After seeing our building tools, some streamers and viewers wondered whether you really need to deal with that many settings just to customize a wall 😅 The short answer: no . Presets, simple options, or advanced customization, the idea is to let you choose how far you want to go
After seeing our building tools, some streamers and viewers wondered whether you really need to deal with that many settings just to customize a wall 😅
The short answer: no.
Presets, simple options, or advanced customization, the idea is to let you choose how far you want to go.
Since the release of our latest trailer, one question has kept coming up in your comments and discussions: is VirtualSociety really a life sim? The short answer is yes . But our vision for a life sim is not built around just one way to play. Build, live and tell stories VirtualSo
Since the release of our latest trailer, one question has kept coming up in your comments and discussions: is VirtualSociety really a life sim?
The short answer is yes. But our vision for a life sim is not built around just one way to play.
VirtualSociety is designed as a sandbox world that you will be able to experience in three different ways:
Build your world
Construction Mode and God Mode allow you to create an environment, its buildings and its inhabitants, then observe or control what unfolds within it.
Our goal is to offer a flexible level of control: adjust specific elements whenever you want, or let the world evolve and generate situations of its own.
Live in the world
You will also be able to step directly into the role of a character in third person, first person and, eventually, multiplayer.
The same tools then take on a completely different dimension: build a town with friends, define its rules, create a community or use VirtualSociety as a space for roleplay.
Tell stories
Finally, the worlds, characters and scripting tools can be used to create interactive stories and custom experiences.
These could take the form of playable scenarios, videos, short films or even games created inside VirtualSociety.
Where are we in development?
So far, we have mainly showcased our building and creation tools, as these are the systems on which we have made the most progress. All the gameplay footage shown in this video was captured directly from the current game build and reflects the game’s current state. VirtualSociety is, of course, still in development, and many elements will continue to evolve, particularly the character visuals, animations and simulation systems.
Over the coming weeks, alongside further improvements to the building tools, including stairs, trees and more, we will begin sharing our vision for creating characters who feel truly alive, with distinct personalities, memories and beliefs of their own. Over the following months, we will explore the many different aspects of how these characters work and the systems we are currently developing for them.
Thank you again for all your feedback since the trailer. It helps us tremendously as we work to present the project more clearly and understand what you would like to see next, and we are genuinely thrilled to have received so many positive reactions!
Hi! Have you dreamed of being able to shape the world in your image? It is now possible! No more flat landscapes: you can now sculpt mountains, dig caves, and bring oceans to life. With these new tools, you have total control! Worlds with elevation Do you want your garden to be s
Hi! Have you dreamed of being able to shape the world in your image? It is now possible!
No more flat landscapes: you can now sculpt mountains, dig caves, and bring oceans to life. With these new tools, you have total control!
Worlds with elevation
Do you want your garden to be slightly raised or to build your house on top of a hill? No problem! Select the appropriate tool and shape the terrain as you see fit!
Am I limited to simple crevices or hills?
Not at all, and that's the beauty of the system! You can dig real cave networks and have them run right under your living room if you wish. Do you prefer heights? Have fun sculpting huge natural arches that will overlook your estate. There are no more limits!
We are very proud to see our worlds becoming more and more alive, and we can't wait for you to enjoy them!
This video brings together the heart of the project: building places, creating residents, designing interactions and turning all of it into worlds you can explore alone or with other players. VirtualSociety is still in development, and many of its tools will continue to grow and
This video brings together the heart of the project: building places, creating residents, designing interactions and turning all of it into worlds you can explore alone or with other players.
VirtualSociety is still in development, and many of its tools will continue to grow and evolve. Thank you for following the project and helping us make it visible.
Hi! We recently added even more customization to your character creation, and this is just the beginning! Manipulate your facial bones and body shape Now, you can directly move the body parts you wish to modify in order to adjust them exactly as you want. The face, the body shape
Hi!
We recently added even more customization to your character creation, and this is just the beginning!
Manipulate your facial bones and body shape
Now, you can directly move the body parts you wish to modify in order to adjust them exactly as you want.
The face, the body shape, configure your character to your liking, easily!
Change of scenery
A beautiful character deserves a beautiful presentation. We therefore took advantage of this change to character editing to modify the room where your character stands, and I don't know about you, but we love this little change of atmosphere!
It is only the beginning
These modifications brought to the characters are just the beginning. We are doing everything we can to make our characters authentic, alive, and fully customizable. We can't wait to show you more in the next updates.
Hi! Recently, we realized that the default theme in VirtualSociety lacked a bit of versatility. While it was very popular with a portion of the community, it didn't necessarily suit everyone. To fix this, Nico worked on a brand-new default interface, and we are very proud to intr
Hi!
Recently, we realized that the default theme in VirtualSociety lacked a bit of versatility. While it was very popular with a portion of the community, it didn't necessarily suit everyone.
To fix this, Nico worked on a brand-new default interface, and we are very proud to introduce: Joy!
The challenge: making it new while keeping our identity
The main goal was to keep the original spirit of Paper, but to evolve it towards a more standardized design, capable of adapting to the habits of all players.
To breathe more life into the interface, Nico notably chose to integrate touches of color, making the overall experience much more pleasant, warm, and visually appealing. A massive amount of work was also done on the overall ergonomics.
While the handwritten style of Paper had its charm, its custom font could sometimes be hard to decipher. With Joy, we opted for a much more readable typography. The interface has been completely rethought from the ground up: the buttons are now bigger, the different tabs are much cleaner, and the whole thing gains significantly in clarity.
A theme for everyone
Joy was designed to offer a simple, clean, and pleasant experience for everyone. This is the new visual identity you will see everywhere, including in our upcoming videos.
Paper fans, rest assured! Your favorite theme isn't disappearing. It remains fully accessible in your settings; it just steps aside when you first launch the game.
Don't hesitate to let us know what you think in the comments! Logan
Hi everyone! This week marks the arrival of Decals in VirtualSociety! What is it? A decal is a 2D image stuck onto the surface of a 3D object, much like a virtual sticker! What is it used for? Interior decoration : Apply unique wallpapers, movie posters, or paintings. Urban plann
Hi everyone! This week marks the arrival of Decals in VirtualSociety!
What is it?
A decal is a 2D image stuck onto the surface of a 3D object, much like a virtual sticker!
What is it used for?
Interior decoration: Apply unique wallpapers, movie posters, or paintings.
Urban planning: Place crosswalks, road lines, manhole covers, or signs.
Wear and atmosphere: Add graffiti, cracks on walls, or rust on metal.
In short, anything that comes to mind to decorate the surface of an object. And it's 100% customizable! Add your own images using mods. You can then place, resize, flip, and even overlap them if you wish.
Having no graphic design talent myself, I did my first tests with AI-generated images. It already gives a good idea of the tool's potential, but I can hardly imagine the result once this feature is in your hands, with your own drawings and designs! (Of course, the AI-generated decals will be replaced by artwork from human artists!)
We are very excited to see what you will create with this new tool!
Effect filters
This week also marks the arrival of effect filters! No more scrolling through a huge list of particles or sounds to find the effect of our dreams: now, everything is categorized!
Minor additions
We have also continued to bring a good dose of polish to our building tools:
Precise scroll wheel control: Trying to meticulously rotate an object with the scroll wheel while the camera decides to zoom in at the same time... That is now a thing of the past! The scroll wheel no longer overlaps two actions, offering a much more natural manipulation of the camera and objects.
Style in floor creation: Raising the walls of your buildings is now even faster. The floor creation tool now copies the appearance of the walls from the floor below. This is a massive time-saver for your big projects: no more chore of having to reapply your paints and wallpapers level by level.
We are getting right back to work on what's next, we still have some great surprises in store for you in the upcoming updates. Logan
Hi folks! Over the past few weeks, we’ve brought back our UI theme system so we can offer multiple themes in the game, and allow modders to create their own! Themes for EVERYTHING Themes affect the entire game interface: fonts, colors, images, icons, sounds, animations… everywher
Hi folks! Over the past few weeks, we’ve brought back our UI theme system so we can offer multiple themes in the game, and allow modders to create their own!
Themes for EVERYTHING
Themes affect the entire game interface: fonts, colors, images, icons, sounds, animations… everywhere (main menu, character editor, world editor, launch screen, etc.).
We had actually prepared the theme system from the very beginning. Early Unreal versions of the game included both a light and a dark theme, until we decided to move to the hand-drawn “Paper” theme.
Recently, Logan, our new developer, pointed out that the cozy/paper style doesn’t appeal to everyone, and that some players would clearly prefer a much simpler look.
So I updated our good old theme system and added, as an example, a new “Glass” theme, with blur and transparency effects, and far fewer visual details.
More than just colors and icons
Themes don’t just change colors, images, and icons; they can completely redefine layout, alignment, positioning, fonts, sounds, and even behavior.
For example, a theme can decide whether a list of objects is displayed with pagination or as a continuous list!
PC and mobile-specific variations
Each theme can include a dedicated “mobile” version, with adjustments like larger icons and text. This turned out to be essential, since we quickly realized that without it, some parts of the game were terrible to use on phones (buttons too small, hidden by screen corners or notches, etc.).
What will be the default theme?
More themes will be added before release, and of course the Glass theme still needs a lot of polishing. We can’t wait to see what you’ll create to match your own ideas and worlds! We haven’t decided yet which theme will be the default at launch: which one would you prefer? Any theme ideas you’d love to see in VirtualSociety?
Originally, we’re building VirtualSociety to let you create your own worlds, your own games, and your own stories, using visual tools and no code. And recently, we got a pretty amazing example of what that can make possible. Healthcare professionals used VirtualSociety to create
Originally, we’re building VirtualSociety to let you create your own worlds, your own games, and your own stories, using visual tools and no code. And recently, we got a pretty amazing example of what that can make possible.
Healthcare professionals used VirtualSociety to create Léo le loup, a game made for children with cystic fibrosis.
It wasn’t built in a separate tool, and it wasn’t some side project made with a different workflow either; it was created directly with VirtualSociety’s own tools.
If it helps children better understand their treatment, that’s already huge on its own. Improper use of inhalers and nebulizers can create serious risks for patients. And on the game/public side, it also gives us real validation for the tools we’re building.
Seeing people use them to create a real experience that is useful, complete, and coherent shows us that we’re heading in the right direction.
That these tools are not just interesting "in theory", but that they can genuinely be used to build something solid.
We wanted to show this to you because it says a lot about what VirtualSociety already is today… and what it could become.
We really can’t wait to launch the first public playtest!
Hi Folks! The year 2026 is off to a flying start at Cats & Foxes. After a productive start to winter, we’re excited to share the progress made over the past two months. Between improvements to building comfort and the arrival of new creation tools, our game is becoming more a
Hi Folks!
The year 2026 is off to a flying start at Cats & Foxes. After a productive start to winter, we’re excited to share the progress made over the past two months. Between improvements to building comfort and the arrival of new creation tools, our game is becoming more and more tangible!
Here’s what you need to remember from January and February:
🛠️Renovating Build Mode
Over these two months, we improved several tools and their ergonomics to make creation sessions smoother and easier to use.
Floor management has finally arrived! No more manually handling each level by creating a floor and raising it to the desired height. Now, a new button allows you to automatically generate floors.
We also added intelligent window snapping. No more windows misaligned by a few inches! From now on, when you place a window on the same wall, it automatically aligns with the one next to it.
We’ve also implemented lots of small features that were missing, such as object duplication or changing the texture of a series of connected walls by double-clicking them. It may not sound like much, but these small additions truly make a big difference.
💃Bring Your Scenes to Life
As we mentioned in an article reserved for our supporters on Patreon, we’re planning to integrate a brand-new tab into our build menu. This will be a “management” menu designed to add many new features.
Logan, one of our developers, has started integrating the UI along with some of its functionalities. Our graphic designer has also begun creating a few icons, but keep in mind that everything is still a work in progress.
Among the menus already functional is the NPC menu, which now allows you to add characters to populate your worlds. For now, it doesn’t yet support animating the characters, but that’s coming soon!
The particle and sound systems, which already existed but weren’t integrated into the game, now have their own tabs in the build menu. Finally, a bit of animation and magic in our scenes!
🖥️Scripting: Under the Hood
The interface continues to evolve to accommodate our scripting system. Lenny has been working on it for quite some time (a dedicated article is coming soon!), and he is currently integrating it into the game.
This is a major milestone for us, as this integrated node editor is a central part of VirtualSociety. It’s what will allow you to program interactions between NPCs, with objects, or even create unique adventures!
🏰New Map: Welcome to Villefort
We’ve spent long hours adding a brand-new map to the game! It’s called Villefort, a new village inspired by medieval French architecture. Imagine small cobblestone streets, a beautiful castle, and a timeless atmosphere. It’s the perfect playground to test the new population features and ambient sound systems!
📋Behind the Scenes at the Studio
Beyond coding and 3D development, the Cats & Foxes team is hard at work on essential tasks to ensure the long-term future of VirtualSociety. This includes working on other external projects, as well as an intense phase of fundraising.
These two months have been incredibly busy, and we’ve worked so much that it’s amazing to see all these results coming together.
As always, a huge thank you for your constant support! We owe you so much. Don’t forget that we regularly post vertical videos on our social media platforms — you can find us there every Tuesday and Thursday!
Hi folks! 2025 is already over… and what a year it’s been! For us at Cats & Foxes, it’s a real pleasure to take a moment to look back at everything that’s been accomplished. As you may know, we recently hosted a retrospective live stream where we played the game live, showcas
Hi folks!
2025 is already over… and what a year it’s been! For us at Cats & Foxes, it’s a real pleasure to take a moment to look back at everything that’s been accomplished.
As you may know, we recently hosted a retrospective live stream where we played the game live, showcased all the new features, and talked about what’s coming this year! If you missed it, you can watch the replay here:
The replay is available in both English and French!
This past year, VirtualSociety has made an incredible leap forward, both in its visual identity and in its tools and overall structure! Every day, we can feel the game we’ve dreamed of creating from the very beginning coming more and more to life: a creative, inclusive, and welcoming space where everyone can freely express themselves.
But this year didn’t just transform the game, it also transformed the team! We were lucky enough to welcome some new faces:
-Lenny, a developer hired after completing his internship;
-Logan, a developer on a work-study program;
-and Mathéo, for a 3 months animation internship.
Thanks to them, we’re now five team members by the end of the year, a huge milestone for a small independent studio like ours!
A year of solid construction… literally! 🛠️
On the building side, we made a massive leap forward! The big merge in September brought together months of hard work and helped stabilize a huge number of systems. Camera controls, snapping, object movement… everything became much smoother! These improvements were quickly followed by others: new roofs, the return of snapping for certain objects, an update to the floor creation tool, and much more.
When we think back to last year (no roofs, no stairs, and extremely basic floors), it’s honestly wild to see how far we’ve come in just one year!
Even if these improvements aren’t always immediately visible, they completely change how the game feels and make creation far more intuitive.
Walls, floors, textures: creativity unleashed!🧱
Wall and floor editing has also gained a lot more depth. You can now add patterns, install baseboards, change texture direction, or adjust texture scale.
These small details actually open up huge possibilities and help turn VirtualSociety into a true personal expression workshop.
More stylish characters… and more alive than ever! 💅
The character editor hasn’t been forgotten either: clothing is becoming far more customizable, with the ability to edit patterns, logos, and many other details. Everyone will be able to represent their identity however they want, something that’s absolutely central to our vision.
And animation-wise, things are moving! Many new animations were added this year, and even though there’s still a lot to do to make avatars feel fully alive, they’re clearly on the right path. Seeing characters move more naturally is incredibly rewarding.
The character is a core element of the game and still has a long journey ahead. But we haven’t forgotten about it, and we’re doing everything we can to keep pushing this part of the game forward as well!
Particles, physics… in short, expressive objects! 🙉
Some objects now feature particle effects that can be enabled or disabled depending on your needs. We’ve also reintroduced the ability to toggle gravity and physics, and even adjust collision sizes.
All these small tools will add a truly dynamic dimension to future creations.
Scripting, the future heart of gameplay 🎮
Scripting made huge progress this year. It’s never been closer to fulfilling its central role: allowing players to create mini-games, bring NPCs to life, or build entire scenes.
It’s one of the pillars of the upcoming gameplay, and we can’t wait to show you everything it will make possible.
A finally unified art direction 🎨
2025 was above all the year VirtualSociety found its true visual unity. Everything is finally starting to work together: textures, colors, shapes, interfaces… The game’s universe is more coherent, softer, and more welcoming, exactly as we imagined it.
Cel-shading and outlines strengthened this illustrated, cozy atmosphere, but what really changes the experience is the overall harmony.
In the same spirit, the entire UI was redesigned to match this new identity. From the character editor to the phone, landscape editing, home screen, and scripting tools, all interfaces now share a common style, cozier and much more pleasant than before.
In short: VirtualSociety is finally starting to look like VirtualSociety.
More and more objects for rich, expressive worlds 🌍
While the tech team was hard working, the artistic side didn’t slow down either! We added an impressive number of objects: enough to fully furnish a kitchen, decorate an office, enhance a garden, or even customize a building facade with gutters, columns, or chimneys.
In short, VirtualSociety is really starting to take shape as a creative sandbox where everyone can build a universe that reflects who they are.
A foundational year, with so many exciting things ahead 🌟
2025 will truly be remembered as the year of consolidation: artistic coherence, technical stability, and massive tool enrichment. A lot was put in place, sometimes behind the scenes, but always with the goal of offering a genuinely welcoming, creative, and fun game for everyone.
The game isn’t playable yet, but every step brings us closer to the warm world we want to share with you. And who knows, maybe some big announcements are already in the works for next year!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! 💜
We’re so happy to be sharing this incredible adventure with you!
A very special thank you to those who support us throughout the year, our patreons, but also to everyone else behind the scenes who shows their support by commenting on our videos and reading our articles!
And don’t forget: if you’d like to join us on this journey and closely follow the behind-the-scenes of development, you can support us on Patreon and wishlist the game on Steam. For a small studio like ours, every gesture truly means a lot and makes a real difference.
Happy new year, and we’ll see you very soon with even more news!
Hi folks! It’s time for a fresh update on how development has progressed this autumn, and there’s plenty to share! As some of you may already know, this season brought not only a lot of exciting improvements to the game, but also new additions to our team: Mathéo and Logan! Their
Hi folks! It’s time for a fresh update on how development has progressed this autumn, and there’s plenty to share!
As some of you may already know, this season brought not only a lot of exciting improvements to the game, but also new additions to our team: Mathéo and Logan! Their arrival marked a turning point for Cats & Foxes: going from 4 to 6 team members has made a huge difference. With more hands on deck, we’ve been able to move forward faster, tackle more challenges, and test new ideas we’d previously had to put on hold.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s been going on:
Smarter, More Dynamic Roofs
Until now, all roofs in the game were limited to a simple 4-point structure, a temporary solution that had been in place for a really long time. Thanks to Logan’s work, that’s changed!
Logan took over a piece of code originally developed earlier this year with an intern, Emeline Gehanno, under the supervision of Sylvain Contassot-Vivier and Nicolas Gauville, as part of a collaborative project with LORIA.
He reworked it to integrate directly into the game. We can now create complex, multi-slope polygonal roofs, making for much more varied and realistic buildings. This change opens the door to richer architectural possibilities for players who love building detailed environments. It's of course still a work in progress, but it's a really great add to the game.
Character Animations & Retargeting
On the animation side, Mathéo has been working hard on refining the character rig, both body and facial, and creating a growing library of animations. His work has laid the foundation for more fluid, expressive characters.
Nico then stepped in to integrate our new character and its animations into the game engine, ensuring everything runs smoothly and fits within the larger gameplay systems.
These upgrades don’t just improve visuals, they enhance immersion and allow for more interactive storytelling moving forward.
Meet Léo the Wolf
The team has also been working on a new health experience in collaboration with CHRU of Nancy for the cystic fibrosis, including a narrative scene featuring new characters, like Léo the wolf and a wise old owl. The purpose of this experience is to teach kids how to use correctly their inhaler.
A brand-new map has been designed by Lenny to showcase this experience. Players can interact with the environment, collect objects (like an inhaler!), talk to characters, and make meaningful choices. We’ve also added environmental effects like particles to bring the scene to life and reinforce the emotional tone.
We will talk about this experience more in details in a future article!
New Objects & Environment Features
With the implementation of the snapping feature, we’ve been able to introduce gutters, adding both realism and flexibility to outdoor building designs!
We’ve also created a variety of seasonal and decorative items, from Halloween objects to festive Christmas pieces, plus elegant columns and other versatile furniture. These additions offer more creative freedom and allow players to personalize their spaces in fun and expressive ways.
The scripting tool
Lenny has been working on the scripting system of the game for quite a while now. In the future, you'll be able to create in-game experiences like custom games, NPCs, zone-specific events, and more.
This feature is a key part of VirtualSociety, as it will unlock entirely new creative and customization possibilities. You'll be able to build your own stories, adventures, and complex worlds! The system is still under development, but we’re getting very close to having a functional interface, and we can’t wait to show you more!
A little word
This season has been a busy and exciting one for the team. And thanks to your continued support, we’re able to keep pushing forward with even more ambitious updates!
We can't wait to show you what's coming next. Until then, thank you for being part of this journey with us. Stay cozy, and don’t forget to follow us on Patreon and our other platforms for more behind-the-scenes content!
Hi folks! I hope you all had a wonderful summer. On our side, things have been quite busy at Cats & Foxes, and we have plenty of news to share! VirtualSociety is now on TikTok! It’s official: VirtualSociety has landed on TikTok . This will be the place to show you behind the
Hi folks! I hope you all had a wonderful summer. On our side, things have been quite busy at Cats & Foxes, and we have plenty of news to share!
VirtualSociety is now on TikTok!
It’s official: VirtualSociety has landed on TikTok. This will be the place to show you behind the scenes of development, share cozy gameplay snippets, and, most importantly, connect with a brand-new community.
Chloé has prepared a few videos specifically for TikTok, and we’ll be posting regular updates in this new format!
Lenny makes creating actions easier
Lenny has been working on the scripting system. Behind this technical name hides a super useful feature: players and modders will be able to easily create and add new actions for their characters, or program special events. It opens the door to new types of gameplay and fresh interactions. Dance moves, stylish sitting poses, unique greetings… all of this will be much simpler to set up!
A better organization in the studio
On the internal side, we traded our digital tools for a giant post-it wall. Each team member has their own color, which lets us clearly track who’s working on what, and what’s done, in progress, or to-do.
It may sound simple, but it has truly improved our daily workflow: we can visualize the roadmap better, prioritize tasks, and move forward more smoothly as a team.
Jimmy brings his tools together
Jimmy is currently working on integrating his development branch with the new dev tools. In practice, this means merging all the separate features he’s coded into the main version of the game. This is a key step: it allows the whole team (and soon you!) to benefit from these tools without juggling multiple versions of the code.
What’s inside his branch? Among other things: the ability to select multiple objects and edit them simultaneously (move, rotate, change textures or colors!), an improved camera, and new tools for building floors and walls.
Synchronizing worlds across devices
On my side, I’ve been working on an important technical feature: world synchronization across devices. That means you’ll be able to start your session on PC, then pick it up on another device without losing your creations or progress!
Towards Vandoeuvre In Game… and beyond
We’re also preparing for Vandoeuvre In Game, our next public milestone. As in previous years, visitors will be able to try VirtualSociety for a whole weekend on four connected PCs sharing the same world!
nd right after this event, we’ll be launching a closed beta test for the first players and supporters (likely via our Patreon). This will be the perfect chance to get involved directly, try VirtualSociety in early access, and help us fine-tune the experience before a wider release.
Thank you again for your support! Every step we take is possible thanks to you. We can’t wait to show you what’s next!
Hi folks! The last two months have been packed with new features for VirtualSociety! Here’s everything you need to know. More Lifelike Characters Lenny has worked hard on the behavior of non-playable characters (NPCs). The result? It’s now easy to define how they react in various
Hi folks! The last two months have been packed with new features for VirtualSociety! Here’s everything you need to know.
More Lifelike Characters
Lenny has worked hard on the behavior of non-playable characters (NPCs). The result? It’s now easy to define how they react in various situations! Some follow you, others run away, and some just watch you. A first version of dialogue is now integrated into the game! NPCs can be configured to adapt their behavior based on conditions, dialogue responses, etc.
A More Subtle Interaction Interface
Lenny also streamlined and greatly improved the interaction UI: the bulky outlines for objects and characters are gone. Instead, a small dot appears above interactive items or characters, turning into an icon when you're close enough and it’s the item you’ll interact with by pressing the action key (or tapping on mobile). It’s much cleaner and simpler on both PC and mobile!
Upgraded Wardrobe!
On my side, I reworked character body shape adaptability. Whether you’re short, tall, slim, broad, male, female, or non-binary: everything now adapts naturally — including the clothes! I’ve also started reintroducing many outfits we had removed due to character model changes. T-shirts, shirts, and other garments with fully customizable patterns and colors are back — even the size and rotation of patterns can be tweaked for maximum flexibility!
I’ve significantly improved performance on mobile and low-end PCs. Jimmy continued enhancing the building editor tools, and Chloé is preparing gameplay videos that we’ll be sharing very soon!
A New Health Partnership!
Most importantly, we’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with the JB Thiery association, which supports individuals with disabilities, particularly those with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and NDD (Neurodevelopmental Disorders). This is a huge step for us — we’ll share more in a dedicated article soon!
Hey everyone! Today, we’re excited to finally share a first look at something we’ve been working on for years: the character editor ! (There’s a video on the game page — go check it out! 🎥) In this short demo, you’ll get a glimpse of the foundation of our creation system — desig
Hey everyone!
Today, we’re excited to finally share a first look at something we’ve been working on for years: the character editor! (There’s a video on the game page — go check it out! 🎥)
In this short demo, you’ll get a glimpse of the foundation of our creation system — designed to offer freedom, deep customization, and true representation.
Here’s what’s already possible:
✅ Choose your pronouns: he, she, they, or even custom entries ✅ Define your attractions: no fixed labels, just what fits you ✅ Morphology sliders to adjust gender, body type, chest, hips, and love handles ✅ Add custom outfits (for modders) — no need to touch the game code or Unreal Engine. We use a simple config format with in-game mod sharing tools built in!
This is a major milestone for us, and we’d love to hear what you think. Your feedback, ideas, and suggestions help guide us in the right direction.
The editor is still in development, but what you see today already reflects our core vision: a safe, inclusive, and respectful space for all identities.
Thank you for your continued support ❤️ If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to wishlist VirtualSociety — and feel free to take a peek at our Patreon too!
See you soon for more updates! — The Cats & Foxes Team 🦊🐾
Hi folks! Spring is here, and at Cats & Foxes, things are blooming on the development side too! We’ve made a lot of progress over the past two months, and just last week, we welcomed two new faces to the team! We also have two exciting pieces of news to share — more on that b
Hi folks! Spring is here, and at Cats & Foxes, things are blooming on the development side too! We’ve made a lot of progress over the past two months, and just last week, we welcomed two new faces to the team! We also have two exciting pieces of news to share — more on that below :)
Towards a smoother experience
Weather now affects plants and trees in the game, making the outdoors feel even more alive! We even added a “sandstorm” effect, which was missing from our list of available weather options.
Another big milestone: we were able to test VirtualSociety on iOS (yes, including iPhones and iPads!!). It’s not available for download yet, but it’s a small step closer to making the game accessible across all platforms! Great news — the game runs pretty well on our devices!
To ensure a smoother experience, Nico also worked on optimizations to improve visual rendering on lower-end machines, while staying true to the game’s artistic direction.
These changes are especially useful on mobile, where the low-quality rendering is much better than before!
A pitch at L’Oréal’s global headquarters!
Nico had the honor of presenting VirtualSociety at L’Oréal’s global HQ as part of the “Pépites des Pépites” competition, where VirtualSociety was selected as one of the 10 finalists out of more than 150 projects!
New tools, new possibilities!
On the building side, Jimmy’s been busy too! Brand-new tools now allow you to create rooms and floors with more varied polygonal shapes — almost in a single click!
These additions come with some technical improvements as well: certain bugs have been fixed, including the one that prevented floor creation, and another that allowed walls to be too small to be useful.
Making progress on paper too
In parallel, we’ve also been working on the more strategic aspects of the project: we submitted a grant application, and we took the time to revise our business model to better align with our long-term vision (especially keeping the game free for health-related experiences, which is something very close to Jimmy’s heart).
Jimmy and Nico also completed a training session on intellectual property — a crucial topic for protecting our ideas and the world we’re building!
UI on the move
The game’s interface has also progressed in recent weeks! There were still many parts that hadn’t been updated yet — and I tackled them!
The login page has been redesigned, new screens were created for world selection and loading, and a new font is helping modernize the look (yes, another one!). Many new icons have also been added to improve navigation. As always, UI work is truly a team effort: I design the mockups, icons, and 9-patches, and then Nicolas works his magic to integrate it all into the game!
The in-game phone is still being reworked but coming along nicely. The goal is to create an interface that’s consistent with the game’s artistic direction, while remaining intuitive and enjoyable!
Welcome Nolwenn & Lenny!
Since the beginning of April, two new interns have joined the Cats & Foxes team — and we’re so happy to have them on board! I’ll let them introduce themselves:
Nolwenn
Hi, I’m Nolwenn! I’m currently in my first year of a Master’s in Digital Interactive Media and Games (Game Design specialization) in Metz. I love experimenting with different digital and creative tools, and I aspire to become an art director, game artist, and 2D/3D designer! My goal is to create video games with immersive and emotionally engaging visual worlds. At Cats & Foxes, I’m working on communication for VirtualSociety, particularly highlighting its potential benefits for mental health and autism spectrum disorders. I’ll also be contributing to visuals for both the game and our communications. Another part of my role will be to assist Jimmy and Nicolas in meeting with healthcare professionals to co-create therapeutic and playful experiences within VirtualSociety
Lenny
Hey! I’m Lenny, I’m 20 years old and currently in my third year of a Bachelor’s in Computer Science. I’ve been passionate about game development since I was 14, and I’ve joined Cats & Foxes for a 12-week internship (maybe longer!). It’s the perfect opportunity to learn and apply my skills to a project that truly matters. At Cats & Foxes, my role is to develop new features for the game.
One last thing..
As you know, since the start of the year we’ve moved to doing one livestream every two months. And for the next one, we’ve decided to do a live demo of the game! We’re super excited to hear your feedback! We’ll keep you posted soon!
And since we’re really eager for you to try VirtualSociety, we’ve set ourselves the goal of launching a closed pre-alpha by the end of the year! That’s all for this round of updates — thank you again for following the VirtualSociety adventure with us!
We’re moving step by step toward a playable version, always with the goal of creating a welcoming, creative, and accessible space for everyone. If you’d like to support us or just stay in the loop, feel free to follow us on Patreon and our other social media! See you soon with more news,
Hi folks! For a little over a year, we were doing weekly reviews to tell you about our progress on various aspects of VirtualSociety. Over time, we realized that this format was no longer appropriate, because it was too frequent, and didn't allow us to write enough posts on speci
Hi folks! For a little over a year, we were doing weekly reviews to tell you about our progress on various aspects of VirtualSociety. Over time, we realized that this format was no longer appropriate, because it was too frequent, and didn't allow us to write enough posts on specific and interesting topics.
So this year, we're changing the format with:
A monthly update, which will appear here, as well as on Patreon (for “free” subscribers too!). For those who follow us on Patreon (for free or not), this also means you'll receive an email with each monthly review to keep you informed!
We'll continue to do comprehensive articles (on character, building editing, social interactions, etc.) as we did last year, again on the site and on Patreon.
Finally, we'll continue to offer a live Q&A every two months or so, with a live demo of the game at the next one!
So, for this long post of the year, let's take a look back at what's been keeping us busy over the last few months!
Setting up our studio and funding applications
The end of last year was marked by the creation of the company (Cats & Foxes SAS!) which signals the concrete start of the studio: we are now a company! Of course, financing a whole team requires a lot (a lot) of money, to rent premises, pay for lawyers, accountants, insurance, equipment and, of course, salaries. So we spent a lot of time drafting funding applications (grants, loans, etc.).
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported us on Patreon. It's an invaluable help that allows us to spend more of our time developing VirtualSociety, which means a lot!
Finalizing construction
We can finally build houses in-game! Of course, there's still some work to be done on the exteriors (terrain editing, lakes, grass, roads, etc.), but our construction tools have made enormous progress. Jimmy has also reworked the tools and camera to make them much easier to use. For example, you can now select several objects to move, resize or delete a group of objects at once.
A whole host of functions return
The game takes a big leap forward, with a number of new functions, and also the return of a lot of things that had worked for a while, and had temporarily disappeared with the addition of multiplayer and functions like undo/redo, or the new interface. Among the big returns are clocks that indicate the time of day in-game (depending on the world configuration, real time, a fixed time or a day/night cycle set to a specific duration), floor and wall textures with skirting boards and configurable patterns, or weather effects with rain outside, player tracks in the snow, trees that move more or less according to the wind, and so on.
To keep up with the changes to VirtualSociety, check out our changelog !
Interface redesign
The game's interface has been completely overhauled, from the phone to the world selector, from the character editor to the developer tools.
We’ve overhauled everything from the in-game phone to the world selector, character editor, and developer tools. The goal was to make the experience more fluid, intuitive, and enjoyable to use, and we’re really happy with the result. Plus, it’s much more in line with the game’s artistic direction!
Over 350 new items!
We worked with six contractors, who used Chloé's concept art to create a huge number of objects, all of which have now been integrated into the game! By the way, we regularly share glimpses of these objects with you on our social networks. We now have everything we need to build our homes and exteriors in terms of objects, and with quite a few different choices for many of them.
Of course, all these objects keep our graphic style, and our system of masks to let you choose their colors and patterns :) We're trying to update our roadmap as we go along, with the various additions and objects we'd like to add. If you have any special requests, please let us know, for example on our Discord!
Working with healthcare professionals
Finally, we met with a number of healthcare professionals who shared their expectations and ways of working. We went to see psychologists, psychometrists and occupational therapists to ask them all kinds of questions, and to understand how their patient follow-up and sessions went. It was really interesting, and now we're going to be able to co-construct our first healthcare experiences with them at VirtualSociety!
