Inzoi is creating a newfangled life sim NPC that can 'grow and develop its own personality' with Nvidia's AI tech

pcgamer.com:

Upcoming life sim Inzoi is launching in early access in March, meaning that Krafton still has plenty of features it's hoping to add to the simulation even after players get to go hands on with it. During CES this week the developers announced a partnership with Nvidia to use its «Co-Playable Character» AI tech to populate the game with «Smart Zois» who adapt and respond to the world according to their personalities.

Nvidia's demo video on the Smart Zoi system walks through the day of a character with a «considerate» personality showing how they might independently decide to help someone lost with directions or give food to a hungry stranger. Then at the end of the day the Zoi adjusts their own daily schedule of activities based on the experiences they had that day.

I admit there is a real allure as a life sim player. Over years with The Sims series players have sussed out so much under-the-hood logic that the idea of a sandbox with simulated characters who could actually do something we don't expect is pretty exciting.

Inzoi's game director Hyungjun «Kjun» Kim shared some of his own thoughts on the tech in the game's official Discord server yesterday.

«Traditionally, NPCs in games operate using a rule-based system, where their behaviors are entirely scripted and predictable,» Kjun says. «However, as we continued to evolve this system, we were able to partner with NVIDIA to incorporate an on-device AI solution known as Small Language Model (SLM).

»With SLM, these new 'Smart Zois' gain an extraordinary depth. They can develop inner thoughts about interactions and situations they’ve experienced, creating additional layers of insight about themselves and other Zois. By embedding this AI into their behaviors, we’ve created Zois that act with individuality, which not only makes their actions feel more natural but also adds a deeply immersive element to the inZOI experience."

Presumably this means that your Inzoi save could surround your played Zoi with other characters