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Para personalities – alternatives to ‘traits’
May 19, 2020 at 7:03 pmI’m going to bring up Sims here – I know Paralives is not trying to be a replacement for any other game but Sims is currently our main frame of reference for simulation games, hence the comparison.
Personality traits in the Sims feel two dimensional. They’re basically just behaviour modifiers – a hot headed sim will get angry more often, a good sim will become sad when interacting with evil sims, etc. Paradoxically, traits don’t really tell you much about a sim. They don’t gain traits because of their past experiences, nor will a sim with the book lover and loner traits be characterised by the game as an introvert, for example.
That’s why I hope Paralives just forgets about whatever has been done in other simulation games and takes a completely new approach to personalities. There are literally infinite ways to describe people’s personalities, so no need to rely on traits.
What if we could choose our parafolk’s Myers-Briggs types? Or place them on sliding personality scales (e.g. between introvert and extrovert, wanting to fit in vs wanting to be unique, being assertive vs complacent, etc). Personalities could be dependent on what is important to your para or what they fear.
It would also add a layer of realism to social interaction if we had compatible and clashing personality types.
Anyway, I would love to hear other people’s ideas about how Parafolk personalities could work!
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