Inzoi director Hyungjun ‘Kjun’ Kim may have been making videogames for over two decades, but his upcoming life sim is unlike anything he’s made before. With most of Kjun’s portfolio lying with Korean MMOs like Elyon and Aion, venturing into life sims is quite the transition. Especially when you consider that it’s a genre with largely untrodden ground, and one almost entirely taken up by EA’s ever-growing monopoly with The Sims.
I was curious as to why Kjun had gravitated towards what is widely considered one of the most difficult genres to develop in, so I had to pose the question to him during an interview for our newest issue of PC Gamer magazine. “Developing a life sim game has been an entirely new frontier and a significant challenge for me, given my 20+ years developing MMORPGs,” he admitted.
But as it turns out, his reasons for the transition are pretty sentimental. “However, this is a genre I’ve personally enjoyed for a long time, especially since I have a wealth of memories playing these games with my son. One day, my son asked me why there aren’t more games like the ones we enjoyed together. That made me realise the need for something new in this genre—something that fans like us could cherish and enjoy for years to come.”
That doesn’t mean Kjun’s MMO experience has been totally useless, though. Turns out there are a fair few transferable skills, especially when it came to crafting Inzoi’s three seamless, open worlds: “My experience in creating vast maps and intricate items for MMORPGs has been incredibly valuable in developing Inzoi,” he said. “Designing and implementing expansive worlds is a core aspect of MMORPGs, and this expertise allowed me to effectively design the open world of Inzoi.”
Kjun also cited things like his background in “developing character customisation, architectural elements, and features like MMORPGs” have helped a ton, saying they “played a crucial role” in helping to incorporate “a wide range of life elements into the game.” It makes sense, in a way, since MMOs often incorporate a lot of cosier, relaxed features to go alongside its balls-to-the-wall raids and dungeon crawling.
It seems like Kjun was just as pleasantly surprised as I was to find out just how much crossover both MMOs and life sims ultimately have: “Although the two genres are different, I found it fascinating that they share these similarities in building expansive worlds and designing complex character interactions,” he said.
Despite all the difficulties of crafting a complex game, Kjun seems to be looking at Inzoi with nothing but positivity. “While working on such an unfamiliar genre has been a challenge, it has been a rewarding journey filled with new experiences every day,” he said. “I hope this game becomes a source of cherished memories for many people, just as it has been for me.”
You can read the full interview with Hyungjun Kim in the upcoming issue of PC Gamer magazine, hitting store shelves in the UK on February 27 and in the US on March 17.
