Sony Patents Dynamic Game Replays via Streams
A freshly published Sony patent application reveals that the company has been delving deeper into a method that enables players to rewind and replay a game from specific points while streaming, thereby allowing them to relive the game’s storyline.
Entitled “Content Streaming With Gameplay Launch”, this patent was submitted on July 11th, 2023, and was publicly disclosed on November 2nd via WIPO (as noticed by Exputer).
It delineates a game that encompasses numerous “trigger points of media content”. These are junctures from which the player can initiate a replay, and they would be furnished “by the platform, publisher, or third-party publisher”. These trigger points are characterized as the commencement of an “activity”, such as a boss battle or a quest, or when a player advances in level.
Each trigger point would possess an associated “set of game data”, which “might be founded on user gameplay data” or determined by the platform/publisher. Subsequently, players would be capable of choosing a trigger point and recommencing the game from that particular point.
The proposed sequence of events when a player decides to replay a game. |
Image credit: Sony
Sony asserts in its patent that its “replay” system would offer a “distinctive user experience for the consumption of media content with interactive gameplay”. By enabling players to “selectively play portions” of a game while also being able to experience the story, it cites “movie cuts” of games as the inspiration. Instead of having to replay an entire game, players would be able to selectively engage with the crucial story segments to re-experience a game’s narrative or make entirely dissimilar choices in a non-linear title.
An exemplary UI for players when choosing a point to replay a game from. |
Image credit: Sony
This is not the inaugural patent that Sony has filed in relation to this system. This latest patent builds upon the patents that Sony filed on November 11th, 2019, and December 31st, 2021, bearing the same name.
