Sony has just submitted its latest patent, referencing the development of an interactive 3D avatar that players would be able to use to convey emotions and more. The tech giant has its fair share of mid-production technologies and patent-level hypotheses, and some of them sound like they could truly provide users with a new kind of media utility, whether through video games or through some other manner of interaction.
While they don't necessarily mean much on their own, companies' patents can sometimes afford fans a close look at some developing and/or upcoming technologies that may or may not see the light of day, sometimes years down the line. In Sony's case, specifically, the company seems to have a bunch of ongoing projects, and one of them concerns the translation of gamers' emotions in real-time, using none other than their virtual avatars.
According to the latest patent listing provided by Sony, the company is attempting to develop a video game avatar that would allow for animated modification on the fly using information sourced from the user's own facial expressions. The provided documentation suggests that users' faces would be scanned for various expressions (happiness, sadness, etc.), which would then be converted to their in-game avatar's own face. This new submission may or may not be connected to Sony's earlier AI-based facial animation patent, it's worth pointing out.
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Furthermore, the listing mentions that users would also have the option to convert their own faces into 3D models to be used in video games. This could be where Sony's picture-in-picture patent would potentially tie into the system, as it would allow for expressive pop-in screens that could appear in response to various in-game actions, such as victories and defeats. Other use cases include speech bubbles, animated gestures, gesticulations, and similar instances.
Keeping the above in mind, it's likely that Sony would need a comprehensive way of capturing data about the users' respective faces before using them in video games and 3D interfaces. The specifics of this aren't detailed in this patent, but it's possible that the system would be used in tandem with particular kinds of hardware that might be able to supply such data. The surprisingly pricy PS VR2 headset immediately comes to mind, for example.
In other related news, Sony is working on "what-if" gameplay features that would help expose players to more information about the eventual outcomes of their approach to a given game. This should help with short-term player retention, according to Sony's patent, simply by letting players know about some of their games' more advanced progression goals that they might not realize are there.