Sony may be working on a new program to help players practice their gaming skills, at least according to a recently-filed patent. As any seasoned FPS or fighting game fan will attest, gaming takes practice. Online lobbies for games like Call of Duty are often filled with newcomers who have yet to learn the finer points of said game - and are just as often taken out by the more experienced players before they can get the chance to get properly acclimated.
This can make getting into online titles like Fortnite frustrating for beginners, especially since not every game has a designated tutorial to help them learn the basics. Even co-op titles like Elden Ring can be difficult to learn, making the idea of a universal option for PlayStation gamers to practice their favorite games an interesting and appealing idea. Luckily, it looks like Sony is aiming to create just that for newcomers and battle-hardened virtual warriors alike.
Just a few weeks ago, Sony Interactive Entertainment filed a patient for what it calls a “Virtual Dojo” to help players sharpen their skills across several different genres. According to the images included in this patient, it would consist of a virtual environment that simulates 2D and 3D gaming environments for first-person shooters, side-scrolling platformers and even fighting games. The patent claims that players will be able to import training data from actual games, such as button combos, and after analyzing the player’s skill level the program would generate a personalized curriculum based on what areas the player needs to improve on.
This is just one of the many interesting patents that Sony has filed this year. According to these recent documents, Sony is said to be working on an AI assistant that studies a PS5 owner’s gaming habits and makes recommendations to them - as well as a smart parental control system that could automatically pause a child’s game at the end of a boss battle or another natural stopping point. Yet a third patent describes a program that gauges a player’s emotional reaction to an in-game environment and makes changes to it on the fly.
All of these new patients are interesting, but a virtual dojo that players can use to practice playing their favorite games could be the most helpful for new and experienced gamers alike. For newcomers, this dojo can be used to get better acquainted with online titles without the pressure of being in a live match against a real opponent. For more seasoned players, it can be used to help sharpen their skills and pick up on a few areas that they may have been lacking in before. Only time will tell if Sony’s newest “virtual dojo” patent will lead to such a feature, but the possibilities for PlayStation fans seem to be limitless.