One of the defining features in recent Call of Duty entries has been the Gunsmith, a feature that allows players to design vastly different builds for each of a game’s weapons. The Call of Duty Gunsmith may be getting another new feature sometime soon, as an Activison patent suggests a way to share weapon builds on social media.
Filed under the name David Vonderhaar, the lead developer on Treyarch’s Call of Duty multiplayer offerings, the patent’s abstract reads that a “method for creating and sharing customized video game weapon configurations in multiplayer video games via one or more social networks is provided.” Essentially, when players make a loadout via Call of Duty’s Gunsmith, they can share the loadout directly on social media accounts like Twitter. Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr are also mentioned as potential social media partners.
The patent opens by providing a lengthy explanation of the Gunsmith feature that can be found in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Call of Duty Mobile. From there, the patent describes how players can “enter a name or other identifier during or after the creation of a weapon configuration.” The example of “Frank’s Pain Inflictor” is provided, with the patent then detailing a “performance profile” for the player-made loadouts.
Essentially a full Call of Duty weapon breakdown outside of the game, the social media post's performance profile would show players the same statistics they would see in a Call of Duty Gunsmith. The positives and negatives of each attachment and of the overall build would be displayed, making for a clear social media post on the weapons strengths and weaknesses. Further, “a global performance rating” would be displayed, showing off how well each player has done with the weapon loadout.
This feature could be huge for Call of Duty streamers and YouTubers, as players like NICKMERCS can share their loadouts directly to social media for players to download, ensuring they have the exact same build. The patent also details the “sharing engine,” a system that would allow players to “include personalized text, graphics, pictures, audio, video, or other multimedia when sharing weapon configurations.” Further, the sharing engine would allow creators of the weapon to issue challenges for their version of a gun, another interesting mechanic mentioned in the patent.
The shared loadouts can be instantly downloaded and equipped in the games utilizing the patent, with the primary goal of the invention being to let players use other player-created loadouts instantly — without having to remake the loadout themselves. With the patent saying the sharing engine can be used in singleplayer games and non-shooters as well, more Activision Blizzard franchises may make use of this interesting new system as well.
Source: Activision Patent