Memory System

Overview

The Memory System in inZOI combines the currently implemented Smart Zoi AI (which drives autonomous behavior and inner thoughts) with a planned Event Memory and Diary system announced on the 2026 roadmap. The Smart Zoi features described below are available in the current Early Access version, while the diary and event memory recording features are planned for a future update. Working in tandem with the Smart Zoi AI, the system creates a feedback loop where a Zoi's history influences their future decisions, Emotions, and daily routines. The Smart Zoi feature uses a 0.5 billion parameter Mistral NeMo Minitron small language model (SLM) powered by NVIDIA ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine) technology, running entirely on-device with no server dependency.

How Smart Zoi Works

Throughout each in-game day, the Smart Zoi AI tracks significant events, interactions, and experiences that a Zoi encounters. The system processes:

• Important social interactions such as conversations, conflicts, and romantic moments

• Career milestones including promotions, job changes, and notable work events

• Family events like births, weddings, and deaths

• Emotional highs and lows throughout the day

• Skill achievements and personal accomplishments

Each Zoi is powered by over 400 distinct mental traits, Needs, and Karma values that enable autonomous decision-making, dynamic Relationships, Rumor propagation, and real-world consequences. The player-facing trait system uses 18 Traits divided into 6 categories based on Enneagram personality types, but the underlying AI model works with a much larger set of internal behavioral parameters.

Inner Thoughts

The Inner Thoughts display shows what a Zoi is currently thinking. Visual thought bubbles appear above Zois during conversations and interactions, while players can also click an Inner Thoughts button near the Zoi's profile icon to see a more detailed text description of the Zoi's current thought process.

Inner thoughts may reveal a Zoi's reflection on their life, specific reactions to music playing nearby, their comprehension of a book they are reading, or deeper feelings during a conversation. They also appear during meaningful moments such as marriage, childbirth, and aging up to a new life stage.

Updates to Inner Thoughts

The amount of Inner Thoughts displayed on screen can be minimized through the settings menu to reduce visual clutter further.

The Diary System

At the end of each in-game day (past 11 PM, when the Zoi is sufficiently tired), Zois write their own diary reflecting on the day's events. The diary is generated by the Smart Zoi AI and captures the Zoi's personal perspective on what happened, combining input from their Inner Thoughts and events that occurred throughout the day. Each diary entry reflects the Zoi's unique Traits, Values, and personality. Discoveries and new realizations can emerge during the diary-writing process.

The Diary App exists on the Zoi's smartphone, though player access to reading full diary entries is still being refined in Early Access. The diary system is disabled at 5x game speed or higher, and schedule creation may fail if a Zoi sleeps too late. Multiple Zois (5 or more) writing diaries after 11 PM can cause performance lag.

Behavioral Adaptation

After diary writing, the Smart Zoi AI analyzes the Zoi's thoughts, feelings, and events to generate a new schedule for the following day. Players can view this schedule via the Calendar App on the smartphone. This means a Zoi's daily routine naturally evolves over time:

• Positive experiences with a particular activity may lead the Zoi to seek it out more often

• Negative social interactions may cause a Zoi to avoid certain other Zois

• Career stress might lead to prioritizing fun and relaxation activities

• Strong emotional events can shift a Zoi's priorities and Values over time

• Recent memories between Zois influence conversation context and dialogue choices; positive memories lead to positive interactions while negative memories lead to negative ones

Some events that a Zoi personally experiences may remain as trauma and restrict certain behaviors. For example, a Zoi who experienced a fire may become anxious around stoves.

The Zoi Pen

The Zoi Pen is a text input tool that lets players directly influence a Zoi's personality, thoughts, and behavior by writing custom prompts. The input has a maximum of 100 words, with 20 words being the recommended length for best results.

How It Works

Zoi Pen input directly influences Inner Thoughts, diary content, and next-day schedule generation. The input should contain thematic or abstract elements rather than direct action commands. For example, writing "You are slowly realizing your world is fake" creates more interesting behavior than "Go cook dinner."

Verified Examples from Players

Known Limitations

• Some actions like cooking are hard-coded and will never be done autonomously regardless of Zoi Pen prompts

• Needs still take priority over personality prompts; new behaviors may take time to manifest

• Grammar, spelling, and language quality matter because the SLM may misinterpret misspelled text

Player Settings

Smart Zoi can be configured through several settings:

Technical Requirements

The Smart Zoi AI uses a 0.5 billion parameter model running locally on the GPU, consuming approximately 1 GB of VRAM. It currently requires an NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card. Enabling Smart Zoi automatically reduces graphics settings by one tier to accommodate the VRAM usage. AMD GPU support is planned but has no confirmed release date.

On macOS, the system uses Apple's Core ML framework. Smart Zoi is disabled for NVIDIA GeForce 10 Series cards. Currently limited to human Zois only; animals and other creatures are excluded.

Planned Improvements

The 2026 Roadmap includes significant expansions to the Memory System:

• Q1 2026: Formalized memory system including trauma memories with lasting behavioral effects and life milestone memories with special significance

• Q3 2026: Expanded Event Memory and Diary system with more structured memory types and richer diary entries

• Enhanced grief reactions tied to relationship depth and shared memories

• Korean language model support (added in v0.5.0)