Sony recently published a patent that describes an innovative technology that would amend the difficulty in a game in real time, adapting to the player’s abilities on the fly. It also has applied for a mechanism that allows the graphical art of the game to be altered via custom settings. It’s not a concept that’s completely unheard of in gaming, but Sony’s patent speaks of adapting the emerging AI tech to make it more customizable to what already exists.
The gameplay element is referred to as the ‘Adaptive Difficulty Calibration For Skills-Based Activities In Virtual Environments,’ and it uses AI algorithms to assess how a user is playing and dealing with specific mechanics, elements, and circumstances. Sony has set specific parameters for the system, which can gradually increase or decrease attributes like movement speed, character strength, enemy count, and enemy AI difficulty as the game progresses.
Before stepping up the difficulty, the system has expectations that players must meet. It can be done again as abilities improve. Sony also admits that unfair opponents and challenges are a common feature of modern games, with opponents being simple to defeat or changing in the next round. The algorithms described in the patent would be dynamic, providing each player with a customized experience that best suits them, as opposed to selecting a standard difficulty setting. Because it would ultimately vary depending on the player, it would be impossible for an outsider to determine a game’s difficulty before purchasing it.
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The Sony patent not only addresses gameplay advancements, but game art modifications as well. The feature enables users to alter a game’s entire art style by simply toggling an AI-powered option. It talks about a graphical style module that combines color palettes from various games to alter an entry’s appearance. “The style from one set of image frames is applied to another by the Graphical Style Modification module 140. The patent notes that “style adaptation may impact the background, texture, and color scheme.” Essentially, AI will enable players to switch between entirely different game art styles.
To be more precise, the patent explains how a game with anime-stylized art could mimic the texture, background, and color scheme by utilizing AI. The Graphical Style Modification component allows for the switch to take place; allowing the cartoonish visuals of games like Fortnite to be swiped and wiped with a game like GTA and its realistic art style, and vice versa.
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Sony has secured several patents, including a haptic feedback tech that can change controller temperature to emulate gameplay, a massive co-op entry for theatres, and a unique idea that aids players in fixing their postures during long gaming sessions. While the patent should be looked at with a grain of salt, it’s clear that Sony has ambitious plans for the future of the PlayStation and gaming.
What do you think about this news; just another pie-in-the-sky gamer dream or do you want the upcoming AI gaming revolution? What games would you want to see morphed into your mods? Let us know! Comment below!
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