Dev Update #1: Humble Beginnings!

Hi everyone! First of all, I want to thank you for your patience and continued interest in Pursuit of Life. Since the initial announcement, we’ve been heads-down building out the foundation of the game: the city, the first jobs, early progression loops, character systems, and the day-to-day gameplay that makes each playthrough feel unique. In Pursuit of Life, you don’t begin as a hero, celebrity, CEO, or superstar. You begin at home, in your bedroom, trying to figure out what kind of life you want to live.

Maybe your first goal is simple: get a job, make money, and move out. Maybe you want to meet people, build friendships, and find romance. Maybe you want to climb a career ladder, start a side hustle, or eventually launch your own business. Regardless, we all have to start somewhere, and our journey starts with Mom & Dad wanting to have "The Talk."

There are many characters in Pursuit of Life, each with a role to play in your story. Some are mentors, while others can be friends, investors, sponsors, lovers or even rivals. Some characters' roles will depend on your actions as the player. A friend can become a rival, a rival can become a lover, and a lover may end up as just a friend again in the end. We'll discuss these mechanics in detail in a future post.

Mom and Dad are your first mentors, and their childhood friend, Vic, is another mentor. Vic owns the local pawnshop where you can bring items you've found, earned, or created to appraise, pawn, or sell. You can build your relationship with Vic by completing his questline and bringing him certain items he's looking for in exchange for better rates, more favorable terms, and other bonuses.

In the spirit of humble beginnings you'll need a job, and since you're just starting out, anything will do. Vic says he can get you an interview at The Whole Shebang, the largest super market in the city, but whether or not you land the job is up to you...

Steam post imageThis store is one of a few starting points of the Retail path (remember, there will be 5 paths at launch). There are other stores, shops, and business you can get hired at as well, each with their own set of characters, storylines, and minigames. More on this in a future post!

Eventually you'll be rolling in cash, or at least that's the goal, right? So, you'll need somewhere to store it. Storage containers in Pursuit of Life are called Safes. You'll own multiple safes across your homes, jobs and/or businesses, and the bank. The value of all items stored across your inventory, safes, and bank accounts will factor into your total net worth, but so will your debt. So you'll need manage your finances wisely to keep a positive net worth. And don't worry, if you ever lose access to a safe or account, you can always find your items and cash waiting for you in your temporary storage container.

Of course, money isn't everything. You'll also want to take care of yourself along the way. Whether your goal is to simply maintain a healthy lifestyle or to become a world champion/star athlete, the gym, FLEXECUTION, will be your starting point for the Athletic path.

And that's about it for this dev update! I assure you that this is just the tip of the iceberg. We have so much more to share with you about our game in future dev updates. For now, I'll leave you with a parting gift: A teaser of the furniture placement system. With this system you'll be able to decorate your homes and businesses from your first apartment to your multi-floor corporate offices (should you choose to advance that far along the Retail/Business paths!)

Disclaimer: As with everything I've shown so far, this is very much a work in progress and may not reflect the final version of the game (It will get a lot better!). Until next time, enjoy!