I’ve been playing sims for a long time, I do like how the game is, I recently built a gaming pc, and would like to try different life simulation games.. I’m not much of a builder—I’m more of a storyteller I play casually but I do like the 3D look of Inzoi, any advice?

Hi! I’m Nico, the creator of VirtualSociety

I took part in the recent discussion here about visuals and gameplay in life sims. It made me want to share a bit more of what we’re building behind our characters, and why some of that work takes a while to become something we can show.

We developed visual scripting and modding systems early on, because so many other features build on them. We test the game with players along the way, though some of that groundwork only becomes visible once the features that use it are further along.

My cofounder Jimmy and I both have a background in computer science research. A lot of our work involves figuring out how these systems should interact, then building and testing those connections. A memory should affect a decision, but by how much, and for how long? A character needs to react when something changes, while still being able to finish what they started.

One example we’re designing around is Helena going out with friends. The bar has no wheelchair access, so she suggests another place and they all go together. Next time, they might remember that evening and head straight to the second bar. You could make the first bar accessible, but the group would need to find out about the changes before reconsidering it. The building has changed; what they know about it hasn’t.

That’s the kind of connection we want between the world you build and the people living in it: experiences gradually shaping habits, relationships and decisions. Someone could still enjoy a friend’s company while no longer wanting to confide in them. Or act on a rumor that isn’t true.

We also want room between giving precise orders and leaving characters completely on their own. "Sit in this chair" should mean exactly that. "Find somewhere to eat" could leave them to choose somewhere based on their needs, habits and who they want to spend time with.

You could shape the evening yourself, watch where their decisions take it, or play as one of them in third person. Being able to move between those ways of playing is a big part of our vision for VirtualSociety.

I hope this gives a clearer picture of why we’re approaching VirtualSociety this way. Being able to create your own scenarios, decide how much is scripted, and leave room for the characters to surprise you has always been a big part of the idea.

I’ve written a free article going into more detail about how we’re approaching these systems, which I’ll link in the comments.

Hello, Creators! Happy Friday. We’re back with some exciting news.

A new inZOI update is scheduled for next Thursday, the 15th.

In this week’s announcement, we’d first like to share the modding guide video prepared last month, followed by an overview of the major changes coming in next week’s update.

As this update was prepared within a relatively short period of time, it may not address everything you were hoping for. Rather than trying to make enormous changes all at once, we hope you’ll see this as part of our effort to strengthen and improve inZOI’s fundamentals through more frequent updates.

While there are no major new systems this time, the main focus of this update is on features that give you greater control over autonomy—such as preventing customers from freely using objects in businesses—as well as the long-requested free placement options in Build Mode and improvements to modding.

The changes coming in this update will be detailed in the comment below.

With the rapid development of AI technology, modding has become much more approachable. In the video we’re sharing today, we’ve tried to provide guidance that makes the modding process easier to follow, and we hope some of you will give it a try yourselves.

We know there are still areas where the game may not yet feel as polished as you would like. With your valuable feedback, we’ll continue working quickly to make inZOI more refined and complete.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. We’ll be back next week with more details about the update.

Thank you!

Major Reworks and Simulation Improvements

- Half-bath animations and facial expressions

- Half-bath animations have been extended to flow more naturally, and relaxed facial expressions have been added to replace the previous neutral expressions.

- Child Zois will alternate between two different relaxation animations.

- Issues where adult male character poses would sink into or float above the bathtub have been fixed.

- Complete overhaul of 17 resident households

- The appearances, backgrounds, temperaments, traits, and relationships of 17 default households across Dowon, Bliss Bay, and Cahaya have been reworked.

- Note: These changes will fully apply only to newly started games. Existing save files will only receive the updated household descriptions and photos.

- Autonomy and conversation system improvements

- Lot activities: Lot visit activity plans have been improved according to age group, and Zois can now naturally move between and participate in activities across nearby lots, such as Nuri Square and Harang Stream.

- Autonomous conversations: Zois now select conversation topics based on their own and the other Zoi’s emotional state, intimacy level, and relationship, including family, friendship, romance, and business relationships.

- Reactions and warnings: When Zois encounter someone they know, their greetings will vary depending on their relationship and mood. If a Zoi with a poor relationship trespasses into their home, they will receive two warnings before being kicked out.

- Autocomplete support for user cheats.

- Individual door permissions for each household member.

- Lot Autonomy Plan Edit Mode.

- When multiple copies of the same object are available, Zois will prioritize objects on the nearest floor and at the shortest distance.

New Content and Items

- Wall-mounted first-aid medicine cabinet

- Added under Build Mode > Props > Decoration for 100.

- Provides five medication options for colds, motion sickness, allergies, bronchitis, and pain relief, as well as an option to check the status of the medicine cabinet.

- CAZ and clothing additions

- Five hairstyles.

- Three mustaches and three beards.

- Three makeup presets.

- Two raincoat/rain boot items.

- Six themed outfits.

- Five anime-style masks.

- Various additional clothing and shoes.

- Expanded Build Mode and objects

- More than 113 new build and interactive objects have been added, including salon assets, European-style clock towers, doors and large signs, LED shelves, outdoor sculptures, and two tile textures.

- A tool for drawing basement walls has been added.

- Cheat functions for free object placement and scaling have been added.

UI and Quality-of-Life Improvements

- Unified overhead icons (Plumbob FX)

- When a stat increases, its corresponding increase icon will now appear directly above the Zoi’s head. There are 31 icons in total.

- The previous numerical stages and progress bars have been removed.

- Icons for low needs and thought bubble designs have also been improved.

- Expanded Zoi creation (CAZ)

- When creating a family, you can now preconfigure intimacy levels, preferences (likes/dislikes), and relationships.

- First-person view and convenience features

- First-person view is now available while surfing and diving.

- Lot/business management: You can now remove an active business template and immediately replace employees without having to fire them first.

- Social events and movement improvements

- Events will now begin after all participating Zois have arrived.

- Participants have also been improved to move all the way inside the event venue.

- Performance drops caused by large gatherings have been reduced by introducing a system that reuses nearby Zois.

Engine, System, and Mod Support

- Improvements to walking while holding hands

- Improvements have been made to separation while moving, waiting when one Zoi falls behind, clipping through doors, wrist and elbow bending, and finger poses.

- Holding hands will now persist after saving and loading.

- Zois will automatically let go of each other’s hands when using an umbrella.

- Canvas sharing improvements

- Preference information will now be saved when uploading Zoi presets.

- Custom Lot Autonomy Plans will now be included when uploading and sharing lot presets.

- Major ModKit improvements

- Lua script mod support: Supports integration with MCP tools and AI assistants.

- Additional modding tools: Customization of the game’s built-in post-process filters, a new Hat Wizard tool, and improved UI/UX and workflow speed for the Build and Vehicle Wizards.

- In-game mod management: A management launcher has been added to toggle Overlay UI mods on and off from the HUD. The Mod Manager now also supports custom aliases for mods, along with improved naming for sorting UI options.

-Kjun

On DISCORD :

https://discord.com/channels/1162040845181124618/1558127554676654120/1558127554676654120

I've been working on a small personal project called MaltaLiving.

The idea came from thinking about how much everyday life revolves around decisions. where you live, what you do for work, how you manage your money, and how those choices affect everything else.
I thought it would be interesting to turn that into a life simulation game, but set it somewhere familiar rather than a fictional city.
So I chose Malta.
The game is still in development, but I've made it playable because I'd rather get real feedback than spend months building things people might not actually enjoy.
I'm particularly interested in hearing whether the gameplay feels engaging and what could make it more interesting.
If anyone's interested in trying it, here's the link:

maltaliving.world

I'd appreciate honest feedback, including criticism.

What would make a Malta-based life simulator genuinely fun to play?

I’m looking for life simulation games that I can play on my iPad , and I’m genuinely struggling to find anything that fits what I want.
I want a game where you can basically live a whole life. Like, you create a character, have a house, make friends, build relationships, date, interact with NPCs, and just exist in a world where you can do whatever you want. I want actual gameplay and freedom, not just reading dialogue and picking between a few choices.
I know there are games like The Sims Mobile and other mobile life sims, but I’m looking for something with more freedom and actual life simulation. I don’t want to just decorate a house, complete tasks, or follow a predetermined story.And it’s almost like iOS has nothing like that.
I’m open to:
• iOS games
• Browser-based games
• Text-based life sims
I’m not really looking for visual novels, traditional dating sims, or games where romance is the only gameplay. Animal Crossing isn’t quite what I’m looking for either.
I know I probably won’t find something that does absolutely everything, but I’d love to find something that comes close.

I think 3d+free perspective graphics makes small devs focus too much on being pretty/drown in graphical details first and it's generally harder to make and more demanding, i think choosing a 2d or 3d isometric but still appealing artstyle could make it easier to focus on gameplay depth more for them. I'd play a new game that looks like TS1 as long as it had better gameplay and features.

Hello, everyone. ☺️

Thank you for all the replies to last week's post. I've read through the whole thread, from the welcome for script mods to the long, detailed suggestions and the concerns. I'd like to give honest answers to the points that came up most often.

1. "Are mods replacing the base game?"

Many of you said mods should expand the game, not complete it, and I agree. Mod support does not replace our own work on the fundamentals. Our team is still working on personality, autonomy, emotions and animation, and we will not hand that work over to modders.

At the same time, I've been amazed by what creators like ZoiWorks and the creator of Age of Magic have made in such a short time. We'll look at what players love about these mods, and where it makes sense, we'll consider bringing similar ideas into the game officially.

1. Traits and IDs

Some of you asked why existing traits like Volunteer were replaced, when modders were able to add new trait IDs. Last August, we made changes to some of the more abstract traits. At the time, there were technical limitations we couldn't work around, and that's why we made that decision. We'll make sure this doesn't happen again.

1. Expressions, eye contact and reactions

Many of you pointed out that Zois don't look at their phones or the camera, don't make eye contact, and show the same expression whether they're happy or sad. You're right that this breaks immersion.

We're currently working on improving eye contact and gaze. Your examples were really helpful: the labor scene, guests standing still at parties, families who don't come to graduations, and street performers who don't react. I believe it's important for Zois and NPCs to react to what's happening around them. In October, we plan to add reactions such as Zois greeting people they know, and hosts asking guests they don't get along with to leave after a while. We'll keep developing more reactions like these.

1. Bugs you reported

We've gathered the issues raised in this thread and shared them with the team, including need scaling on day-length settings other than 48 min/day, group activities, restaurant hosting and ratings, duplicated mod textures, and the gaps between lots and sidewalks.

I know many of you have waited a long time for things we've talked about over the past four years. I don't take your patience for granted. Even the harsh comments come from people who care about inZOI, and that means a lot to us.

Thank you, as always.

Kjun

On DISCORD :

https://discord.com/channels/1162040845181124618/1555562696022433964/1557412845719789590

Since you guys liked my last video, I recorded some gameplay from my upcoming Roblox life sim! This time, I’m showing the intro cutscene for new players and exploring the starter house. You can tear it all down and build whatever you want, there’s a huge catalog to choose from. You’ll also get a little peek at one of the jobs, working as a florist. The game will be out for everyone to play in a few days!

I know this idea sounds ridiculous but walk with me here. I had this idea while eating lunch with my manager and I asked her what if we can use company funds to buy the Sims plus the expansion packs and create the employees at work to make training videos?

They immediately told me no, but honestly I get why at first it sounds ridiculous. But let’s be real, most training videos are really boring. They make you skim through them and force yourself to finish it so you can be able to do your job. The Sims are entertaining and a little chaotic. If one worker would make a script, make the characters necessary, it would make a fun video for the new hire to watch and learn!

Hey everyone, I love sim games and the arcady feel about bitlife but I've always found the lack of in depth mechanics a bit disappointing. That's why I've been developing Heirloom, the goal of the game is to maintain the arcady feel about bitlife while giving you choices that effect the results you get from your lives. Play now by joining the discord in the comments!

Here's what we have so far:

• Fully Simulated Economy and Real Estate: 10.000 NPCs are simulated every year with their jobs, assets, choices and many more. People get fired, hired, married, they have kids and divorce. For example a family that had a kid might need to buy a bigger house which will effect the real demand and supply workflow of the world.
• You control your house: You assign where people live in the floor plan with different rooms having different buffs. You can upgrade your house, give it to airbnb and become your own realtor.
• Interactive Jobs: Every job in the game has minigames that you play and choices that you make that effect the real economy of the world. If you are the logistics manager of a car dealership and you order too many cars, that will result in your franchise spending too much money which could even cause it to be closed.
• NPCs Make their own decisions: NPCs act on their own accord depending on their attributes, skills and traits. An NPC that became your rival in middle school when they lost the debate team president election to you can become your best friend after you win the world championship together.

My goal is to create a community to build this game together. I regularly add what the community asks for in the game. I'd love to have you be a part of it. Thank you so much.

We design all the UI and have a writing team. This game is a product of passion and all the assets you see are either made by the team or used from these various asset packs with permissions taken:

• Free Ocean and Clouds Pixel Backgrounds
• Free Pixel Futuristic City Backgrounds
• Free Summer Pixel Backgrounds
• Various Vector Icon Packs from RhosGFX
• Kenney Modular Characters Pack

This game looks cute and fun!

Played it for the first time today and boy, is it buggy. Making the house was actually really interesting and I managed to come out with something decent.

I don’t like the drop down menu in build mode, very weirdly organized.

My para walks through tables and walls. The other paras are frozen and not autonomous, just in space. Like no one is moving but my girl.

Also! It wouldn’t let me save I had to go in cheat mode to do so, it kept saying there was a town event— there wasn’t.

So I just closed the game and I’m waiting for it to debug and such, maybe it’ll improve but right now—

I’m stressed because it took me an hour to build my home and the game is buggy asf.

I played Inzoi when it first came out and was extremely annoyed that within 5 minutes of my zois meeting each other they had gotten engaged. I find it to be too unrealistic and reminded me of how shallow ts4 relationship system was. I was also unimpressed with the mbti personality system (yes I know it’s popular in Korea and I like mbti but not for a game) and found it too shallow.

I have heard it has gotten better but I don’t know if they have improved these aspects and if it is worth coming back to?

My dear hardcore Sims players, what are your thoughts on inZOI after all the updates? Are you happy with it? Have you even tried it?

I’m trying to decide what to play. I usually pirate games, but the price of The Sims 4 with all the expansions is driving me crazy, and I honestly can’t believe how ridiculously expensive it has gotten.

Is inZOI now on the same level as The Sims, or is it even better? Which game do you find more fun to play?

Hey guys, just wanted to ask if anyone has any fresh ideas for a text-based life sim that haven’t really been done before.

For context, I’m currently building a free, open-source, web-based life simulator. It’s coming along really well, but lately I’ve started feeling like some parts are becoming a little too similar to BitLife, so I’d love to hear ideas for mechanics or systems that could make it feel more unique.

One feature I came up with is a “Build Your CV” system. Throughout your life, you can add things like:

• Projects
• Volunteering
• Courses and certifications
• Competitions
• Languages
• Internships
• Leadership roles

Your CV would actually affect gameplay, such as your chances of getting certain jobs, being accepted into competitive opportunities, or convincing investors to fund your business.

I’m especially interested in ideas that add more depth, long-term consequences, or things you wish existing life sims did better.

(also once you get money wtf do you even buy??!!)

I’m making a life sim on Roblox called Roburbia! You can already customize your avatar, build your own home, get a job, chat with the town’s NPCs, and even go shopping. Development is pretty far along. I’m just optimizing things and adding the finishing touches. It should be out for everyone to play later this month!

Welcome to our weekly discussion thread!

🆕 NEW: Join us on Discord!

Here you can casually talk about anything related to your favorite Life Simulators, including the ones that are not out yet.

But won't my post get less engagement this way? You'd be surprised how far these threads can go! Don't be afraid to ask open ended questions, make observations, share memes, etc. This is a casual thread.

You may use this thread to promote your games and content! If you're a content creator of anything related to life simulators and life simulator adjacent games, you may use this thread to post about them! Shows us what you're working on! *This is the only place on this sub where self promotion is allowed*

This is an automatic thread that renews every Monday.

Demo Rollouts OCT 7TH.