💼 How Jobs and Careers *Work* in Paralives
Hi, It’s Alex!
Today, I’m gonna tell you all about how Parafolks will be able to find a job and progress in their career. This post is for Patrons only so please don’t share it, thanks! 🔒
👨🏫 The Basics
📃 Find a job by seeing job ads in front of workplaces in the town or by looking online
✨ After each day of work, upgrade your job with interesting perks
🏦 Apply to work elsewhere for career progression opportunities
💼 Upgrading a Job
My Para just got enrolled as a Game Designer at Paralives Studio Inc! (It’s just an example, it probably won’t be an actual job in the game! Also, the salaries seen in this post are still to be tweaked so don’t make much of these numbers yet.)
In our game, a job can be upgraded every single day after a work shift. This allows players to evolve their job and career in the direction they want.
Here’s the same job but after many days of work and upgrades.
After each day of work, you can select one of three job upgrades for your Para (the right panel).
1 - [Green] Upgrade the rank of the job: This will increase your salary.
2 - [Blue] Unlock an expertise or upgrade an existing one: This will increase your salary and these can be seen as bullet points on your resume so they are transferable when switching to another job.
3 - [Red] Unlock a new extra: Extras don’t give more money but they give various perks that allow your Para to have other reasons than just money to go to work. For instance, if you are in the party planning committee, your Para will socialize while working and if your Para is tasked with watering the plant at the office, they will slowly increase their gardening skill while working!
Some expertise and extras can combo with the personality of your Para to offer boosted bonuses. Here, the money gain is displayed in purple to indicate that it combos with the fact that my Para has a lot of points in the Mind stat. See this Patreon post about personalities for more info about it.
👋 Changing Job to Progress in Your Career
Just like in real life, you might start your career at a workplace that is great for new workers but has limited growing opportunities. That’s why you will be able to find and apply to jobs in different workplaces and this will be a great way to progress in your career, get a big salary increase and unlock greater perks.
Some interesting opportunities for my Para, one at the same company she’s currently at and three at another company in the same field of work. (The thumbnail images are just placeholders. They will be showing the actual workplace buildings)
To get a given job, a Para must be qualified for it. Each job will check various things to determine if you are qualified. This can include previously gained expertises, skills, relationships with people that work at the company you’re applying to, etc.
➕ More Details on Jobs and Careers
Rabbit holes: You don’t control your characters while they are at work. The reason is that it would be a ton of work for us to implement each job in an active way and it’s hard to make jobs not feel like doing boring tasks over and over. It’s possible that we reconsider this later though, after the release of the game.
Non-linear progression: Job progression won’t be linear in a given field of work. For instance, the upgrade to being a nurse won’t be being a doctor. Our system allows for more flexible and realistic career paths.
Multiple jobs: You can have multiple jobs at the same time if their schedules are not conflicting. A student will also be able to have part-time jobs.
That's all for today. Tell us what you think about jobs and careers in Paralives so far!
Bye,
Alex
Edit - February 7, 2024: This post is now public, feel free to share it!
Comments (119)
please the upgrade to more money should be after a week not a day it gets boring :(
i do like that a job tells you if your qualified for a job defiantly more realistic and i love it
Rabbithole jobs are a great idea
A cool way to add a playable job without it becoming too repetitive would be to have our Paras create their own business, as we could customize the activities that customers would do on site and we could edit this at any time.
I'd really like it if we could own businesses in addition to working in the rabbit hole jobs (like in Sims 2) I think that's a great way to deepen the work system post-launch if that's a possibility! And like others have mentioned, it would be nice if certain skill boosts (the ones that offer the biggest salary increases) have to be unlocked and fought for so to speak!
Nothing wrong with upgrading in your job but everyday seems a bit too fast for my taste. I’m not sure about this one.
I feel like this system is wayyyy too simple. It doesn't make sense that all you have to do is press a button to upgrade your job. Applying and working jobs, especially trying to move up on the job ladder, is actually stressful and way more than just deciding to increase your rank.
I love this idea. However I feel like the qualifications upgrade is a bit over powered giving you a salary increase everyday and qualifications makes increasing your current job rank less important in my opinion
It would be nice if some careers in town were not rabbit holes, like working at a clothing store, being a barista, grocery store, a chief or being s florist would be nice. Also work from home option.
Yeees
Honestly, I’m fine with jobs being rabbit holes. I rarely ever followed Sims to work, except in Sims 2, where they could own businesses, so it would be nice to see that, eventually. I like jobs having these point requirements and being able to upgrade your job; that’s more interesting than following, but that’s just me.
So excited to see more realistic aspects of the game, especially the qualification system for a job!
Could there be job interviews? Even if not in person some pop ups? Applying to a job comes with much stress! I do love the lack of qualification for some jobs though! That’s amazing!
I agree! Maybe paras could still apply for jobs they don't have enough application points for but win the employer over in an interview! Potentially implementing the together cards into an interview context (with success percentages, different impacts, etc.) could also be really interesting :)
I really like this system! But I think that the "Job rank" can become a little repetitive, it can be awesome if we have a progress bar for job rank, and every 4 ou 5 days we have a BIG job rank update 💥
I like this system, it feels very thoughtful
I think I would be interesting if you could also get a job (or at least an interview, if those are planned?) by word of mouth. For example if your para mentions to one or multiple other paras that they are looking for a job, and then there's a small chance of one of those other paras calling back with a job opportunity.
I am an actor in real life and I would LOVE to see my Townie become an actor, even in an expansion pack. I'm so excited for this awesome game! :)
so far i like this sistem!! the carrer progress makes me feel like jobs are actually important :) and i dont think i agree with the people in the comments saying that the upgrades should be only once a week? i mean this seems a bit boring, too much waiting. I prefer it being everyday so it can be more dynamic and give us the players the feeling that our Para actually did something in their day of work.
agree with this, what's the point in the para going to work if they don't work on anything during the day? (For realism though maybe they should have the occasional day of slacking off 😂)
just a note here, i know this detail is probably something you guys are aware of, especially considering these are just screenshots, not the final version of the game (i wish ahahha) but i think that the purple color for the combo money looks bad since its on top of the blue, its not easy too see it because the colors are too similar
Hmm... I really like this concept. Having a resume and being able to jump from one career path to another to either advance in your career or to just have a change in pace is a GREAT idea.
I think a daily upgrade will have them progressing to fast maybe??? I'm not sure how long the days are so I'm a bit skeptical of if a daily upgrade is needed???
Okay, hear me out. Love the concept, don’t get me wrong. How about : Maybe we could have various expertise needed at the job (desk job example): - typing speed - stamina (sitting for long amount of time without break) - research skill - coding And, the daily upgrade could maybe upgrade these skills. Giving our Paras the opportunity to finish tasks before the deadlines. Finish jobs would fill a meter or a bar, THEN leading to more rewarding choices of upgrades, including promotions or salary boosts if we decide to stay at the same rank? I’m just afraid the daily availability for upgrades and salary boosts, ends up making the game over-easy. Don’t get me wrong, i don’t want to struggle with a difficult mode, but I don’t want to lose interest too quickly either. Like, I wouldn’t want my Para to end up with enough money to pay the rent after only one day of work, and then just chill and do what they want all the time. I’d like to feel like having a bit of extra money to go buy extra clothes, would be a reward. Not just a usual thing, and ending up with having everything I need and then being bored.
love this!! i especially love the idea of developing transferable skills and also more realistic career paths. so excited!
It would be fun if sometimes something happened at work which involved the player-- drawn into a cutscene, maybe, with a decision to make or some dialogue to participate in. It would add depth and interest to the rabbit holes if you never know when you might have to get involved.
This this is what I want make us work for success and simulation games, the sims now a days forgets that a game not only should be fun also have some challenge in it, and this career stuff tells me this is the right direction, I do hope random event cards do come some time in the future to, with good or bad consequences at the work place. After life is chaos and unpredictable.
As a nurse thank you not not making doctor a step up! They are entirely different careers :) this looks awesome
Exactly !
By going to work, will Paras also develop relationships with coworkers automatically?
Hey! I was just playing Sims and had an idea. Do you think you could add a Go Jogging Together function? I think it would be cool to be able to have my Paras go running side-by-side together, or maybe even if one is faster than the other, jog ahead aways, stop and encourage the other. I just think that would be a cute feature lol
I love all the new gameplay details being releaved lately! The job system looks very interesting and fun. I'm looking forward to discover all the jobs and career paths :)
This sounds fantastic! One suggestion I have is maybe you wouldn't always get the job if you applied for it? It could depend on who else in town also applied for it and how many positions they're hiring for. I would like a system like that where there's only so many openings/positions available for a job. And if you wanted to grow the town, that would mean needing to expand the workplaces as well. Live mode has really come along well this year, I'm curious what's next after "chunk 1" and "chunk 2" are complete? Maybe starting work on the town gameplay? Exciting times!
I just love this system, it really gives the opportunity to improve our para’s career and also stay in the same position if we don’t want them to be far in their job life
oh god i LOVE this! One thing tho is maybe another colour rather than red? It's veery ingrained that red = bad Unlessss it's to indicate you wont get any $ from the choice? But personally, I thought it was like, mischief you could commit at work lol (pleaseee negative interactions? would love chaos) But omg i LOVE LOVE this
I just love this. You really make me wanna play the game. Keep it up, because you're all doing a great job.
This is SO cool! I love how dynamic it is and you can have such customizable careers. Two people in the same house can be in the same field with a different path and perks. I love this so much!
I love that the career system isn't linear and that we have to apply for jobs to progress. LOVE it! I love that every Para has the potential to progress through every job differently. This really has potential to make every Para seem a little different. If this is also tied to personality and skills and mood of that Para, so that the perks offered ALSO differ depending upon those, than that's even better - and it should absolutely be like this in my opinion. Otherwise if every job just has a standard perk offering, it might look like a "*this* job gives *these* perks" scenario, where players just gameplay jobs for a *perk* result. For example, offering lots of social skill perks to introverts, similarly to extroverts would be unrealistic. If this is the intention with the perks - to make them specific to the Para as WELL as the job position, Awesome!!! A Para that doesn't really match the job shouldn't have as many perks available to them as someone who does match the job well, or at least very different perks. As with a lot of people here, I also wonder if the perk-a-day is too fast. Wouldn't you need literally thousands of perks? Particularly if we have a choice of how fast we want the game to run? I rather dislike the short traditional life sim lives 1 day = 1 year of that other game. I enjoyed a slower gameplay playing on a longer life where I get to know my characters, where my characters could slowly develop, where it isn't always someone's leveling up birthday in every household. I'd prefer more like 1 week = 1 year. I also want choices as to whether my Para focuses on work or not. I like to play with a large variety of personalities and life situations where gameplay is very different for each. A perk a day seems like it might turn every character into a work focused character. Many people, even most people in some culture pockets don't focus on work at all. They work at some shop or other doing bare minimum - often for years - and focus their life elsewhere. I doubt that this *perk* system would work well for them. I assume that they would just accumulate perks until they run out, then stop earning them. While work focused Paras will change jobs quickly to progress, which is also, of course a work culture. And I wonder what happens at the workaholic end of the scale - will they just work hard until they are 30ish, then run out of perks and ladder climbing ability, and then just sit in that job forever, like they do in that other game? Then there are family people who work hard while at work, but focus on their family outside work. How does gameplay work differently for them? Is this the intended gameplay result? I'd also like to see the personality of the Para very much play into their performance at work. For example, an introverted Para is unlikely to do well at sales - I would expect them to earn perks much slower, and perhaps personality could very much play into the selection of perks offered. For example, an extroverted sales person could be offered all sorts of perks to climb the ladder, but an introverted sales person might be offered fewer job climbing opportunities and more 'watering the plants' opportunities. So this particular job wouldn't have many perks to offer an introverted person. Is this the intention? If so, than great! Either that or the the job turns and introverted person into an extroverted person in time. I think perhaps the earning of perks speed should differ from Para to Para, depending upon their focus, their *fit* for the job (personality, education level, mood and personal preparedness - sleep, stress level, food stats). I think the bones of your system is great and innovative! I'm just wondering whether it will cater to all Paras across the 'work attitude' and 'work focus/apathetic working style' board. :-) PS: I haven't seen a change in your roadmap for a very, very long time...
Are we going to have university? Very curious about how certain jobs could require a specific major. Also wondering of the same system could be applied to school so that your para get i.e. extra points in socialization of he was part of the drama club or something. Incredible system. I'm amazed!
How do I get fired though? 👀 I’d also love to get laid off as well in case my company is sold or bought out.
There should definitely be a way to be "bad" at your job, I agree
Wow, I love this!!! The Application Point system that involves your personality points in whether or not you are qualified is genius, realistic and fun! Awesome job *pun intended* 🙃
WATERING THE PLANTS I LOVE IT 🌱🚿🥰
This is just stunning game design. So thoughtful and each feature seems so well integrated across this system. I do wonder if *daily* upgrades will seem like too many, particularly for long life-span style players, but once balanced I think this will prove SO engaging. Hats off!!!
Now we're getting into the meat of this game. Loved this week's update!
This sounds amazing!! 😭😭 Can't believe I get so exited over a resumé, and having to look for a new job to advance in a career!
Wow, It's really incredible how you guys got a flexible and so relatable system! I love how there isn't some kind o hierarchy between differents jobs at the same area, and also is amazing to keep the experiences from previous jobs when searching for a new one!! I'm just thinking if it's possible to require some specifics qualifications for more technical works (like a university degree to work as a doctor or a technical course to work as an eletrician), at least if it end up being a faster way than improving in your area until you get those qualifications. (nothing like the sims university, where you spend so much time in college that doesn't make difference if you made it by the academic way or just updating the career working this entire time)
I adore the way you guys have chosen to approach jobs! The system is really innovative and I feel like it'll be super fun to play in game. I'm wondering, what cheats will there be related to jobs? Would we be able to set a Para's job with cheats? Like if we want a Para to be, say, a lvl 17 cook at a certain restaurant, would we be able to cheat that instead of having them apply for the job and work their way up? Or could we maybe set their job in the Paramaker?
I love the look of this system! I especially love how it can tie in to the personality of the para. I do agree with some other comments that an upgrade a day might be a bit too much. Maybe you could get the option to gain expertise or extras each day, but upgrading your job rank takes a bit longer? Alternatively, I saw someone suggest maybe having an 'upgrade' bar (similar to the together bar) that fills up. I personally really love that suggestion. Maybe personality could also tie into this. For example, maybe if you have a job that is more 'cerebral' (game designer, teacher, etc) the bar fills up faster if you have higher points in the mind stat, or creative stat. If you have a job like 'athlete' or 'construction worker' maybe the upgrade bar fills up faster if you have higher points in physique. I also think it would be really exciting if certain 'benefits' were only available at certain jobs. For example, maybe a construction worker has a potential benefit that slowly improves the para's fitness level, but doesn't have access to the 'water the plants' benefit. The game designer on the other hand works in an office with office plants and so has access to the 'water the plants' benefit but has no benefit that improves their fitness. This could further help make each job feel more unique, with its own benefits and drawbacks.
Yes, I agree - make the job progress link to the individual Para, in both progress speed and in job perk options.
Absolutely jobs should be rabbit holes, I rather play with other paras and trade it for playable stores etc 😌 MY OPINION
Given the choice between active careers and a rich town with activities, both regular and spasmodic, I'd also choose the latter. I'd love to see a park area that holds regular football games and tennis games etc where your Para can join a team and go regularly and make friends. Events in the park like festivals - could be all sorts of cultures and events, and farmer's markets (hold a stall or visit and buy), skating competitions in winter, race day, animal shows, picnic day. And a community hall event venue that has something different happening all the time, both regular and irregular, like ballet classes, yoga classes, art classes etc that Paras can either hold as teacher or join, trash and treasure where Paras can either buy stuff or have a stall themselves, plays that Paras can either rehearse and perform in or go to see. And in a similar vein, play activities for kids, bingo and bowls for seniors, board game nights for the family, Friday disco nights for the teens, weddings and birthday parties could be held there. And general stuff that happens in the community. This would get Paras out of their houses and into the community. Given the vote, I would choose this.
“resume” that’s enough for me, I’m sold
I absolutely love this system! It feels engaging and real!❤️ My only criticism is that it was a little hard to read the purple text on a blue background, it melded together for me and wasn’t readable at a glance💜💙
Love this, it's amazing, you rule. I notice that there are lots connected to specific jobs. I know that jobs are rabbit holes, but is it possible to visit those lots and see the people who work there? I've mentioned this before, but it would be cool to have a series of "work" animations for Paras at work. Carrying paperwork, answering phones, typing, copying documents, relaxing in the breakroom, running or sitting in on a meeting, handling clients, etc. A system for custom workplaces could let players create custom job descriptions, salary, requirements, dress code, and a set of "tasks" for the workplace with animations applied to each task (talking on the phone, computer work, selling, repairs, cleaning, etc). It wouldn't necessarily be controlling the Para at work as much as setting up a workplace to LOOK like the Paras are working and allow the player to create the appropriately themed space as a backdrop for the work.
I get more and more excited for this game!!
I love this job system, it’s refreshing to see something different. You’re doing a great job
Hmm, this is the first system in the game I do not understand the direction of. I know life sim games aren’t supposed to be absolutely identical to real life, but to me, this system makes no sense and is far removed from what I’d expect in a life sim. It reminds me of upgrading a base in a mobile game, or something. I fail to see the benefits of this type of career upgrade system - even using the term “rank” sounds more like leveling a character than progressing in a career (unless in the military). Also, why would we receive an upgrade every day? This implies Paras are performing at a level that warrants making more money every single day, which doesn’t make sense. What if my Para is more focused on life outside of work and doesn’t want to have an illustrious career? They shouldn’t be rewarded every day for that. I REALLY hope the team goes back to the drawing board here and reconsiders. This mechanic feels like you’re being different for the sake of it and not considering gameplay. For me, this current implementation could derail the entire foundational gameplay, which is why I’m so disappointed and, frankly, nervous about this. I hope my mind can be changed, though!
They explained some benefits in the post. It seems like a very fun and unique way to passively upgrade skills and make every Para unique in their day to day life. Two Para with the same job could gain entirely different salaries and benefits from it. There's nothing here that indicates your Para HAS to climb the ladder if they don't want to.
I *really* love the idea of looking for another job in the same branch, and having to move companies. I imagine the companies are procedurally generated ? Or is it the kind of thing we can add manually/via a mod ? Sorry for the comparison, but in That Other Game™ (all versions combined) there has never been a time when this has been a thing, which hasn't been relevant to how careers actually happen for DECADES. The fact that if you want better working conditions, you kinda have to be actively looking for them, is much more relevant. I think a few months ago, someone mentioned that it'd be awesome if other things differentiated workplaces (I seem to recall social differences, like are colleagues friendlier, but also other perks like more vacation days or things like that), and that'd make the system very much in line with the perks system you have here. Imagine a workplace that has no plants, so you know that if you take this job your gardening perk will never be obtainable, but you like the salary... that could be interesting for replayability. When you apply to a job, are you necessarily hired as long as you have the requirements for it ? Or is there, like, an interview gameplay involved using the equivalent of the Together cards ? As a sidenote, I'd like to say that I'm someone suffering from acute anxiety (to the point of being recognized as disabled), and the red "1" notification on the corner of the upgrades is really stressful for me. I'd be really thankful if there were a different way to highlight that there are upgrades available. I know it's a niche issue, but for me these notifications are disabled wherever I can to avoid feeling stress, and they feel very intrusive. A color gradient, or something else, would very much be appreciated.
+1 on the anxiety about red notification alerts. for me it especially doesn't work because this is a positive thing (available upgrade points, yay ✨) but yea, this design would make me dread playing with it 😬 as always, i think giving accessibility options is the key: being able to customise UI colours, just like rebinding keys, changing life span, or turning off specific game events, will make it easier for more people to enjoy the game :)
What a neat career/job system, I love it! I think every day upgrades are fine, personally. From a UI perspective, the red instantly made me think it was something that negatively affected your career/job so I'd consider changing it to a grey or something that still represents that it doesn't directly impact your salary. Another cool idea would be a very simple apply or interview system! Instead of just getting hired if qualified, maybe having a phone call or email application process just to add a bit more realism? Anyway, great job as always!!
WOW I am literally like mind exploded here, you guys have taken jobs and careers and just put such an interesting and realistic spin on it. I can't even describe how exciting this is to me ahhh
Love this so much!! I do agree with others that upgrades every day might be a lot - I’m wondering if maybe there’s a way to incorporate chance cards/scenario pop ups during their shift that would help determine if they get an upgrade or not? Or maybe they have to work their way up to earn an upgrade every few days? But ultimately this is SO well thought out and I’m so excited to play with it!! Super excited to see what the work buildings in the town will look like!!
This looks do interesting love how different and unique it is
I'm always so blown away by the creativity when you guys drop these kinds of major aspects of the project. It'd be so easy in this genre to just follow along with how it's currently being done with maybe a few tweaks, but your team is clearly putting a lot of thought into how you can make the experience fun and special in its own right. The job rank system looks really cool -- only thing I can think of is that I wonder if upgrading daily could feel a little overwhelming with multiple adults, or if it would feel like your para is progressing a little too quickly. I wonder if weekly would be better, or if it could be earned at some other threshold. Hard to tell without playtesting of course!
I did not expect to get this excited over the job and career system but WOW. This is such a cool and surprising way to approach it! It's clear that you have put a lot of thought and creativity into building this system, making it fun and the right fit for Paralives. I am SO excited to use it! It would be very cool to be able to view our Paras' "resumes" so we can reflect on all of the jobs they have had and how they've grown over time :) Thank you so much for your hard work and for sharing this with us!!!
First of all, I ADORE this system and the intricacies that come with it! I cannot wait to play it! I have one question (or suggestion/idea, as it were). Will there be any jobs that are "done from home" types of jobs? By this, I mean gardening, streaming jobs, etc. Jobs where you are a contractor and do your work from home. This is much more commonplace now than ever before. You all never cease to amaze me with your attention to detail and creativity. EXCELLENT!!
I love this! I really feel like you can express a lot of the para's personality with this system and I think that will make it really satisfying
Love the idea of this upgrade system! I like that we'll be able to scout jobs at different companies instead of just picking a general linear career path. I feel like we'll have a ton of opportunities to personalize our para's career progression. That said, I feel like an upgrade per day might be too much too fast. Maybe it should be every other day? I also think it might be interesting if it was tied to your performance at work. EG: if you work hard, you get an upgrade point. But if you slack off, you miss out on the upgrade or even lose a perk. (Get kicked off the party planning committee, etc.) Not sure how feasible any of that is, but just a thought!
Losing perks sounds like a good balance. You lose the extra skill stuff but you don't lose wages or transferable career skills. Doing poorly for a long time could lose a career level (demoted), though I'm not sure how performance would be tracked under this system.
This looks very interesting! Good to hear non-lineair job progression confirmed, I prefer careers to be more realistic. Like some others have mentioned, I am a bit concerned about upgrading after every work day. Not only is that very frequent (and is there a limit until retirement?) and will add up quickly, it can also become annoying or confusing if you have several paras in a household who all finish up around the same time and the player gets bombarded with choosing upgrades. Some other questions/suggestions: - Are work hours flexible or standard 8-5 for office jobs and some other careers have different schedules depending on the nature of the job (like nightshifts, working afternoons and evenings etc)? I think it would be interesting and modern if the player could choose to alter the hours within reason. Like some office workers might do some work from home on their computer in the evening if that means they can have the afternoon off. Or perhaps they can choose whether to work fulltime or parttime (and either choose between certain hours or choose a number yourself), which could make it easier/cheaper for paras with babies/young children to determine childcare. - At what age can paras start working? - Are the type of jobs and careers dependend on age, school qualifications and whatnot? - Do paras build up (paid) leave from work? As I'm sure you're aware most countries in the civilized world have several weeks/months of vacation hours per year for fulltime workers. It would be great if paras could plan days off or vacations. Or maybe even choose to exchange the buildup leave for paradimes. - Do pregnant paras get paid leave from work and if so, when? Can they choose it themselves or is it automatic? - Do new parents get (paid) maternity/paternity and parental leave that they can take to stay home with their kids (adopted or birthed) to bond or in the case of parental leave when they're sick or something? - Do paras build up a pension through their work? Or is that something that's automatically taken care of by the time a para retires (which is when?) and perhaps a percentage of their most recent salary or all the salaries they've had in their working life or something your para has to set aside in savings themselves? - Are there other things that could factor in on whether a job posting is attractive to a para, aside from qualifications and salary as shown in one of the images? I'd imagine the number of working hours, potential paid leave or even the duration of commute could factor in, especially if a para autonomously applies to a job. - How do the upgrades etc work with autonomy, e.g. paras you're not (currently) playing with but who do have a job? - Are there a fixed number of jobs in the world/career/building? I saw a mention elsewhere in the comments that workplaces can be built with a rabbithole behind a 'work door'; could the number of workplaces the player has placed/built in the world affect the number of potential jobs or are they spawned auomatically? And can there for example be 2 CEOs of the same company simply because two paras both applied to the job or can your para only become the CEO if the current CEO is fired/promoted, quits or retires (exception being the CEO slot hasn't been filled yet/is taken by a NPC)?
"most countries in the civilized world" *laughs/cries in American*
THIS. IS. AMAZING! I absolutely love this system💚
How long is the average lifespan of a Para? Choosing an upgrade every day seems like it would stack up stats very fast, and on long lifespans/no aging it could add up exponentially turning every working Para into a super Para.
Would it be possible for the rate to adjust with lifespan settings so upgrades happen every 2-3 days instead? That way there are some mundane non-event periods which a shorter lifespan would skip over.
i will also say that 'every day' might be a bit much for earning these upgrades, but this could be a great way to integrate chance cards or have it be a set % chance to get an upgrade based on your out of work skills or personality traits-- to keep each para different even if they take similar life path. Ultimately, this is a really unique and grounded career progression, and I'm excited to be able to play with it <3
We will be seeing how it feels as we play with it and tweak it if needed :)
Incredible work like every time! I always look forward to your Friday posts ❤️ I’ve got so many questions!! - Im also curious on if there’s a limit on the job rank. Other than the salary, would higher levels ever come with a promotion to a more senior position, or would different areas only be available by applying again? - I’m curious about the relationship section when applying to a job. Is there a specific way to connect with people in the field? How would you find and connect with doctors if you would like to follow the area but don’t have any in your environment. - Can mood / personality also affect the career progression and possibly even decay it for some reason? - I know that you haven’t touched this subject yet, but can teens study and get expertise in certain areas, in order to have better chances of employment in the future. - Any chance you could share any examples of professions that you’re planning to add and develop for the initial release? 🙈 Many thanks for all that you’re doing! Can already barely wait for next week’s post 😍
I think school clubs/organizations would be a good equivalent for students to get job skills. It would probably use the same system too. That way the player can actively choose what areas they study in without needing to make them cram skill objects. You could even expand that to younger students so that a grade school bake sale makes them more prepared to organize a high school fund raiser.
Extras should reset after getting a new job, correct? At least going by those examples I think it would make the most sense. I like what I'm seeing here. I think it’s an easy way to have a system that gives a sense of progression without the need to create something too complicated.
Thank you! Correct! Extras are lost if you change workplace but not expertise which are kept forever
This is incredible. Sounds rewarding and challenging. Also allows unique gameplay for different Parad with different interests and personalities even if they start in the same job. Love that being a nurse doesn't necessarily mean becoming a doctor. That is such a small but huge detail that y'all have added to the game. ❤️
It sounds fantastic! Very excited about this. I hope Job progression won’t be too easy though 😂
You should 100% keep this as a job for release
:D
Wow this is insanely smart.. I am so excited for this game!!
I canont wait to play i hope it come out soon, i got myeslf a gamer laptop
I really like this system! Like someone else mentioned though, I feel that maybe upgrading the job every single day is kind of a lot—I think once every week or so would be a little more realistic and it would feel more like the parafolk have to commit their time to the job and really earn the upgrades. Also, is there a point where the upgrades max out? If you get to add one every day, it seems like they would stack up really fast and be a lot to look at. Other than these thoughts, though, I’m super excited about this and am actually looking forward to finding jobs for my paras! (Which is something I don’t care about in other games.) Thank you for all the great work you guys are doing!
Thank you! Selecting an upgrade each day will be a quick decision and also, players can accumulate a few upgrade points over a couple of days and select multiple upgrades in a row if they prefer The rank of the job has no limit but a job will have a limited set of expertise and extras to unlock :)
I love the system, but I worry that an upgrade every day would be a bit too fast. Maybe make it every week? Or if your performance at work is good, then you get an upgrade point to use, but it's not after every day of work? The progress is the most fun part of sim games to me and I feel like it'd be way too easy and short if you essentially get a pay raise every day.
Agreed. Un upgrade a day seems like it will make you OP too fast. I want to feel like I've earned a higher-level career.
This is so cool! I am so excited!! I understand why we cant control the Para while they are at work, but maybe something like we can at least like watch them drive to the building or something to at least SEE them going to work! :)
I think this is likely what they are planning, considering they are referencing have a job post board outside of each building. So it would make sense for you to see your para go to work, but not be in the building with them (similar to Sims 3 mechanics)
Love pretty much everything about this! My only concern would be if the upgrades would pile up and make things too easy too quickly. You could balance it by lowering the benefits of the upgrades, but I think I’d rather get upgrades less often and have them be meaningful every time.
Thank you! Good feedback, we will be seeing how the system feels as we play with it more and more!
Very cool! Love seeing the interesting and unique solutions you guys develop! Will there be a top of the career at all or will paras always have flexibility? If a player wanted to complete everything on the game, like a super para challenge, would there be an end to the career or would there be a max amount of skills a para can have in a career? And if a para changes careers completely, would they keep certain perks or would they have to start over?
On a related note, would certain job positions automatically come with perks? Like would certain management positions automatically come with "party planning committee"?
I really like the system! But is there always an approvement each day? Can a Para also be downgraded based on their (lacking) performance? And for some of my Paras I would like to see a more "stand by job modus" - neither going up oder down just working the same old job without much change...will that also be possible?
We will be looking into penalties that can happen if you Parafolks perform badly at job or is always late, for instance. As for upgrades, you are not forced to pick one each day
Sounds interesting. How is the resume used in game? Can one apply to a new job/career and be rejected only if another, having a better resume aplied ? Do they have a PLinkedIn like social too :))?
Your resume (the expertise you unlocked) act as your qualifications. You need to have enough qualification points to be able to get a job. There is no job interview or success chance to get a job though!
Very good, will Paras earn respect or reputation from other Paras in a general social setting if they are highly successful in their career or achieve great wealth, I think that could be very interesting too
We are not planning to have a reputation system at launch but it could be a nice addition in updates later on!
Can anyone get part-time jobs? Like could I have 2 part times and one full time? I am so excited. I would actually love if yalls company was in that game!!!
Thank you! Having one full time job on week days during the day, one part-time job on evenings and one part-time job on weekends should be possible at the same time, yes!
This looks amazing. I am so excited to play it.
This is very innovative. Great job as usual! Regarding office rabbit holes, are you thinking that the full office building would be a "shell" object that you place down in your town that has a fully blacked-out interior? Alternatively, would each office be constructed from the ground up in Build Mode, including visible public reception areas, but with a special door that leads to a blacked-out room that acts as the rabbit hole where your para actually works?
The plan is to make it like the latest thing you mentioned so it will be real buildings built in build mode but all or most of the interior will be empty rooms where the Paras disappear when their work
I really like that the player will have to think about the job of their para instead of selecting it once and then never thinking of it again (like i do in the Sims)... But i think a new responsibility everyday is a bit much 😅 maybe if they were spaced out a bit further?
Selecting an upgrade each day will be a quick decision and also, players can accumulate a few upgrade points over a couple of days and select multiple upgrades in a row if they prefer
Oooooh super interesting concept. Some paras could choose to be more focused on increasing their job related skills, while others could prefer earning less but doing other things on their job that fulfill them, such as the party organizer thing. I really like this idea :)
Yes! This way, more players can find job perks that interest them
I definitely like the business name feature for the job description. I hope to see more jobs in future updates. Maybe paras owning a business themselves. Will we be able to make custom business names though?
Owning and creating businesses won't be possible at launch but it would be a really great feature to add eventually!
This is awesome! Do you think you could implement remote work as well, where the para could be home (or at the beach) but you can’t control them as they’re still working (as they should, but will automatically eat and use the toilet etc) maybe a bit of play during break time? Thatd be amazing and reflective on how the world works nowadays.
That would be really nice! Maybe we can add the ability to work from home in the future!
Sounds real refreshing and interesting. Cannot wait to see how it'll play one day!
Aah, this has gotten me super excited to play! This looks great! I love it!
