Emergent Storytelling - The Life Of Paddy and Liv

With most of the major features fleshed out, the last few weeks have involved lots of testing and balancing. The different gameplay mechanics are really starting to come together. I'd like to tell the story of Paddy and Liv, two randomly generated characters with "normal" personalities from my latest playtest.

Here you can see Paddy's preferences. He loves thinking and likes technology, so decides to get a Computer Science degree. He takes out an education loan.

It's agreed Liv will work fulltime to support them both until Paddy's studies are complete.

Liv loves prestige - the finer things in life. This is actually a major issue, since their household lacks the funds to fulfil her desires. We can either accept that Liv's happiness will suffer in the short term, or spend money on prestigious activities to make her happy. I'm going with the first option.

Sorting and searching through the list of possible jobs, we find the most qualified job for Liv that aligns with her preferences is Automotive Apprentice.

There's not enough fulltime work available so she ends up working 3 casual jobs, including one as a Security Guard.

Fast forward a year, and Liv is not happy at all with having to work so hard. Meanwhile Paddy is having the time of his life at university. In fact, Liv is so upset that she gains the negative status effects wistful, agitated and burnout.

Agitated and burnout are especially bad in her situation. It makes working even more unpleasant, which could lead to a downward spiral in happiness.

The silver lining is her hard work hasn't been for nothing - the household has $7500 saved up. 

I've decided Liv will quit her security guard job and start ordering wine. She doesn't even like alcohol, but satisfying her need for prestige is more important right now. Hopefully this stabilises her situation for the next year.

In the meantime, Paddy will study fewer hours and take up a part time job if needed to cover Liv's new lifestyle. It's the least he can do after what she's been through.