3 months28On the Japanese day, the new work of the South Korean game giant Blue Hole "inZOIto“Early access”Form landingSteam。 Virtual Engine5The next generation of graphics+The Sims gameplay is jokingly called Earth by playersOnline,Within two days of the opening of the test, the number of steam reviews has exceeded 1W and won "special praise".
When it comes to life simulation games, The Sims is always an unavoidable existence.Maxisat2000The miracle created by the year is unparalleled so far——The first generation was the highest-selling in history at the timePCgames, massive over the yearsdlcThe content is filled, as well as richModThe community has given it the status of the "king of simulation games".
But on the other hand, the Simulated Life series is not a stable podium: the last official story was "Simulated Life" ten years ago4The toothpaste-like update seems to mean that their creativity is being hindered;DLCHai's business tactics have been criticized by players (mainly because they are too expensive); Not to mention whether its archaic graphics can be accepted by today's players, and players' thirst for alternatives has also spawned new opportunities.
It's no wonder that Blue Hole has become one of the most profitable game companies by relying on PUBG alone, with PUBG sales and operating profit hitting record highs last year, with year-on-year growth in operating profit54%attain1825.0Trillions of won (about RMB5.0billion).
Although "PUBG" is no longer at its peak, Blue Hole has recently pulled back the number of people who are online at the same time through steady operation100Ten thousand.
Perhaps it is precisely because the long-term operation ability of the blue hole has been verified that they dare to enter the almost bottomless life simulation track, and say "to be theinZOI>> at least updated20years".
The new concept is analogous to life
As a life simulation game,inZOIwith Unreal Engine5The realistic pictures and delicate interactive design try to restore the complexity and diversity of real life in the virtual world. The core gameplay of the game revolves around:“Role-playing”and“World Structure Building”Unfolded, it is very similar to "The Sims", but its graphics are much more expressive.
The advantages of the new technology are first demonstrated in the face pinching session,"inZOIThe face pinching system has a very high degree of freedom. Players can adjust facial features details by dragging and dropping facial points, and even customize body shape traits such as muscle mass, chest circumference, etcTOThe generate feature allows uploading photos to be converted into3DPersona model. in-gameNPCAlso get rid of traditional simulation games“If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”The prefabricated model conforms to the East Asian aesthetic and the behavior pattern is more realistic.
Once the character is pinched, the player needs to choose a city and buy a house in the city and arrange the furniture themselves. From sofas and cabinets to some decorations and dolls, players can also upload their own pictures and then play the game3DPrint it out.
It is worth mentioning that at first, Wellwright, the designer of "Simulated Life", was born in architecture,inZOIThe framework is basically the same as the "Sims" model, so the sense of déjà vu is very strong. If the player is studying interior design or engaged in related industries, there will be a kind of "truck driver after work playing "Oka Simulation" beauty, fortunately, ",inZOIprovides a lot of model rooms for players to use directly, if you are not too interested in the gameplay of this "cool family music simulator", you can also "build a good room" to deal with it.
In the interactive experience section,inZOIThe "background" is not bad. In the case of jobs, players can choose to becomeKPOPIdol trainees can complete training tasks in the dance studio every day, experience the unique profession of military service, e-sports, firefighters, or become an "old artist", writing novels and painting full-time at home, which is quite distinct Korean cultural characteristics.
However, it is a pity that most workplaces are just "rabbit holes" at present, that is, the kind of scenes that villains can enter but cannot be entered by game cameras, and players cannot see what the characters are actually doing. As for the professions of trainees and company employees, although players can see the specific work content, the workflow is the same, and the novelty is actually relatively boring.
Of course, it's impossible to work part-time, and I'm still thinking about working after playing games, who will take it if you don't win the "sales crown". Players can create a role in theInzoiFind the "disorder-breaking" fun of the game, and develop some crooked ways to make money by yourself: for example, spend half a day reading books and practicing eloquence, and then go straight to the companyCEOChat with him and brush up on the good feeling, the good feeling will go up and he will occasionally give you some gifts, and after you receive the gift, you can backhand the gift on the second-hand platform and sell it, and be a "bad master" at zero cost.
Or put on a "cyber pig killing plate", rightNPCPressure them to invest in you to get money quickly, and you can achieve financial freedom by repeating it a few times.
When you make money, you naturally go out and be"gaiSlipper",inZOIThe seamless map design allows players to freely explore the city and observeNPCreal-time behavior. In addition to being able to switch to a third-person perspective, like theGTA》The same controls the character to walk and drive the vehicle (you can adjust it to manual driving in the settings), and you can also enter the café for divination, park fishing, visiting the playground, playing basketball, singing, jumping,rap…
Or, the marriage you want to have childreninZOIThere are also. You can arrange a beautiful encounter, carefully plan a date location and project, confess and kiss your crush in the right place, and then hold a marriage and start a family. Of course, you can also play cards without following the routine, and find a few random ones on the road that can be seenNPCThe overlord took the bow and then locked them up in the house and didn't let them out.
There are indeed a number of ideals that are tacitly acquiesced in the gameThe setting of life, such as the pursuit of art, the pursuit of family happiness, etc., will also have some talent and character bonuses, but existence precedes essence, and what you want to do is still up to the player's own will, which is also a major charm of this type of game.
In the Sims post bar, it is often possible to turn over some players to make up the plot of the brain into a small theater, and it is very common to update to hundreds or thousands of floors.inZOIThe fun is the same.
《inZOIunderstands this, so they give players more permissions. For exampleThere is also a wit in the gameTOmode, the player typed asNPCInject the "Mental Seal" and they will match your performance and work towards that goal.
The game likewise allows players to drastically change the functionality of the city's physical appearance. By tweaking the city's rundown, players will be inspired by the beautiful city of Santa Monica"Extreme Bay"（Bliss BayTransform into some kind of horrible post-apocalyptic style.
You can also switch flora and fauna, turn towering oak trees into cherry blossom trees, or pop your city with raccoons, cats, pandas, crocodiles, and control the intensity of the weather to make winter fall in a second, and let the little people in bikinis run home in a sudden blizzard.
無所謂，ModI will make a move
Blue Hole's ambitions are clearly not limited to making a second Sims. From a strategic perspective, "inZOIbears“Post-chicken era”The product matrix transformation task, that is, to build lasting user stickiness through life simulation games, and thenTOtechnology and UGCEcology towards the concept of the metaverse (egrobloxBy the way, the appetite is very big.
但就從EAversion,inZOIThere is still a long way to go.
The competition in the life simulation genre is essentially a contest of ecosystems. The Sims series passed more than twentyYears of accumulation have built a barrier that is difficult to shake: on億次ModDownloads,3000萬活躍玩家社群、以及“substance+DLC”The business model has achieved total revenue exceeded50億美元的商業奇跡。
Despite the fact that theinZOIThe graphics and face pinching accuracy far exceed that of The Sims4But early testing exposed the flattening of gameplay. For example, player feedback“Trainee Occupation”There are only fixed processes such as dance practice and assessment, and there is a lack of fan economy or scandal system after debut. In contrast, The Sims'ModThe community has long been derived“Celebrity Career Expansion Package”, including in-depth content such as paparazzi tracking and social media operations.
How can I quickly fill content gaps?
The blue hole's method is also relatively dead, that is, to pull production capacity. atEAstage, they released update plans, such as updating some new gameplay and maps every quarter, such as this year8Monthly plan launched“Cat Island”DLCThis.
For the player ecology, the official commitment is in5Open in monthsModA toolkit that allows players to make their own unofficial gameplay. The game has not yet been officially released, but there is already a force in the communityMod(the kind you think), this is a good pair ofinZOIIt's a positive sign.
In addition to the test of content volume and production capacity,inZOIThere is also an urgent need to solve the contradiction between technical advantages and experience costs, after all, "you don't want to play all kinds of games."ModAfter becoming a mountain code. ”
It's a bit of a pity that theinZOI>> The demanding requirements for the hardware keep a large number of potential users out, and the minimum configuration is reachedRTX2060GraphicsCPUIt is also required to have a big three-year delayX3Dprocessors. At first glance, it doesn't seem to be high, but the recommended configuration of "Monster Hunter: Wildlands", which has optimized the disaster at the beginning2060S。
Why are the configuration requirements so high? Without him, on the one hand, ",inZOIusedUE5engine, beautiful graphics and greater performance overhead. On the other hand, due to the "inZOIintroduced oneTOCitizen mode, and itsTOIt is still deployed on-premises, and enabling this feature will also occupy a certain amount of video memory.
Specifically, the function uses a parameter of 5.0BtargetMistral NeMo MinitronLinguistic models, except that you can see themNPCIn addition to the inner thoughts, you can also direct the responseNPC's decision-making: They will help the lost person show the way, and there will even be such a thing as snatching a boyfriend in personntrbehavior, with the previous behavior treeTOThere is a big difference.
It sounds very good, but the actual experience can only be said to be indescribable, not that the author deliberately poured cold water, and the cloud configuration is full of bloodDeepseek R1Yes671BThe parameters, with which there is still a "pseudo-human" flavor, are configured locally5.0BtargetTOYou can imagine how smart it can be.
To be honest, I'm now interested ininZOIis a bit difficult to review,inZOIThere are a lot of "battle for the future" things, such as the official also said that if the player's voice is high, you can even get a connection mode…If it does come true, it could indeed threaten the supremacy of The Sims. But the problem is that the battle line is too long, and there is still too little actual content for players to play, and the long wait will increase the sunk cost of players in disguise.
The EA lasts for at least one year
conclusion
Just the most recentGDC, a game market research instituteNewzooA key statistic was announced,2024yearPCMore than two-thirds of the player's time is spent on6years old on the game. I think one of the reasons is that the old games are more complete and the content experience is more coherent.
Looking back at these new games in recent years, "Monster Hunt Wilderness" has been criticized for playing a "long-term card" for players and adopting a strategy of segmented updates; Last year's Space Marine2The content of the project was not finished, and the developer turned around and announced the establishment of the project "Star Marine3Players criticized their behavior; Even Cyberpunk2077obtainedTGAThe Best Run award is also slightly humorous…
For manufacturers, games are just a commodity, and perfection has no end.inZOIThe track itself chooses is a bottomless pit, so seizing the market is the primary purpose. In short, I hope it can be done.