A new patent by Electronic Arts could completely change how the publisher and the studios under its management create new worlds and mission maps. The patent, which is for new imaging software, could help developers everywhere from creating realistic terrain in BioWare's Dragon Age series to forming the alien planets of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 by Respawn Entertainment.
The patent uses a number of existing technologies and marries them together to create a new form of terrain generation, which none of the individual parts would be able to make on their own. It's an exciting prospect for both players and the developers under the Electronic Arts umbrella, since this could streamline production and create a new level of depth for in-game environments.
According to the claims of the patent, these new methods are able to take satellite images and procedurally recreate the photographed terrain in a 3D environment. Essentially, this means that an overtop image of a city, forest, or mountain range can allow the program to make an in-game map that reflects the terrain with startling accuracy. This could mean that games like Battlefield 6 could have real-life locations for campaign missions or multiplayer maps, created with this real-world terrain mapping.
Considering how long creating a quality map in any game can take, from laying out the terrain to populating the area with obstacles and interactive objects, and constant playtesting for weak points, this could be huge for developers. It would essentially allow any developer with access to the patented methods to skip the entire first step and recreate the real terrain that may have already been used as a battlefield in historic conflicts, still pocked with the previous scars of war. So, Electronic Arts' new patents could be paving a way for even more realistic combat simulation, as well as more streamlined development to give developers more time to focus on core systems.
This patent is the type of new technology that could pioneer new VR experiences as well, by using NASA's images of planets like Mars and give players the chance to explore a one-to-one recreation of Olympus Mons. The applications are only limited by the imagination of the developers who can get their hands on it, which is a good sign considering that Electronic Arts has Respawn, BioWare, and DICE under its umbrella. It might be a while until players see the effects of this patent, but the effects it can have on the settings of titles like Dragon Age will likely be noticeable as players suddenly find themselves in hyper-realistic recreations of real forests and deserts.
Source: USPTO