When creating a game about legacy, and building that legacy, children are an essential part of that gameplay. Children be as rewarding as they can be tedious, and finding a balance has been a difficult task when designing the children of Synthaar. Synthaar's style of life simulation is more about developing characters, skills, stories, and how they shape the world around them and others, rather than the minutia of life and its littlest moments. As all can agree, there are other games that excel at providing those experiences. Synthaar, however, focuses on a broader scope, and so children in the game will reflect that.
There will be four primary ways of expanding your legacy in Synthaar. The first is simply having new members join the family as they get married, etc. The rest involve children. You will be able to adopt a child from the nearby school, conjoin the DNA of two donors in a Gestation tube, and of course the old fashioned way: Shaggin'. Pregnancies and gestations will take roughly three days, depending on the species. The age of all characters in Synthaar is measured in days, to allow for quick but engaging lives. The average lifespan of a character is about 90 to 100 days. After an infant is born, all they will need is sustenance, changing, and love. After roughly three to four days, the infant will grow to become a child, who will in turn be much more active, engaging, and start their education.
If the child is living in or near a city, they'll be able to enroll in the local academy and begin their education as a child. There are three levels of education, one for children, one for teenagers, and one for adults, which will enable bonuses to skill gain, career opportunities, and more. This can be expensive however, and sometimes your family may be living far from the civilized galaxy. In such a case, if a member of the legacy is educated, they can teach and pass on their knowledge to the youngsters themselves. Granted, one might decide to forgo education altogether, though this may bring hardship to the character later in life. However, education will always be available, though it is more valuable to spend these formative years instead of more valuable time as an adult.
Children eventually grow, and as mentioned before, they will turn into teenagers, which will act as adults but with bonuses to skill learning and more, giving them one last opportunity to grow and learn, while also being able to contribute (almost) as an adult to the business of the legacy. Once they become adults, they take that mantle of keeping on the legacy, to one day perhaps have children of their own.
Offspring will be available soon in the next update, 0.1.1, as well as a variety of new items, bug fixes, and more. Stay tuned every other week for a new Devlog regarding the development of Synthaar! Thank you so much to those who have been interested in my game. Please join our Discord for more information, and check out Synthaar on Steam and Itch.io!
