[04.03.26] Your Story (Updated)

[Kjun]

Hello,
With the huge anniversary update now behind us, we are beginning our development for the next update.
Therefore, we don’t have enough resources yet to share in video form with you all.
Instead, I wanted to take this opportunity to have another open-ended discussion.

This wonderful video I’m sharing today was created by one of our Dev Team members.
To create this medieval-themed love story, she used resources that are available on Canvas and created using in-game tools.
While this is great for what she had, she definitely could’ve done more if she had more tools in her arsenal.
That’s what got me thinking about what I wanted to ask you all this week.

I can imagine there’s countless variety of stories that players want to tell and experience themselves with inZOI.
This can be narratives with rising action to climax with a closing but can also be specific gameplay you want to experience.
We try to provide many tools that can help you realize your different goals with this game, but it’s definitely not perfect.
I’m sure there were times when you said, “Man, I wish I could do this,” or “Not being able to do this is really holding me back.”
These are the type of feedback I want to hear from you all this week.

Let me know all the unique stories and gameplays you wanted to create but weren’t able to because of the game’s restrictions.
What would you have wanted it to do at that critical moment? What was missing that could’ve elevated your situation?
What can we add that can help you be totally free to tell your story and realize your gameplay without restrictions?
Depending on what they are, some might be realizable with future mods, but others we can try to directly implement in the game.
Most importantly, knowing what you want to create with inZOI can help me get further synced with your needs.

Let me know what you’re all thinking down in the comments.
I’m excited as always to hear what you have to say.

Grateful as always,
Kjun

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Kjun’s Reply to Your Comments

Hello, and happy Wednesday.

I’ve really enjoyed reading all the posts this week—there have been so many great ones. Although we addressed some issues with a hotfix yesterday, I sincerely apologize for the instability and crashes. Because of this, we are trying to reduce development in April and focus primarily on stability.

That said… whenever I read your feedback, I keep finding new things I want to work on.

Family & Social Interaction Enhancements

Many players have expressed a strong desire for more realistic and expanded family gameplay, including:

• University life
• Expressions of affection within families
• Diverse family relationships
• Childcare and education systems
• Family conflicts and reconciliation

There is also high demand for more detailed everyday activities, such as:

• Children’s play activities
• Kindergarten and after-school systems
• Teen experiences like secret parties

Additionally, players emphasized the importance of autonomous NPC life cycles (marriage, childbirth, careers).
For romance and family systems, requested improvements include:

• Better partner behavior during dates
• More detailed pregnancy and childbirth processes
• Parental leave systems
• Birth centers and related features

At launch, inZOI lacked sufficient content for children and toddlers, and we are actively addressing this. A dedicated planner is continuing development in this area.
We are also working on improving the pregnancy experience:

• Players will be able to visit a hospital (rabbit hole) to take ultrasound photos, check the baby’s health, and find out the baby’s gender
• After learning the baby’s gender, players will also be able to host a gender reveal party

Building & Customization Improvements

The community has raised concerns about limited freedom in Build Mode and requested:

• Free scaling, rotation, and merging of all objects
• Easier placement of curved walls, roofs, and stairs
• More decals for walls and floors
• Fewer restrictions on public/commercial lots
• More interaction and flexibility with doors, curtains, and windows

Additional requested features include:

• Precise object rotation and height adjustment
• Tools for complex structures
• Preset filtering
• Modular furniture
• Adjustable ceiling height

Planned improvements:

• Free placement and scaling via cheats
• Free vertical movement
• Maintain placement state when saving/loading
• Support for Canvas uploads

Some interaction consistency issues (e.g., moving between rooms/lots) will be improved later.
These improvements are planned to roll out progressively through July.

Realistic Career & Job Systems

Players want deeper and more diverse career systems, including:

• Active professions (police, firefighters, doctors, chefs)
• Workplace interactions
• Special careers (K-pop idols, journalists, directors)
• Unique missions, skills, and collaboration systems
• Part-time jobs (cinema, hospital, catering, etc.)

There has been a lot of feedback about the newly added cinema:

• Players want to watch their own videos in-game
• Some want first-person viewing support

We also discussed expanding job variety today and are working toward that goal.
For this month:

• We are preparing jobs based on existing systems
• We are also exploring gameplay using the recently shared character customization system

Now that we understand which jobs players prefer, we will review development approaches.

Storytelling & Cinematic Tools

Players have requested better tools for content creation:

• Camera controls
• Animation control
• Pose creation tools

There is also strong demand for:

• Script tools
• Cinematic director mode
• User-driven storytelling systems

Players want the ability to:

• Create/edit NPC backstories, memories, and personalities
• We originally planned to implement in-game camera controls early on but haven’t completed it yet.

However:

• Some gaps may be addressed through modding
• We are currently developing script mods

If done well, this should significantly improve flexibility.
We believe talented modders will help fill in areas where we fall short.

‍NPC Autonomy & Personality

Players want NPCs to:

• Act based on personality, values, and preferences
• Develop relationships autonomously
• Support long-term storytelling via memory and reputation systems

Current issues:

• Repetitive behavior
• Lack of individuality

Requested improvements:

• Diverse walking styles, emotions, and dialogue
• AI-driven behavior learning
• Dynamic conversation systems

Zoi behavior is currently driven by needs and schedules, but lacks environmental awareness.
We are exploring a system where:

• Visual, sound, and action stimuli accumulate
• NPCs react naturally (eye contact, greetings, attention, conversation)

The goal is to create a more alive and reactive world.
We plan to introduce this as an experimental feature in May.

Immersion & Realism

Players want:

• Long-term, irreversible consequences
• More realistic physics and environmental interaction
• Features like NPC collisions, weather effects on skin (sun, sweat, humidity), and detailed life cycle systems (pregnancy, childcare, family roles).

We want inZOI to allow unexpected, emergent situations, even if that occasionally introduces complexity or bugs.

Additional Suggestions & Technical Improvements

• University campus systems
• City-specific culture, events, and social behaviors
• DLC/mod support for fantasy elements (magic, vampires, etc.)
• Animals (pets and farm animals)
• Banking systems, illegal jobs, crime systems, police chases
• Vehicle improvements (color customization, personal vehicles for NPCs)
• UI/UX improvements (camera presets, filters, control presets)
• Crash fixes and stability improvements (top priority)
• Photo mode improvements and user-created animations

This week, your feedback has been incredibly motivating. On behalf of the team, thank you for continuing to support us—even though we are still lacking in many ways. inZOI may have had a rough start, but we promise to keep improving every day until full release. We’ll keep pushing forward and will be back on Friday.

Thank you.
— Kjun

Discord - Group Chat That’s All Fun & Games

[Mazikeen]

A Horse-Drawn Vehicle can be added to the game.

[itsmechiie7]

Thank you for the update and the video, Kjun. It was fun to see inZOI devs use the game’s tools (and even some mods, it was exciting to see them there!) to make something so different from what inzoi actually is. It shows how much potential and cutomizability the game has, which I believe is one of its fortes.

This being said, please keep in mind that inZOI is beautiful in its uniqueness. We love it the way it is, and the way it is shaping to be, and we don’t want it to become something quirky and unappealing like its competitors.

Looking forward to next weeks responses and video. Have a good weekend!

[coya_nade]

this lol i was excited for once having a game like this not be quirky/random like other titles

[Cathaysa]

Hi! If it helps with the camera, if you move the camera with the arrow keys it moves more smoothly. And with the rest I think it’s a good idea.

[Cathaysa]

Hey! I really enjoyed watching the video and seeing what possibilities it has. I’d like there to be a challenges option, so to speak, where anyone who wants to can play it and complete them in the game in a way that affects your Zoi’s status. You could even create rivalries with families or something like a kind of legacy system.

[itsmechiie7]

It’s what I like about inZOI the most! The environtment, animations and interactions are realistic instead of childish, and it generally feels like the games respects the gamers.

[myalt12339]

More crimes please or add weapons for realism

[JoyIsFunner]

The only thing that is holding me back from playing is color bleeding issues, how soon can I build my house with a wooden floor and a white ceiling that stays white when I color the floor brown?

in this image you can see as long as the floor is white the ceiling stays white and it’s impossible with a brown floor though.

[gianalee13]

i want to be able to write my own text on my phone

[TheresiaBlueberry]

I can only agree to this 100%

[TheresiaBlueberry]

I would love to say to the creator do not be afraid of using the 3d tool that we are having you can transform a toy into a pile of books and load up tons of patterns. I love the video clip in all it’s creative because you can see the passion behind the work . Otter clap to the creator 10 out of 10

[Soul17]

Yes, that was announced too, but I don’t know when it’s supposed to happen. The idea that you can send an individual message to a Zoi via your phone and also get back an AI-generated message. I’m not sure if that’s still on the roadmap. At the very beginning it said “Coming Soon,” but in my opinion, it’s gone now.

[Arkanum10M]

Thank you for your amazing engagement with the community, Kjun.

One area where inZOI could grow beautifully is in the representation of Black and African characters — including options for male Zois. I believe there are lots of players who would enjoy that, and me personally, I would absolutely love being able to create authentic West African coded Zois and tell stories rooted in those cultures.

I’d also love to see more facial diversity for Black/African male Zois. The current manipulation points do well for some phenotypes, but authentic Malinké, Ashanti, or Yorùbá features — the jaw structure, nose shape, cheekbone placement — are currently difficult to achieve. More control points and a wider adjustment range in the face editor would make an enormous difference, as would a face-mixing system. Rather than being limited to choose an entire face from a single preset, the ability to take eyes from one preset, a nose from another, a jaw from a third would unlock truly unique faces that no single preset can produce alone.

What would really impress me would be the implementation of West African fashion. Malian Bazin Riche suits and dresses — a fabric literally made for ray-tracing — would be absolutely breathtaking rendered in inZOI’s beautiful graphics, and open up new possibilities for storytelling and cultural enrichment.

inZOI is already something rare and wonderful. The love and dedication poured into every update is visible and deeply felt by this community. You are not just building a game — you are building a world where everyone deserves to feel at home. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and please never stop. You are creating something legendary.

[Lucie25]

Hi Kjun,

Thank you so much for your message.

Personally, I enjoy creating deep stories in inZOI, but I sometimes feel limited by certain systems. Characters forget events too quickly, emotions don’t last long enough, and relationships lack real development.

There’s also a lack of a more robust memory system, a reputation system, and more control over creating key moments in a story.

The game has enormous potential, and that’s precisely why I want to push the boundaries of what I can create.

Thanks again for your work.

[MTani]

Then we’re going to get our GTA VI before the real one is released