAM or something but will this game work on basic laptops?
Im so glad to be part of all of this ❤️
The "we have a strong vision for Paralives" put a smile on my face. It's easy to get a bit overwhelmed by all the community feedback but, as long as you have a clear vision of where you are and where you want to go, you'll always be able to keep your head clear and walk straight towards your goals.
I had a little budgeting issue, but I'm back! This always happens around Postcard time! smh, I gotta collect them all.
I heard about paralives last november and I've been so looking forward to this ever since! I love the sims, been playing since the sims 2 came out! But the sims 4 is a disappointment to a lot of long-term players. So hearing about a new, beautiful looking and promising life sim game is something I think a lot of us simmers want to see. You guys are doing a wonderful job with listening to us, keeping us updated and involving us is the development. Please take your time, add what you think will work, and pour lots of love in there. Though we are eager to know a release date, we want you to take your time. You guys are amazing, thank you for helping to expand this type of gaming genre. It's something a lot of us want to see more of. <3
I am so excited since I discovered your project (this morning)! good luck ❤️
Amazing!
amazing
Take the time it takes to create this masterpiece ♥♥♥
We can't wait 🥰😍!
wohooo <3
I always look forward to reading the Patreon post from you and the rest of the Paralives team, hearing the weekly progress makes me eager and excited for the release of the game. Ganbatte! :D
Excited for the post card can't wait to get it
As much as I want this game to be released, I want it to be the best version it can be and love the time and care you are putting into it. Also thank you for all your hard work❤️
Thanks for all your hard work I been on legend tier for a long time now can't wait to see my investment paid off still waiting for a Para version of me. Keep it up bro!!!!!
Even though the community doesn’t have a release date, I feel better knowing that the dev team does have a goal set. Super excited and proud to be apart if this community!! You’re doing amazing dev team 🥳🥳🥳
I am beyond excited for this game! Thank you for working so hard on this game!
I think the answer to question 2 is truly beautiful. Regardless of the route EA has taken these days, nothing can take away from the incredible influence the Sims franchise has had on many peoples' lives, and it's lovely to see a fresh new outlook on the simulation genre while maintaining a positive, respectful attitude. I've been around since the very beginning and I'm so honoured to have had the opportunity to watch Paralives unfold and progress as a result of all of your hard work. The team is amazing, as is the community. I can't wait to look back in 20 years and be able to say hey, I watched it allll happen! Lol! Thanks so much for everything Alex! (And the rest of the team!)
so cool! it makes sense to me to start with build mode, since that is also the neighbourhood. without a world for our paras, there's less life to simulate lol. golly tho, SO tempted to back a higher tier for these postcards :O y'all always make supporting you and this game dev fun and rewarding. thinking about paralives gives me hope for the future tbh xD;
Merci beaucoup pour cette publication♡ PARALIVES Mansae🙌🏾
The answer to question 4 is so good. Good luck!
i am sooooo excited!!! also, promise not to be disappointed by any delays if you leak that timeframe idea. 👀
thanks Alex! I've been here for a long time and I am so pleased with the progress. As much as I want this game to be released, I want it to be the best version it can be and love the time and care you are putting into it. Thank you for keeping us informed.
Thanks for sharing, we appreciate your honesty and hard work for this game. Hope the release will be possible one day ^^
Thank you so much for all your hard work! I'm so excited to see how this game turns out and, despite all the expectations being placed on you, I'm confident that it'll be amazing nonetheless! You truly have one of the best teams!
I'm delighted to support project like this! Developers who actually listen to the community and can sort out their priorities like you have my respect
Thank you so much for the update, and I can't wait for the postcard!! It feels so nice to get to support this game creation!! I hope that this doesn't sound impatient, but I wanted to ask if there was a projected time in which the Legend and Hero in-game rewards would be discussed? If not, I completely understand, since the base game has been in development!! I just didn't want to forget to ask about it again later :P Thank you for all that your team has been doing!! ♡
I was wondering the same. I did the $150 for the first 3 months and was wondering about all of those rewards and if we would also get a post card as well, even though I'm back on the $3 tier. Either way, I can't wait! I'm so excited for this game and I love watching the progress of the team
We appreciate you including us in the development process! It's nice to see a game developer actually LISTEN to their end-users. We understand that you can't please all the people all the time, but you take care to include some of the feedback and suggestions from us, which makes us feel validated. Thank YOU, Parateam! ❤️
Thank you for all your hard work! We really do appreciate it and can't wait until release 😊
Can’t wait for live mode
Those postcards are so cute and I’m jealous of everyone getting them 100% And you guys have a release window in mind!!! That’s so good! It’s so cool to have been here for so long and seeing the development coming along. You’re all amazing! Hope everyone on the team is staying safe & healthy! ❤️
I'm so grateful to be able to support a project like that 🙏🏻 It will be amazing fo sure 😊
This is wonderful!! I can’t wait for release 😩😩.
Very happy Alex himself started with build mode. I get the impression that that aspect of the game is going to be beyond amazing. I feel he really gets it and as a builder in the sims and carpenter in real life i couldnt be more excited!
Thank you everyone <3 <3!
Thanks for the hard work!!! ❤️❤️❤️
I can't express how excited I am that you have an approximate release date in mind, even if you can't share it yet. Thank you so much for what you do, it's truly a privilege to get to follow you so closely!!
Can’t wait! I’m too excited for this game!
Thank you for sharing with us!! I’m excited to hear about the release date eventually, but no worries :)