Zlin City: Arch Moderna is a diorama city builder made with actual, physical models and based on a real Czech city

City builders, kind of by definition, tend to be quite large in form. You’re constructing an entire city here after all, and all the complications that come with that. So how about a citybuilder that’s going for something a bit smaller? Meet Zlin City: Arch Moderna, a city builder designed to look like you’re making dioramas, made by scanning actual, physical models, inspired by the real Czech city Ziln.

Right out the gate, I’m happy to hear this line from the game’s devs in a press release: “In a time when things are being artificially generated, Zlín City bets on the beauty of imperfection and an unmistakable human touch. It draws inspiration from model railways, children’s toys, and classic puppet animation.” Hurray! Someone that actually sees some sense.

As noted, the in-game models start life as physical models, for the most part made by 3D printing it sounds like, with some hand painting done for that finishing touch. Developer polyperfect explain that their decision to use real models is because of imperfections like “paint drips, brush strokes, glue marks, or slightly damaged edges,” that you can’t easily replicate on a computer that “bring a human touch to the game.”

In terms of how it actually plays, they make references to the likes of Tiny Glad and SimCity, though not much actual gameplay has been shown off just yet. You can see from screenshots that you’re able to place down all sorts of structures, learn about citizens and how they’re faring, and even discover some of Ziln’s real history. It’s apparently just as much an educational game, particularly about the city’s architecture, as it is meant to be a relaxing one.

You can try the game out for yourself too, it’ll just cost you a little bit. Polyperfect have set up a Patreon where subscribing nets you access to the game’s alpha, though that’ll of course be up to you if you want to fork over a bit of dough for the privilege. Otherwise, you can always wishlist the game on Steam.