Sony patents ability for games to adjust difficulty levels on the fly

Sony has filed a patent which could see difficulty levels adapt and adjust as users play.

The patent features algorithms that would be able to finely tune difficulty settings based on an individual's performance. It is interesting to see Sony patent such an idea, when similar processes are used in other games already.

Regardless, this patent (which can be viewed via World Intellectual Property Organization), shows PlayStation has its eye on the future of this sort of technology.

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"Methods of the present disclosure may collect data when a user plays one or more different types of games when determinations are made as to whether the difficulty of a game should be changed. The collected data may be evaluated to identify whether a user gaming performance level corresponds to an expected level of performance," the patent's abstract reads.

"When the user gaming performance level does not correspond to an expected level of performance, parameters that change the difficultly of the game may be changed automatically. Parameters that relate to movement speed, delay or hesitation, character strengths, numbers of competitors, or other metrics may be changed incrementally until a current user performance level corresponds to an expectation level of a particular user currently playing the game.

"At this time, the user expectation level may be changed, and the process may be repeated as skills of the user are developed over time."

You can see diagrams from this Sony patent below. What do you think to the idea?

Earlier this month, a Sony patent detailing an updated DualSense controller design that will provide players with "predictive AI assistance features" also cropped up.

This would see the controller light up or even move certain buttons and sticks to provide hints on what players need to do if they find themselves stuck in a game.

Elsewhere in the world of patents, EA is seemingly looking into ways to implement player-voiced characters into its games.