Babies, the Government, and You.

Hello everyone, it's been a while, but it's time for one of the big topic posts as chosen by all of you. So I'm here with the winner of our last poll: Babies, the Government, and You. I'm going to try something a little different this time around, particularly because this is a lot less of a technical post. Tackling the issue of how to handle children in a game like this isn't easy, and there haven't been any game-changing suggestions, either.

So I'm going with my original potential idea of a government-run creche that handles children. Because this will undoubtedly require some in-game explanation, I thought I'd write a little fictional segment that I can use in the actual game to help explain why your kids are taken away to some crazy facility.

The reason for all this craziness is that doing children "right" is a lot of work. Like some kind of childcare Tamagotchi mini-game would be required or something, and even then it'd be opening something of a Pandora's box of potential issues/complaints of child abuse or who even knows what. It's not an issue that I'm afraid of tackling, but it's one that I don't want to approach half-assed (not to mention that I'm trying to maintain a similar level of detail and freedom across the game's elements, so a simple solution would feel jarring). Because doing it right would take a lot of time, it would add significantly to development time or I would have to cut other things.

The creche solution is somewhat inspired by the nursery found in the game Trials in Tainted Space. It handles the issue of childcare quite well for the setting, particularly in respect to proper treatment of children. It seems silly, but it's crazy how fast things can turn into a Patreon/social media shitstorm, and TiTS neatly avoids that. The AW creche concept has a similar objective, and fits into the game world's story. Raising children to be healthy productive adults is a prime objective of the government facing the population crash, and providing a means to do so could be seen as an important service. Presumably not all adults would have the time or resources to care for the needed number of children, particularly in the harsh economic times, so establishing a safe place to care for these children could be seen as a noble cause. Appletree would be a perfect place to test the latest and greatest in that regard, as well as laws requiring the use of a creche if the parents don't meet certain criteria indicating that they would be able to properly care for their children.

Obviously it's still a bit strange, and not something I would want to see actually happen in the real world, but it does happen to solve the major problems with handling children properly in the game. And, universe (and your support) permitting, adding more traditional childcare into the game is something that could be done in an expansion after the base game is complete.

So let's move on to the fun in-universe stuff!

Hello, I'm Troy Hartman!

You may remember me from such informational videos as "Testing: the Best Thing to Do" and "Furious Cow Disease and You". 

Welcome to Babies, the Government, and You. Over the next 45 minutes, I'm going to help explain the ins and outs of parenthood in Appletree! This video was brought to you by Progenerate Technologies. Solving tomorrow's problems, today! 

As a proud citizen of Appletree, you live in one of the most advanced communities in our great nation. And let's be real here, folks, that Black Butte thing they call a town doesn't hold a candle to Appletree!

Because of the close partnership between Appletree and proud sponsors like the Thornton Institute and Progenerate Technologies, you have the opportunity to be part of an exciting pilot program for the Mandatory Custodial Childcare Act passed in 2029. That means you have access to the most advanced childcare facility in the world: The Advanced Residential Childcare, or ARC Facility!

Now, I know what you're thinking. When I played the role of Puss E. Whiskers in the award-nominated feature film musical "Puss In Boots: the Musical", I too was faced with a situation that seemed too good to be true. You're probably asking yourself "Where's the hidden catch?", "Can I even afford this?", or maybe even "Is it really a good idea to hand my newborn child over to the government?". 

I'm here to tell you that the answer to your question is: "Yes!". 

We all want the best for our children, assuming we have any, so it's perfectly reasonable to wonder if the best is really within our reach. Thanks to the MCC Act, it is! In fact, taking advantage of the wonderful ARC facility is absolutely no cost to you! The federal government foots the bill for ARC and its sister facilities being built across the country. It's about time they put your tax dollars to good use, am I right?

Speaking of taxes, if you take advantage of MCC and ARC, you won't be eligible for the Child Tax Credit. Let's be real though folks, taking care of kids yourself costs way more than that puny tax credit, so I say it's still a win! I'll also note that you're still completely eligible for the birth incentive credit, so it's really a double win!

You may be wondering: "how do I sign up?" If so, then boy do I have some good news for you! Every potential mother in Appletree is automatically enrolled in the program, so all you have to do is give birth and you're all set!

Some of you might have some questions, just like my character Derique in "Zoolander the Fifth". I'm here to answer those for you right now, but you can also find information on the ApplePortal government website if you really want to.

First up is the question everyone asks: "Does this mean I'll never see my kids?" Well, the answer is, only if you don't want to! The ARC facility has visiting hours available every day for you to spend some quality time with your children. Qualifying parents can even sign them out for weekend visits or even a family vacation!

Another question that seems to come up in every group is: "How do I opt out of MCC?" First of all, why would you even want to? ARC is gonna give your kid the very best head start possible! If you're really serious though, you can always check out the ApplePortal to see if you meet the minimum requirements to opt out.

Some of you might be wondering: "Where will my child sleep at night?" Don't you worry though, the ARC facility has an entire dormitory section, with environments fully optimized for their developmental stage. So you don't have to worry about dropping them off in the morning, or picking them up in the evening; they'll be cared for 24/7 by ARC's wonderful staff!

Well, now, I bet some of you are dying to see what the ARC facility is like on the inside, am I right? Well you're in for a treat, because up next is a tour inside your local ARC, right after a quick word from our sponsors...