As video games become increasingly visually realistic, it becomes more challenging for developers to create a gaming environment entirely representative of any real-world area while still keeping players engaged and clear on where they are supposed to go and what they may interact with.
Many gimmicks are placed into the game’s environment to attempt to keep the player going in the proper direction, such as following light sources or having climbable objects emphasized with a unique hue, as seen in the Tomb Raider and Uncharted titles.
On the other hand, these leading routes may become lost in the sea of set dressing and environmental elements that video games can provide. Game creators may also employ what is known as dynamic digital assets to assist transmit instructions or messages to players directly inside the game environment. This has the advantage of removing suggestions and guidance from the player’s UI.
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Virtual racing lines, which can feature in many racing games like Forza Motorsport, are an example of a dynamic digital asset. Although dynamic, many games’ assets are permanent components of the game that are seldom changed once it is released.
Activision has now patented a computer-implemented method that might enable these dynamic elements to be moved to more optimal placements and timings based on player data.
The Activision patent also outlines a technique for altering these dynamic elements to reflect real-time changes in multiplayer games. This might result in dynamic and complicated multiplayer landscapes that players can still explore easily since the game uses its assets to make the path to the action more prominent. Call of Duty: Warzone, a battle royale game, could be able to make the most of this technology.
Battle royale games, such as Call of Duty: Warzone, take place in a large area with players charged with locating and avoiding battles with one another. The game currently provides numerous audiovisual clues to the player about other players’ activities and locations.
Still, a system like the one described in Activation’s patent might provide even more subtle and apparent in-game indications to the user about the current status of their multiplayer battle.
Modern AAA game design has shifted to incorporating a video game’s conceits as smoothly as possible into a fleshed-out and live video game environment. The player-collected data from the Activision patent might be utilized to determine where these seams are most often located. The dynamic assets could be used to move gamers away from them gently.
