Sony Patents To Let You Watch Players’ Failed Attempts During Gameplay

Sony has recently published a new patent that discusses showing past players’ moments of failure at certain points during the game to guide future players. The patent discusses utilizing user-generated content to implement it automatically in games to ensure players can watch how other users failed at the exact same spot. These captured moments could be studied to ease the struggles of a player through various in-game situations.

Players may find it useful to observe how others have played the same game title in the past. Specifically, a player having difficulty navigating a particular portion of the game title may derive useful tips and insights from UGC [user generated content] of past gameplay that resulted in successful outcomes.”

The document by Sony dubbed “REACTIONS OF FAILED ATTEMPTS DURING POINTS OF GAMEPLAY” elaborates on how the player can utilize the user-captured attempts to learn where and how their gameplay can be improved to tackle the underlying obstacle without any issues successfully. Moreover, the patent also talks about how it can be fun for a user to watch failed attempts of other players, as it provides entertainment value.

The player may be in need of some comic relief or solace after losing, for example, a hard battle. As such, the player would appreciate watching other or their own previous attempts of the same activity and with similar results, such as also just missing a final jump by just a little.”

Essentially, an overlay will appear for a player during the gameplay, possibly after losing a specific fight or struggling with an obstacle for a certain period. It will show the failed attempts of other users at that exact spot or battle. The overlay of the past gameplay will serve as a guide to understand the gameplay better while also pleasing the viewer by providing comic relief after several tedious attempts to complete the obstacle.

Usually, it would be better to show the successful attempts of other players when someone is struggling at a certain point during the gameplay. Regardless, Sony argues that failed gameplay attempts of other users can be more relatable to a struggling player; relief and guidance can be derived from comprehending how other gamers struggled at a particular point during the gameplay.

While many UGC of successful gameplay may be alike and present predetermined requirements associated with accruing points, status, or making progress in a given game title, UGC of unsuccessful gameplay may exhibit more variety in the ways in which a player may fail to meet such predetermined requirements.”

The captured gameplay will be shown based on various trigger points, which will basically determine the exact portion of the current users’ gameplay. The discussed points could include “attempts to beat a boss, reach an end of a level, or accomplish a task or quest” during a gameplay session. Moreover, a multitude of possible results could be included at each trigger at the same time.

if a current activity is fighting a boss, the identified result may include failure to beat the boss. Specific trigger points may include different predetermined points within the fight, including certain actions or reactions by the player at specified points during the [f]ight.”

The proposed system by Sony could guide players in many ways. For instance, the user may switch to a different weapon after seeing a failed attempt of another user; the user may move around differently or utilize ammo more carefully, and the like. It could prove to be a viable and organic tutorial system for newcomers who want to see how other players have toiled at a certain point without quitting or pausing the game and manually finding it.

Sony is known for patenting the most unique ideas in the industry to ensure the other giants in the gaming sphere are unable to secure them first. For instance, it recently published a patent discussing a PlayStation controller capable of changing temperatures to reflect gameplay, a legal document discussing methods to fix the posture of gamers. A patent to personalize game narration and difficulty for each user was also published.

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