Dream Big with inZOI

At Intel Gaming Access, when inZOI Studio asked us, “What’s your dream life?”, the answer was obvious: bringing you the latest gaming news.  But gaming is all about living out hundreds, if not thousands, of lives;  so, gamers, how would you answer the question? Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim, producer and director of the upcoming  sim game inZOI, dropped by to explain how that dream life can unfold in his studio’s hands.

Choose Life

Free will is at the heart of inZOI. Rather than loading your character with what they need to survive in a fixed environment, Kjun says inZOI aims to “provide players with a stage to create their own unique stories, using realistic visuals and sophisticated real-time simulations. Players can freely design their own characters and cities, form relationships within a dynamic society, and live out experiences shaped by their independent choices.”

The game is, Kjun continues, for those who “enjoy creative expression, seek a simulation that reflects realistic human relationships and social dynamics, and who value storytelling through their own experiences rather than simply completing predefined goals. inZOI goes beyond a traditional life simulation game; we envision it as a platform where players can create and share their own stories. Our hope is that inZOI becomes a space where diverse narratives and uniquely crafted worlds come to life.”

Sounds like our kind of world. But how will it come to life for players? “Players will experience a new level of life simulation in inZOI,” Kjun promises, “combining cutting-edge graphics, advanced AI tools, and an intricate community simulation system. inZOI is designed to encourage creativity, going beyond standard life simulation mechanics. We provide tools powered by AI, allowing players to easily create 3D objects, textures, and animations, enabling greater freedom in character and environment design. One of the key features that will be introduced in Early Access is the event system. This allows players to use their relationships with other characters to create stories that are organic and highly realistic. Additionally, elements such as crime, dating, and skills have been implemented to provide a rich and immersive simulation of life.”

Meeting the Challenge

Kjun’s background is not in sims, which may come as a surprise given that InZOI is clearly a labor of love. “A key moment of inspiration,” Kjun recalls, “came when I played life simulation games with my son. He once asked, ‘Why aren’t there more games like this?’ and that question stuck with me. It became the direct motivation for creating inZOI. Venturing into a new genre was daunting, but the enthusiastic support and feedback from fans of the genre gave me the confidence to push forward. The excitement and insights shared by the community continue to guide our development.”

But creating such an immersive, responsive world has to involve some monumental challenges. “Developing a life simulation game itself was a massive challenge,” Kjun confirms. “While I’ve faced coding, balancing, and scheduling difficulties in past projects, this was an entirely new level of complexity. Unlike traditional games, where you create a structured system, designing a believable world means simulating an environment where people live, interact, and behave in a natural, expected way. To address these challenges, we decided to first launch this Early Access version of inZOI. By releasing the game sooner, we can incorporate real player feedback and refine missing elements more effectively. Our goal is to develop inZOI alongside our players, making it a more immersive and realistic life simulation.”

The dedication to this goal involved a re-ordering of the studio’s identity. “Recently, we spun off from KRAFTON and established inZOI Studio as a subsidiary. Our studio is dedicated to exploring new possibilities in the life simulation genre. Our focus is on fostering a development culture that grows alongside our players.” 

Intel’s goal is, as ever, to aid that development, and our collaboration with InZOI Studio was very organic. “We are excited to have successfully integrated Intel® Xe Super-Sampling (XeSS) 1.3 into inZOI. XeSS upscaling and frame-generation technology enhances image clarity and smoothness, greatly improving the visual experience. This collaboration allows us to optimize performance across various hardware setups, ensuring more players can enjoy inZOI at its best. Moving forward, we hope to continue working with Intel on performance optimization and bottleneck analysis. With Intel’s cutting-edge technology and fast response times, we believe we can maximize inZOI’s graphics and system stability, delivering the best possible experience to players.”

Follow Your Bliss

“inZOI is still in its early stages,” Kjun says, “and we have a long journey ahead.”A creative community is already part of that journey. “Thanks to inZOI’s AI tools, real-time community simulation, and extensive customization features, we were able to witness players’ imaginations running wild!”

Keep those imaginations running, gamers; your sim life depends on it.

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