From time to time, it happens that a videographer lacking inspiration to formally revive the pseudo-debate on difficulty in video games. But Sony may well end the discussion for a while with a new patent.
Because our modern and connected consoles (some would add “and not found”) make it possible to analyze more than ever our behavior as more or less skilled players, Sony filed in the summer of 2020 an astonishing patent which had just been made public. The site of the Patent and Trademark Office allows us to learn a little more about the manufacturer’s method to try to help those who would like to strengthen their game.
The colleagues’ patent
It’s hard not to take a little interest in skill when you choose to launch your new console with the remake of a certain Demon’s Souls. The more attentive among you will probably remember another patent, which would make it possible to eject the trolls during online games, by giving more weight to the so-called “skilled” players.
This time, the 45-page document details a new method of “coaching” which therefore relies on the perseverance of the players:
This method aims to identify a gameplay phase identified as below a predetermined skill threshold. It generates a recording and telemetry measurements to identify the progress margin and the corresponding time window. The self-coaching interface displays highlighted indications during the playback of the gameplay sequence, and offers tips and hints for the player to pass the given skill threshold.
To skill appears
Reading the diagrams and the details of this patent allows you to discover in pictures the coaching method according to Sony, which quite randomly takes the example of a game in which you can shoot or … build walls:
Here, the player who dies again and again is therefore invited to replay the sequence during which a damn bullet ends the win, and therefore explicitly displays the proposed options (jump or build a wall) as well as the temporality of the action via a timeline.
Some would say that this is a method that looks like some tutorials in the versus fighting genre, and they would probably be right. except that here, the goal is not necessarily to stand up to Justin Wong, but to avoid frustration, and abandonment.
Defeating an opponent controlled by an AI or an opposing player can be a challenge. Players try to do this over and over, and slowly improve their level of play. Certain more difficult situations may arise, in which it may be difficult to remember previously learned lessons. Some players then become frustrated with the time it takes to progress.
This could perhaps end a debate … without end.
What do you think of this new patent? Could Sony’s method prove to be effective? Let us know your expert opinions in the comments below.