Sony Patents To Let Players Replay Campaign From Any Point

The feature is still rarely implemented in games.

Story Highlights

  • Sony has published a new patent that wants to let users play from any part of the campaign of a game’s campaign. 
  • The system includes multiple trigger points in games. It will omit the issue of having to play the rest of the campaign to reach a specific part.
  • The highly popular entries, such as Detroit: Become Human and Until Dawn, already include such a feature, which allows for great flexibility.

There are certain moments in games that really resonate with us, but having to play through the whole campaign or a chapter to get to it can be exhausting. Thankfully, Sony has an answer for that. The patent secured by the publisher wants to add trigger points in many parts of a game’s campaign, allowing users to play from specific points. In other words, getting to certain battles or story moments will not require you to spend hours again.

The legal document dubbed “CONTENT STREAMING WITH GAMEPLAY LAUNCH” mentions the system that can allow gamers to re-experience the cutscenes and story moments of the games right from the get-go. Sony says that players can technically view these moments through online videos and other means, but it does not bring the same level of satisfaction. The conventional way requires users to replay the whole campaign again.

The image shows a UI with multiple trigger points that can be chosen.
The image shows a UI with multiple chapters that can be chosen directly.

Such media content may have at least one or more trigger points and each trigger point may be associated with a set of game data specific to a gameplay scene within an interactive title. […] The interactive title for gameplay may be launched by the user device based on the identified set of game data associated with the selected trigger point.”

The trigger points explained by Sony allude to the chapters and sub-chapters that can be accessed anytime the player wants. The patent argues that users have to repeat a playthrough for certain moments in many titles or watch the content online. The usual solution, watching the footage on the web, can hog most of the immersion from the heartfelt scenes we often want to experience again.

The image reveals a UI with multiple options for selection in a trigger point.
The image reveals a UI with multiple options for selection in a trigger point.

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Additionally, the players enjoying a Sony exclusive may want to undo a specific choice during a part of the gameplay. The feature can allow an easy way to change the chosen path. It may save the headache of restarting the entire playthrough by letting users backtrack to a specific point in gameplay.

The flowchart image shows the inner workings of the proposed system.
The flowchart image shows the inner workings of the proposed system.

Frankly, many titles already have similar features, but they are rarely seen in Sony games. The system was a popular hit in titles like the Sony exclusive, Detroit: Become Human, and Until Dawn. Having the ability to play from specific parts of the campaign is an integral part of games that many titles still lack. For instance, players will have to repeat the whole story of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to get to specific boss fights and city changes.

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Source
Patentscope

Shameer Sarfaraz is a Senior News Writer on eXputer who loves to keep up with the gaming and entertainment industries devoutly. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and several years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.

Experience: 4+ Years || Education: Bachelor in Computer Science.

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