INTERVIEW – inZOI Game Director Talks Inspiration, The Sims, The Life Simulator Genre, Appealing To The West, And More

As a passionate game developer, Form has always held a deep respect for the gaming community, especially those in regions where his beloved genre thrives. He recognizes the importance of this market for inZOI, understanding that it’s not just about creating a game, but about crafting an experience that resonates with players worldwide.

As a dedicated gaming enthusiast, I’ve come to appreciate that the life simulator genre is brimming with creative minds who pour their passion into crafting immersive virtual worlds. For quite some time now, giants like EA and The Sims have held the reins, but other developers have been striving to offer unique alternatives. Now, it’s Krafton’s turn to take a swing at this competitive space with inZOI – a life simulation game that allows players to customize their world to weave their own distinctive tales and adventures.

Just the other day, I had a fascinating chat with game mastermind Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim, diving deep into the making of our game, the buzz around the character creation feature over the hot summer months, going head-to-head with The Sims, and much more!

The game will start its Early Access phase on March 28, 2025, exclusively on PC through Steam. During the summer previously, the team unveiled a demo of their character creator which resulted in more than 100,000 unique characters being designed and shared globally.

You can find the entire interview underneath, as the quotations are directly translated from the interview by an on-site translator.

I’m particularly interested in discussing the character creator, as it turned out to be incredibly popular with thousands engaged in creating characters for the game. Seeing such a massive response from the community, even without experiencing the game itself, left quite an impression on me.

We developed this character creation demo launch plan during Gamescom primarily to spark interest and anticipation among players about our upcoming game, inZoi. Some members of our community have expressed eagerness to try out a preview, as they’re eager for any glimpse into the game before they can fully experience it. While we aim to satisfy this demand, we also felt apprehensive because the project is still in its development phase.

The work isn’t fully polished or perfected yet. As creators, we’re often concerned about presenting the most outstanding version of our ideas. However, our ultimate goal was not simply for users to create characters within the demo and then move on. Instead, we desired for them to share their creations with others, fostering a sense of community.

It’s clear that since you handled the demonstration, you’re familiar with the part of the demo involving Canvas, where you upload your work for others participating globally to see while they play along. They can download it too, re-experiencing your creation in the same manner. He was hoping this would be the last step everyone would opt for, and fortunately, that’s exactly what happened.

We reached really high numbers of shared creations on Canvas, so we were really happy about that.

INTERVIEW – inZOI Game Director Talks Inspiration, The Sims, The Life Simulator Genre, Appealing To The West, And More

For the past two decades, The Sims has held dominance over the gaming space. Players were hoping for a fresh experience with Life by You from Paradox, but unfortunately, it didn’t pan out as expected and was ultimately cancelled. Now, there’s buzz surrounding inZOI, which many believe could be the next big contender to provide an alternative. Does this heightened expectation put any additional pressure on your team?

It certainly puts us under some stress since it’s tempting to grab a small piece of the pie when attention is scarce and claim we’ve done our job. However, we understand that the focus has intensified on us due to the cancellations of Life by You and other projects still in development. What we aim for isn’t dominance over the genre, but rather to coexist harmoniously with other games within this niche.

It seems to me that, as players ourselves, we appreciate having various avenues to explore. For instance, should we wish to immerse ourselves in a game like The Sims, we certainly can. However, if we’re seeking an occasional enjoyable experience, we have the freedom to do so as well.

From a player’s viewpoint, it seems quite intuitive. However, for developers, transitioning from MMO and RPG genres to the life simulation genre might seem like a trivial task. Initially, it appeared straightforward, much like an easy stroll.

However, once we delved into the specifics and complexities of the life simulation genre, we discovered that it was an extremely challenging area for further development. Consequently, we’ve always held high regard for those developers who tackled the same genre before us.

How would you describe the current status of the game’s development? Keeping in mind that it’s not quite ready for a full release yet, and many people haven’t had a chance to play it, but if you were to give an overall sense today of where things stand, what word or feeling comes to mind?

Kim consistently strives for more fulfillment, as his lengthy experience with Sins has instilled in him a deep sense of what he believes this game should embody. In essence, despite the ongoing development process and the unavailability of a full release, these factors don’t meet his internal expectations.

To him, the current state of the game is merely an excuse, as it appears extremely unfinished and significantly falls short of his vision for an ideal gaming experience. Since he envisions coexisting with the Sins as an additional engaging feature for live simulation enthusiasts, his commitment lies in continuously improving the game to reach higher standards, even post our early access launch. This drive isn’t born out of dissatisfaction alone, but also serves as motivation to consistently enhance the game quality over time.

INTERVIEW – inZOI Game Director Talks Inspiration, The Sims, The Life Simulator Genre, Appealing To The West, And More

If it’s going to compete with other games on the market, there must be a compelling reason for people to try it out. Of course, the stunning visuals of the game and the impressive character models are a big draw, but what specific gameplay features do you think will entice players to give inZOI a chance?

From a passionate Sims enthusiast here, let me share my perspective on how InZOI sets itself apart. While The Sims offers moments that can feel strikingly real, it’s with InZOI that you truly dive into the fantastical. Instead of just dealing with ghostly encounters and various everyday characters, InZOI takes things a step further by incorporating a plethora of mythical creatures and fantasy personas for you to immerse yourself in. And this, I believe, is where InZOI distinguishes itself from The Sims’ approach to gaming experience.

To make the game more authentic, we aim to incorporate relatable everyday experiences, the seemingly ordinary moments that carry deeper significance in our own lives. These are the instances that our creator wants players to encounter within the game world, so they too can experience those profoundly personal and life-like moments when immersed in our virtual environment.

He aims to create a video game named inZOI that offers a more authentic experience compared to traditional video games. His goal is to bring realism into gaming, providing an escape for those who seek a less intense version of fantasy found in The Sims. This game is designed to offer a calmer, more tranquil environment mimicking real life, offering relaxation and enjoyment to players.

Afterwards, they can connect the situation back to inZOI at that instance. Essentially, this is the main motivation behind him and the entire project, as they aim to label our game as a realistic life simulation rather than any other category. To be specific, he intends to provide instances as something he is keen on developing, particularly focusing on relationships, especially romantic ones, which are not always straightforward or simple.

In video games, they can seem simpler than real-life relationships, but he aims to portray this complexity as authentically as he can. This way, players can understand that building a relationship isn’t always easy or enjoyable – it can be challenging and even painful at times.

There are certain feelings, a blend of emotions if you will, often associated with such situations. He aims for individuals to encounter those complex sentiments through the medium of a video game, such as inZOI. Another example could be when going through a divorce, where it’s similar to experiencing these mixed emotions.

It’s not saying, you know, you just put a paper and you’re just done with it and no emotions are exchanged. There’s a lot of emotions that are exchanged between that. And also, you know, realistic things like how do you split the finances of the husband and wife?

Occasionally, it can seem unfair when the outcome doesn’t go as planned after a prolonged period of discussion, especially since it’s just a game. However, he appreciates those unforeseen instances where the result isn’t what you’d logically expect, almost like an error in calculation. Yet, these unexpected moments can evoke a distinct emotion that is peculiar to gaming experiences.

He previously touched upon the topic of visual creativity, but he’d like to expand on it slightly, keeping things straightforward and simple. He feels that in today’s tech-driven world, there is a significant requirement for individuals to be not just creators, but to possess a high level of skill that allows them to materialize their ideas as fully as they can conceive them in their minds.

But he hopes to provide more tools that are more intuitive, that are easier to use so that you can, you know, be a creator and recreate things that are in your mind, but just kind of visualize it in the game. And one of the example is, you know, being able to kind of sync your iPhone into the game and then you do a whole facial tracking where we have so many points where just follow every little movement of your face and that gets mirrored into your character’s face. And that he thought that that would be a good use for, you know, VTubers nowadays who are really into that space and just kind of create an inZOI character and just sync your iPhone.

Here, you’ve got an effortless setup for a genuine VTuber experience within the game itself, making it incredibly simple for you to dive right in!

INTERVIEW – inZOI Game Director Talks Inspiration, The Sims, The Life Simulator Genre, Appealing To The West, And More

Have you discussed challenges encountered when creating content for Korean audiences compared to a broader international audience? If so, could you share some of the obstacles that have arisen during the process to ensure the product caters well to a larger global userbase?

Kim encountered numerous challenges right off the bat since he recognized that games developed in specific regions often struggle to penetrate other regions due to a lack of cultural understanding and differences in perception among people.

If you neglect to deeply understand the cultures of your target audience while trying to reach them, success is unlikely to follow. Aware of this from the outset, he actively sought connections with our offices beyond Korea – locations like America and Europe – where we collect data, insights, and feedback during the development stages of our games.

What do you think about this? What does this look like? Is there anything awkward about this?

Thus, frequent question-and-answer exchanges transpired due to that particular situation. He found this extremely beneficial for himself. Furthermore, expanding on this, he also brought in foreign workers for our project, which initially consisted only of Korean employees, correct? Primarily individuals who had been working here regularly.

He believed it was essential to employ individuals from other countries to gain a more profound understanding of intricate game details, as this aspect seemed crucial for our games to stand out among those less dedicated to this level of effort.

Why is the game named inZOI? Is there a reason behind the name?

In essence, the key term from there turned out to be “zoi”, which, as you can imagine, resonated strongly with him during his exploration of numerous words and keywords for naming this game. Remarkably, “zoi” is actually an ancient Greek word signifying “life”.

In the ever-changing landscape of journalism, terms and phrases often shift due to cultural differences and the evolving way people communicate their ideas. However, the term ZOE, from a historical Greek perspective, has remarkably retained its original meaning for over a millennium. This timeless quality, which seems to embody a certain purity and endurance that resonates deeply, is something he found particularly relatable.

As I was designing this life simulation game, I didn’t want it to feel like a mere replica of reality – something detached and unreal. Instead, I aimed to create a game that would immerse players in a world where they could truly experience the ups and downs of living. That’s why I’ve included some challenging aspects to strike a balance and offer a more fulfilling gaming experience, one that isn’t just about joy and good fortune all the time.

In essence, when a series of unlucky and surprising circumstances occur, they can form something quite extraordinary that brings immense satisfaction. Using the term “in-ZOE” implies you’re fully immersed in life, experiencing, re-experiencing, and even living life again through this video game – which is exactly what we aim to convey.

Additionally, the game serves to illustrate his desire for players to ultimately find joy in life. By immersing themselves in various gameplay elements and aspects, they may gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of their own lives. This exploration can be achieved seamlessly within the context of the video game.

And hopefully that’s what he hopes to achieve through this game.

INTERVIEW – inZOI Game Director Talks Inspiration, The Sims, The Life Simulator Genre, Appealing To The West, And More

As a fan, have I gleaned any insights from the feedback on the character creator, or conversations with folks, be it at Gamescom or elsewhere, regarding potential adjustments to better penetrate the North American market versus other regions?

Before outlining his strategies to potentially boost the game’s market penetration, he recognizes the North American market as not only a significant piece of the pie but a crucial one due to the genre’s historical popularity among North American players. Given that this is a live simulation game, North American players have shown a strong affinity towards it compared to other regions, making it a vital market for inZOI.

Despite all the feedback he’s received, both online and offline, through comments, influencer responses, and viewers of those influencers, he remains cautious about jumping to conclusions regarding a solution. He doesn’t want to presume he knows everything at this moment, as he maintains a humble approach, acknowledging that he doesn’t know everything. Instead, he chooses to keep an open mind, continuing to listen to the players and communicate openly with them to understand better what they desire from the game. His goal is to identify areas for improvement so that the game becomes more relatable, familiar, and ultimately more enjoyable for the players.

He started out recognizing that this task would require a deep understanding of the cultural differences between Korean and Western cultures, and so he expects it to be an ongoing process where he’ll continue to work diligently.

Just kind of one funny example of one of the first things that he realized as he was discussing the cultural differences between Korean and Western cultures that, you know, when you have a sofa, right? When you have a sofa and people typically sit on the sofa, right? That’s understood, right?

It’s likely this item was designed for that purpose. In Korea, it’s customary to sit on the floor with your back against the sofa leg, which is so commonplace that he didn’t find it unusual. Interestingly, we have another map called Bliss Bay, modeled after the United States, where such a practice might not be as common.

In a home where residents at Bliss Bay tend to lounge on the sofa’s front edge instead of sitting on it, he didn’t initially understand that this posture seemed odd and visually awkward from an American perspective. He may have assumed, because it’s so common in Korea, that everyone else around the world does it as well, overlooking such seemingly minor differences.

However, this underscores the fact that his knowledge isn’t necessarily the solution. Instead, he chooses to remain modest and continue the dialogue in order to discover the true answer.

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam.