Inspiration for a video game can come from anywhere, but those ideas often arrive when a developer is playing one of their favorite video games and a desire forms to not just imitate it but improve upon it with their own work.inZOIis very much a similar story, though its scope, scale, and ambition go far beyond merely making a better version of a life simulation game. Instead,inZOI’s aim seems to be to completely redefine what a life simulation game is.
Game Rant recently interviewed the CEO of inZOI Studio and director-producer ofinZOI, Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim, about the inspiration behind the game. As it turns out, Kim got the idea forinZOIwhile he wassharing a gaming momentwith his son. From there, he went on to pursue creatinginZOIusing his wealth of experience in the gaming industry.
The Inspiration Behind inZOI
Unlike many projects that begin with market research or a corporate directive to capitalize on trends, the inspiration behindinZOI’s development is deeply personal and ultimately rooted in a shared gaming experience between a father and his son. While Kim has enjoyedlife simulation gamesfor a long time, the initial idea forinZOIwas sparked by a simple question asked by his son. This question then opened Kim’s eyes to the fact that the life simulation genre still had room for growth, despite his ability to thoroughly enjoy what it had to offer already. When asked about the story behindinZOI’s creation, Kim replied,
“I’ve been a fan of playing simulation games with my son for a long time. In particular, we spent countless hours playingThe Simstogether. One day, my son asked why there weren’t more games like it. That’s when I realized there was a need for something new in this genre, and why I set out to developinZOI.”
The goal of most game developers, however, is to offer something fresh and original, even if it still resembles its influences in some ways. Kim realized that he couldn’t simply add another life simulation to the increasingly populated library of games. Instead, he needed something innovative and groundbreaking. For something of that scale, then, he would also need a unique skill set and the expertise to manage such a demanding project. Fortunately, his prior experience in MMORPG development offered him a solid foundation to walk into the life simulation genre upon, with intricate world design, deep customization, and ahigh degree of player freedombeing the perfect ingredients for the game he wanted to build. Kim continued,
“Fortunately, my previous experience working on MMORPGs – where I created expansive maps and intricate item systems – proved invaluable. In MMORPGs, the main focus was to design and implement vast worlds. I was able to leverage that expertise to effectively buildinZOI’s open world. Moreover, as it is with life simulation games, an enormous degree of resources was required since we needed to implement various aspects of life. My experience in character customization, architecture, and housing systems from MMORPG development came in handy when overcoming this challenge.”
Life simulations aren’t just about worlds, though — they need to feel alive. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by ensuring that a game’sNPCs and social interactions feel authenticand dynamic. While MMORPGs don’t typically feature NPC systems as deep as those Kim was looking for, he did find inspiration in his experience witnessing the relationships and interactions of of MMO players. In other words, Kim and inZOI Studio set out to develop an NPC system that would function similarly to real-life social dynamics.
This, of course, would be an immense challenge, not just for Kim, but for any developer. Nevertheless, Kim’s passion and drive to makeinZOIaninnovative life simulationexperience unlike any before it was the guiding force that would lead to his ideas being realized.
“To add, my background in building NPC systems, player relations and interactions in MMORPGs greatly inspiredinZOI’s NPC development and interaction systems. Though it is not an easy task, I continue to work hard to bringinZOIto life every day with my passion for the genre and my experience in developing MMORPGs hand in hand.”
And this is just scratching the surface of whatinZOIaims to accomplish for the life sim genre. To think that all of this was inspired by a moment that any gaming parent can probably relate to makesinZOI’s arrivalon the life sim scene all the more special. Time will tell just how far these ideas have gone and what they will accomplish, but it’s a testament to how powerful a shared gaming experience can be.
