TECH NEWS – Sony’s latest patent focuses on how players engage with side missions and how to customise the gaming experience.

That’s right, the side quest system is now protectable: according to a recently announced patent from Sony, its games can now be more adaptable to how someone plays them.

Let’s be quick to add: filing a patent does not necessarily mean that the technology will be implemented, as many companies, including Sony, often do so to protect potential ideas. While that may be the case, if this patent works as described, it sounds like it could be an excellent boon for gamers.

As shown below, Sony’s patent identifies a “golden path” that gamers can take.

This could mean the path with the best gameplay, story, rewards and secrets, but many players also have a personal golden path. The patent then identifies how the player travels this golden path and defines the player’s place on it. It then generates dynamic side quests – not necessarily identical or similar to Skyrim quests – based on the player’s location on the golden path and the player’s actions on that path.

In general, it seems that if a player completes some of X but ignores all of Y, the game will periodically offer players more X and less Y to keep them engaged as they progress through the game’s campaign. This will be determined by where the player is at and probably by the catalogue of possible events, happenings and other events based on the game world. As long as the generation of side quests is unique (or as unique as possible) and not a random accompaniment to fetch quests, Sony’s patent sounds promising.

This will all be based on individual player metrics, including how players approach the main story quests, accurate inputs, region exploration (like a city in Skyrim), and an approximate engagement score. Mission generation is dependent on the overall engagement score, so if a player seems to slow down, change tactics, or overall isn’t as engaged as before, the game will offer them something new.

The overall goal is to maintain and/or increase engagement among players.

It’s an exciting idea that can customise each player’s gaming experience and offer a new way to explore the game’s side missions. Unlike the open-world formula of having players do activities scattered across the map and letting them immerse themselves in them at their leisure, this method would ensure that side missions are offered to players and customised.

Source: GuardadoRapido