The Paramaker is the character creation tool in Paralives. It is used to customize the appearance, clothing, and personality of Parafolk before entering Live Mode. The Paramaker is divided into three main sections: Body, Clothing, and Personality. It uses slider-based controls for nearly every aspect of a character's physical appearance, combined with a color wheel system for precise color selection.
Body Customization
The Paramaker provides sliders for nearly every part of the body, allowing players to adjust fine details from facial features to overall body proportions. Each area of the face and body can be edited with a range of presets and then further refined with individual sliders.
Height
An adjustable height slider allows players to set their Parafolk to different heights. Unlike many life simulation games where all characters share the same height, Paralives lets players create height diversity to reflect real-world variation.
Body Frame
Paralives uses a single gender-neutral body frame as the starting point for all characters. This means there are no separate "masculine" and "feminine" base models. Instead, players adjust sliders for the chest, hips, shoulders, buttocks, waist, and other body regions to create any body shape they want. This design choice supports the game's inclusive approach to character creation.
Facial Features
Each region of the face has its own set of presets and sliders. Players can customize the shape and size of the eyes, nose, mouth, jaw, cheeks, chin, forehead, and ears. The level of detail available means that two characters created in the Paramaker can look entirely different from one another.
Eyes and Eyebrows
Eyes can be customized in both shape and color. The color wheel supports multiple color regions for the iris, allowing for complex eye colors. Heterochromia (different colored eyes) is achievable through this system. Eyebrow shape and color are also adjustable, with an option to automatically match eyebrow color to the chosen hair color.
Color Wheel System
The Paramaker uses a comprehensive color wheel for all physical characteristics. While presets are available for quick selection, players can use the wheel or enter hex codes to define exact shades.
Skin Color
Skin color is not limited to a set of preset swatches. The color wheel provides full control, and skin coloring includes four distinct color regions: Base, Highlights, Shadows, and Blush. Each region can be adjusted independently, allowing players to create nuanced, realistic skin tones with natural-looking variation across the face and body.
Hair Color
Most hairstyles have independently recolorable regions for roots, main hair, and tips. This means players can create natural-looking root growth, ombré effects, highlights, and multi-tone coloring without needing separate hairstyle assets. Each region is adjusted through the color wheel.
Hair and Facial Hair
The Paramaker includes a variety of hairstyle options. Facial hair is also available as a separate customization layer. All hairstyles and facial hair options benefit from the multi-region color system described above.
Makeup
Makeup options allow players to add cosmetic details to their Parafolk. Makeup is applied as a customization layer and can be adjusted for color and intensity.
Moles and Body Markings
Players can add moles to their Parafolk with freehand placement. Rather than selecting from predefined positions, moles can be placed anywhere on the body and adjusted for size. This same freehand placement approach applies to other body markings.
Tattoos
The Paramaker features a freehand tattoo placement system. Players can select tattoo designs, then position, resize, and rotate them freely on the character's body. This allows precise placement rather than locking tattoos to predetermined body locations.
Clothing
The clothing system in the Paramaker supports creating multiple outfits per Parafolk. Players can build outfits from individual tops and bottoms or use full-body outfit options.
Layering
Clothing supports layering. Players can add long shirts under t-shirts, layer tights and leggings under skirts, and add coats as outer layers on top of existing outfits. This creates a more realistic and flexible wardrobe system compared to single-piece outfit selections.
Patterns and Colors
Each clothing item's pattern can be changed independently of its model. For example, a shirt can be switched from plain to checkered, striped, or other patterns while keeping the same shape and fit. Colors are customizable through the same color wheel system used for physical features. Individual items, such as socks, can be colored independently on each side for mismatched looks.
Accessories
Accessories include items like glasses, hats, jewelry, and other wearable decorations. These are applied as additional layers on top of the base outfit.
Inclusive Design
The Paramaker has been recognized for its explicit LGBTQ+ inclusion. The system was designed from the ground up to avoid binary gender restrictions and to provide options that reflect the diversity of real people.
Gender Options
Paralives offers three default gender options: Female (F), Male (M), and Non-Binary (NB). Gender settings are independent of physical appearance, meaning a character's body shape, voice, and clothing options are not locked to any gender selection. The entire clothing catalog is open to any Parafolk regardless of chosen gender.
Pronoun Customization
Pronouns can be set separately from gender, body type, and voice. Players can choose from standard pronoun sets (he/him, she/her, they/them) or configure custom pronouns. This allows characters to have pronouns that align with their identity rather than being determined automatically by other settings.
Additional Inclusive Features
The game includes functional binders as a clothing option
Pregnancy capability can be toggled per character, independent of gender selection
The gender-neutral body frame means no features are locked behind "masculine" or "feminine" categories
Relationship and romance mechanics work with any combination of genders
Lifestages
The Paramaker supports character creation across 8 distinct lifestages. Each lifestage has its own set of body proportions, clothing options, and behavioral traits. Players can create Parafolk at any lifestage when starting a new household.
Lifestage | Description |
|---|---|
Baby | The earliest lifestage; babies depend entirely on older Parafolk for care |
Toddler | Young children who are beginning to walk and explore their surroundings |
Child | School-age Parafolk with basic autonomy and growing social needs |
Preteen | Transitional stage between childhood and teenage years |
Teenager | Adolescent Parafolk navigating social life and developing skills |
Young Adult | Parafolk entering independence, pursuing careers and relationships |
Adult | Fully mature Parafolk in the prime of their lives |
Elder | Senior Parafolk in the later stages of life |
Piercings
The Paramaker includes a variety of piercing options that can be placed on multiple body locations. Available piercing placements include the navel, eyebrows, nose, cheek, lip, and novelty positions (such as a clown-nose piercing added by the developers as a humorous option). Piercings can be recolored using the color wheel and are treated as a separate customization layer from other accessories.
Nails
Both fingernails and toenails have a dedicated category in the Paramaker. Players can customize nail shape, length, and color independently for hands and feet. The nail system uses the same color wheel as all other Paramaker features, allowing for precise color matching with clothing and other accessories.
Medical Wearables
The Paramaker features medical wearables organized by body placement. Hearing aids are located in the face and head accessories category, while prosthetic legs appear under body accessories. Notably, hearing aids are compatible with earrings, so players do not have to choose between medical devices and jewelry. This design ensures that Parafolk with hearing aids can still wear their preferred earring styles.
Eyelashes
The character creator offers 5 pre-made eyelash options with customizable colors. Players can adjust the color of their Parafolk's eyelashes through the color wheel, allowing them to match or contrast with their hair color or go for bold, unconventional looks.
Hat Compatibility
Hats in Paralives are designed to fit over tied-up hairstyles. When a Parafolk wears a hat, their hairstyle adjusts appropriately rather than clipping through the headwear. This compatibility system ensures that players do not lose their hairstyle when adding a hat to an outfit.
Clothing Tucking
The Paramaker includes a tucking and untucking feature for tops and shirts. Players can toggle whether a shirt is tucked into or hanging over their Parafolk's pants, skirt, or other bottom clothing. This small detail adds another layer of outfit customization and helps create more realistic, varied looks.
Paramaker Gameplay Stream
On March 13, 2026, Community Manager Rina and game artist Sonia M'Hamdi hosted the first public Paramaker Gameplay stream. Originally a Patreon exclusive, the hour-long demonstration was later made available publicly. Using a Pinterest board created by fans, Rina and Sonia transformed a single base character (nicknamed "Defaultia") into five different sisters, each with a unique style. The stream provided the most comprehensive look at the Paramaker's full feature set, including body sliders, the color wheel, clothing layering, hair customization, and accessories.
Personality
The third section of the Paramaker covers personality customization. While some personality traits are set during character creation, the personality system in Paralives is designed to evolve over time during gameplay. The Paramaker allows players to choose starting values for several personality components:
Component | Description |
|---|---|
Stats | Baseline personality attributes that define the character's tendencies |
Vibe | A core personality trait that determines the character's general outlook. Options include Overjoyed, Gloomy, Energetic, Serious, and Jester, among others. Vibes affect emotions, Together Card availability, skill progression, and social interactions. |
Talent | Linked to skill categories. A Parafolk with a specific Talent gains perks that help them progress in associated skills. |
Social Perk | Defines what a Parafolk is socially adept at. Each Social Perk provides advantages in certain types of social interactions. |
Lifestyle | Lifestyle preferences such as vegetarianism, sleep habits, and cleaning tendencies. |
During gameplay, Parafolk earn Personality Points by completing Wants. These points can be spent to upgrade and evolve personality traits, unlocking additional Vibes and perks over time.