Discover everything that’s happening behind the scenes

Hey everyone!
It’s been a little while since my last post! But if you’ve been following me on YouTube or Discord, you know we haven’t been standing still. Quite the opposite — we’ve made some amazing progress! Today, I want to share a bit of everything that’s been going on around here.

🕹️ Shall we start with our game?
Last month, I did a livestream with Don (Lucas): while he was coding live, I was attending my 3D modeling course, and together with our viewers, we were brainstorming ideas and concepts for Project Etherea. We talked about the features we’d love to see implemented and reflected on why many of those features often get overlooked in bigger games.

💬 The conversation was super rich and insightful.
📺You can watch the full stream here: WATCH NOW
(Unfortunately, we don’t have auto-dubbing, but the video includes subtitles! <3)

🧠 Study, Design and Build Mode

On top of that, I’ve started my third Blender course — this time focused on mastering everything from the basics to advanced techniques. The goal? To learn workflows that boost our efficiency when we finally begin creating the game’s objects and features.

Just yesterday, I hosted a very special livestream where I shared my personal vision for the Build Mode: we talked about basic tools like walls, modular grids, pillar construction, and much more. I even did a small comparison showing how these tools work in The Sims vs. inZOI, and explained why I’m choosing a different approach.
📺 You can check out the stream here: WATCH NOW

That livestream was especially important, because it made me reflect on how to transform complex systems into tools that feel simple, intuitive, and inspiring. As a designer, my job isn’t just to deliver features — it’s to create experiences that spark creativity. I want even those who have never built anything before to feel motivated to experiment, play with shapes, and most of all, create something amazing they can be proud of.

Oh, and I also shared a small example of how I imagine short walls working in our game. I’m still undecided whether we should allow walls to be fully lowered. In many gameplay videos I watch, players rarely raise the walls — and to me, that takes away some of the soul of the house, making the environment feel a bit cold and impersonal.

I want the lots in our game to feel truly cozy and lived-in. So instead of following The Sims’ wall height presets, I thought about making the “lowest” wall height similar to a half-wall — allowing visibility while keeping the charm of a real home.

✨ Let me know what you think of this idea in the comments. Your opinion means a lot to me!

🌍Now let’s talk about our world in The Sims 3!
We’ve made progress there too!

I replaced the wide, spacious roads with a mix of sidewalks and terrain paint, aiming to give the town a more vintage feel — and also to reduce the chances of vehicles driving through (after all, this is a world with a nostalgic atmosphere and not much technology).

We expanded our commercial district. One thing that always "bothered" me was how perfectly “grid-like” the commercial lots were laid out. I wanted something more organic, more natural... and that’s exactly what we achieved!

To see more close-up details and get a better sense of how the world is coming together overall, I recommend the video I posted yesterday:
📺You can watch the full video here: WATCH NOW

🌲✨ The result is looking beautiful, and I can’t wait to show you more in the coming days.

🛠️ Apartment Renovation – Behind the Scenes of Real Life
The painting — which I’ve mentioned before — is taking way longer than expected. So, while we’re still waiting to finish that stage, we decided to roll up our sleeves and tackle other projects. One of them was refurbishing some of our furniture.

My wonderful girlfriend had the brilliant idea to wrap the kitchen counters with adhesive vinyl. And, like every DIY project that starts with enthusiasm, we ended up living through both days of struggle and days of glory.

Even though the process was exhausting, I actually liked it — surprisingly. It was almost therapeutic… to a point. That said… I hope to stay far away from any kind of adhesive roll for the next few months! 😅

I never learned how to bind books or make perfect geometric cuts with a utility knife, so finishing corners was, let’s say, a true test of patience and precision.

Yes, the final result turned out great. But not amazing — and that’s okay! xD
At least I can guarantee more precision in everything I do on the computer. That brings me a little comfort and relief.

🔮 What to Expect This Month:
August is shaping up to be a busy month around here!

📢In just a week, we’ll have some hot news about the first DLC for inZOI — and with that, it’s very likely the channel’s focus will shift a bit starting mid-month, with more content centered around the game’s universe.

In the meantime, I’ll be:

• Studying modeling

• Working on our TS3 map

• Creating daily content for the channel

Oh! I almost forgot to mention — I shared a bit of our day-to-day renovation chaos over on Instagram Stories. They’ve already expired, but if you enjoy behind-the-scenes moments, keep an eye on my Instagram! I’ve been posting more often and showing a more personal side of everything going on around here. 💛

As always, a big thank you for continuing to follow me on this journey. If you’ve read this far, drop a 🌟 in the comments so I know you’re part of this adventure with me! I can’t wait to share more details about our game with you (because I’m keeping a lot under wraps until these ideas and concepts turn into gameplay mechanics that will really get you excited!)

🙏 Thanks for being here!

It's thanks to your support that I'm able to keep studying, creating, and turning ideas into reality. Every dollar you invest here fuels not only the project, but also my personal and professional growth. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

See you soon, with more news and, who knows… the first amazing mechanics of our game coming to life!