Dear Developers,
Thank you so much for the breathtaking Cahaya — it truly is visually stunning. But please, reconsider the integrity of certain mechanics being added to a next-gen environment. I play a wide range of new releases, and InZOI stood out to me specifically as a strong attempt to bring fresh ideas into the genre leveraging the power of the engine and open world.
Why This Matters
This may not be a problem for nostalgic or casual players, or those coming from cozy/mobile/time-killers – but lots of those games are nearing the end of their cycle. You’re just beginning yours as AA+ for high-end platforms, and by the time inZOI launches or closer to 2030, such mechanics could feel entirely out of place. But since the game is still in early access, it’s not a big deal — everything can still be improved, right?
Mining
The inclusion of mechanics like resource collection and item gathering – especially when copied almost directly from games 15–20 years old – raises questions about where the acceptable boundary lies between legacy and next-gen expectations. For example, the spawning of fossils on the surface of a public park feels disconnected from the overall tone, and makes me wonder what other “surprises” might be coming.
I encourage you to look at games that use underground deposits / mines, metal detectors, and actual excavation logic — games like Red Dead Redemption 2 / Online (which feature treasure hunts, mines, and terrain-based discovery), The Alters (focused specifically on mineral extraction and underground resource logic), A Game About Digging A Hole, Valheim. Perhaps resource gathering should be tied to terrain zones – mountain region with mine entrance, flat areas with subsurface deposits that need to be scanned.
Farming
The same goes for gardening and selling — instead of focusing on isolated, single-plant placements, it would make more sense to shift toward group-based cultivation across terrain zones, with crates for storing and selling, machinery for cultivaton, especially considering the scale of the world. Otherwise… it’s the same kind of thing we’ve seen countless times before in the genre.
References: Farming Simulator 22/25, The Sims 3 Store Grandpa’s Grove
Of course, I understand that some people might disagree with this or find it too critical — but I’m constantly trying to find that middle ground where more people are likely to say: “this is interesting / we haven’t seen this before / we don’t want to fast-forward through this.”
Thanks a lot for your time and attention!