Hey everyone,

The past weeks I have been coding for Imagine Lifetimes and I’m excited to tell you more about choosing your path(s). The screenshot above is the result of what this currently looks like in-game.

Let’s start with a quick introduction for those new to the project. Imagine Lifetimes is a simulation game about the meaning of life. Through a series of simple and not-so-simple life choices you get to shape your character as you progress and grow up throughout the phases of life.

Starting from childhood, your choices affect the rest of your life. As a result this changes the available opportunities within your entire play-through.

New to the game is the padlock in the bottom-right corner. This will show up once you select your choice. Clicking it will lock in your choice and take you to the next life-changing decision to make!

From Childhood you make your way to the Education phase, where you get to shape your talents and skills. Every single choice matters and has the potential to lock and unlock certain options in the future. Graduation marks the completion of the linear ‘tutorial’ and this is where the game changes.

Let’s break this down. The core game consists of seven main life paths. Each of these paths features a series of choices and events changing the course of your life. The available paths are Travel, Career, Partner, Housing, Family, Marriage and Retirement.

At the start of the game each path will be either available or blocked. These blocked paths will become available once their requirement is met. For example, the Partner path is available from the beginning. The Family path is blocked at first and requires a partner to proceed. (makes sense)

Once a path is completed the player returns to the path selection screen to take on their next step. Certain requirements will have to be met, but other than that it is completely up to you how you play your game. You get to choose in what order to complete the paths, and you can even decide not to pursue certain paths at all. Every path is the right path.

Now you might wonder, does every game inevitably end after completing the Retirement path? The answer is no, let’s just say you would be lucky to make it there in the first place…

(more on the multiple endings to Imagine Lifetimes in future posts)

#plottwist #cliffhanger #suspense

Thanks for reading this Devlog.

Current goals: Playable demo
Currently working on: Coding for the career path

Next Devlog: Late January