The life simulation genre has been around for quite some time now, with a decades-long history of letting players escape reality for a brief period to experience life as they see fit in a virtual world. While the life simulation genre is already stacked with titles, inZOI is primed to arrive on the scene with a competitive array of features that may define it as a new standard for the genre moving forward, including its innovative Facial Capture system.
Game Rant recently interviewed the Producer and Director of inZOI, Hyungjun “Kjun” Kim, who is also the CEO of inZOI Studio. During the interview, Kim disclosed some fascinating details about how inZOI‘s Facial Capture system works, although he added that the feature doesn’t come without a catch.
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inZOI’s Facial Capture Feature Is Revolutionary With a Catch
inZOI’s Facial Capture System Lets Players Truly Express Themselves
One of inZOI‘s most exciting characteristics is its willingness to allow players an unprecedented amount of creative liberty when it comes to expressing themselves. inZOI‘s character creator already comes with hundreds of different options for players to choose from regarding their character, from physical features to inherent traits. On top of that, its realistic graphics make the whole experience feel more immersive than almost any life simulation game before it, thereby giving players an even greater opportunity to really feel like they’re creating their own personality and image in the game.
However, while inZOI‘s character creator certainly gives players plenty of ways to embed their likeness into the game, its Facial Capture system can get them even closer to realizing that. What makes the game’s Facial Capture system so groundbreaking for players is that it utilizes technology that is typically reserved for professional animation and game development. By repurposing tools originally designed for industry use, inZOI allows players to create a character that truly looks like them, enabling them to step into a virtual world in a way they have never been able to before. When asked about inZOI‘s Facial Capture system and how it enhances player immersion, Kim replied,
“The Facial Capture system in inZOI utilizes Unreal Engine’s “Live Link Face” application, a tool originally designed for MetaHuman animators and primarily used by developers. However, since inZOI is built with Unreal Engine, we saw an opportunity to make this technology accessible to players. By combining this Facial Capture system with inZOI‘s highly realistic graphics, players can bring their own faces into the game, enabling a new level of creative content creation. We were especially thrilled to see creators using inZOI as a Vtuber streaming tool, demonstrating that this feature enhances not only immersion, but also creative applications.”
By using the real-time facial tracking and expression mapping of Unreal Engine 5‘s “Live Link Face” application, inZOI effectively taps into a realm of digital self-representation that the average gamer has not yet had a direct hand in. With inZOI‘s Facial Capture system, players aren’t confined to simple avatars and can instead make their own facial movements and emotions a part of their character, thereby bridging the gap between virtual reality and the real world.
Not Everyone Will Have Access to inZOI’s Facial Capture System
As exciting as inZOI‘s Facial Capture system sounds, however, there is a pretty massive catch to it that will prevent many players from being able to utilize it. Fortunately, inZOI Studio is committed to ensuring that even those who can’t use the Facial Capture system will still be given the tools necessary to create a custom character that they feel best resembles them. Explaining the catch and the developer’s vision moving forward, Kim concluded,
“Currently, this function is only available on iOS devices. We plan to continue research and development of more tools beyond facial capture to support player content creation and storytelling, further expanding platform capability.”
It’s unfortunate that inZOI‘s Facial Capture function will only be available on iOS devices, but that may also be a very small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. Based on everything else inZOI has to offer in terms of character customization, the inability of some players to capture their own likeness using Facial Capture may hardly be felt in the end. With so many different ways to personalize a character in inZOI, as well as the game’s realistic visuals, players should still be able to create the character that best represents them.
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