The inZoi team has done a great job so far, but in my opinion, not having a height slider in a modern life sim is not acceptable. I’m not trying to be harsh, but height is a massive variable in how people look.
A clarification for players
I’ve noticed a lot of misinformation about height sliders and animations in games, mostly “you would have to create separate animations for each height combo,” and that isn’t really true. We have had inverse kinematics and other procedural animation techniques for decades now. We know it’s possible, it just takes a little bit more effort. If you want an example, just look at Paralives or the (now cancelled) Life By You.
Of course, for extremely short/tall zois, you might want custom animations (for example, getting something from the top shelf), but for the most part procedural animations would suffice.
In my opinion, the effort it would take to do this is well worth it and would pay off, and would allow for many new features in the game.
Things a height slider would make possible/easier to implement:
different adult heights (DUH?) allowing for a much wider range of appearances
gradual growth as zois age instead of a sudden jump in height from one age to the next
shoes with different/more dramatic heel heights that would actually affect how tall a zoi is
once an attraction system is added, height preferences
What are some things you guys can think of that this would make possible in the game? I’m interested in other people’s thoughts!
I’ve always believed that the next-generation life simulator would actually be one where characters would gradually change their height over the days of their lives, making the transition between stages (child, teenager, young adult, adult, etc.) progressive in every sense, both in height and in other characteristics. Just as Sims gain or lose weight or increase their muscle mass, they should also be able to grow as they get older.
Of course, there should be diversity in heights among Sims (a height slider) as a base that would establish the “natural” height of the Sim and which they would tend to reach through their different life stages in which they would gradually grow. Additionally, this “base” height could be genetic and inherited from parents.
And clearly, I don’t like at all the current height difference between male and female Sims. As you say, I’m not sure if that will be normal in some parts of the world, but certainly not here in Europe. In addition to other differences I find very strange, like the speed at which they walk, it’s impossible for me to make a couple or several Sims of different sexes walk together, male Sims always move faster than female ones, and I don’t understand why.
Thank you for linking to my post. I truly believe this would be a better solution than adding height sliders. Height sliders would hinder and slow the progression of the game to a certain extent, while using height preset could be a quick and easy solution as all the animations can be retargeted to the opposite gender body.
