The Sims may finally have some real competition in Paralives

The Sims has been such a popular and long-running franchise that it moves on to such a simple but satisfying fantasy: playing with fictitious characters in a doll. The player ultimately takes control, but the story can unfold in dozens of different ways – or perhaps no story at all, and the joy comes from crafting the perfect little house.

Sims developer Maxis recently revealed a look at the next title in the franchise, which is tentatively called renee project. Maxis hasn’t been involved in the release window, but we know it’ll likely be a few years before we give The Sims 5 roll. Despite the wait, it’s still an exciting time for the life simulation genre, especially as competition looms in the form of JugglersMuch smaller studio.

The Sims fan base has never been so monolithic; Some people love the drama of the neighborhood, while others are there to get the perfect office furniture and design. Sims fans can’t agree on which game to play; A large portion of fans stay with previous games in the series such as The Sims 3 or even The Sims 2. The Sims 4 The length of the tooth also increases; With its initial release in 2014, this game came out a decade later, while its predecessors were closer to five years old. Expansion packs are another controversial topic – to collect all the DLC for The Sims 4the player has to exchange hundreds of dollars.

It is not surprising that when a real competitor to the Sims series appears, it will interest players. Alex Massé started the project in 2018 after realizing that the life simulation genre was filled with games like Stardu Valley, but there was nothing else like The Sims. Massey is now the lead developer at Jugglers team and he Funded by a very successful Patreon Which, at the time of writing, is making $40,000 per month.

Photo: Team Paralives

“The project started as small prototypes to showcase new ideas for building the house as part of the game, which has always been my favorite of The Sims,” ​​says Masse. “I was immediately overwhelmed with the positive reception on social media which helped me raise money on Patreon to turn the project into something more ambitious, and go from working solo to a team of 10.”

The Jugglers was the team Share your entire progress on social media, sharing the customization process, creating custom characters, and now the life simulation elements that make up a character’s daily life. There are some cool features on offer, such as character height differences and a custom color picker for furniture. Some of these features appeared in the preview of Project Rene, which focused on build and purchasing tools.

“Everyone in Jugglers The team was really excited about the unveiling of the Renee project,” says Masset. “We loved the fact that they brought back the customization elements that we loved. The Sims 3, such as the ability to freely recolor objects and choose different patterns and textures. for JugglersWe wanted to introduce a high level of customization because we think it’s really important for game building and as gamers, we’re happy to see Project Rene going in that direction as well.”

with a complement to The Sims 4 still way out, Jugglers A chance to shine – but there’s still room for both simulation games on the table. Massey speculates that this is the daily simulation that will be made Jugglers Outstanding, not just constructive and creative. Now that the developer has shared the character and build customization on social media, the team is excited to start showcasing their social and life simulation interactions.

“If you think about it, managing your characters in The Sims is a bit like managing your characters in an RPG. There are a lot of RPGs out there but people keep coming up with new ideas and game mechanics, which keeps the genre fresh.”

He adds, “As far as people comparing The Sims to Jugglers, we understand that it will always happen because there are no other games in this specific genre. Obviously there will be similar features between both games but in the end, I’m sure they will feel completely different in their own ways and people will be able to enjoy them.”