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[IbizaPocholo]

Sony patent turns shared videos into playable game demos

Sony's new scene-tagging patent would transform shared videos into interactive gameplay demos.

www.tweaktown.com

Sony's new scene-tagging patent basically creates labels for shared screenshots and videos on the PlayStation Network. But this shared media isn't just for watching: You can actually play them.

While scanning Sony's new scene tagging patent, I noticed something pretty interesting: Videos aren't just static, but contain small slices of interactive gameplay that viewers can start up and play. The patent isn't just for sharing screenshots and videos, but actually sharing that particular gameplay slice too.

It's a direct extension of the immensely ambitious game demo patent that lets you create and share game demos on the PlayStation Network.

It could work like this: You record a 1-3 minute clip of, say, taking on a huge boss in a next-gen game. You upload it to the PS Network and your friends see it. Your friends can request to basically play that particular session of gameplay with your character/loadout. They wouldn't watch your video, but actually play it.

Here's how it's described:

"In particular, scene tagging is used to characterize user generated content associated with gameplay information associated with video games. Exemplary user generated content include video recordings or screenshots from within the video game that pertain to events that have occurred.

"..Furthermore, the metadata associated with the user-generated content will allow viewers to experience the same content that is recorded."

This is very similar to the interesting patent that would let users create their own small gameplay demos and upload them to PSN. The scene tagging patent should work in tandem with the demo patent and create lots of metadata like game title, time and date, username, and other custom user-created labels. This feature is also kind of like the save-state sharing feature Stadia outlined a bit ago.

Remember, as with all patents, this is just one example of what could happen. The patent is exhaustive with tons of embodiments that all outline different scenarios. There's the possibility that this won't translate into anything real and Sony hasn't announced anything concrete. This is just speculation.

But if genuine, the game-sharing feature will be absolutely huge for Sony's services. It would allow users to share the best parts of a game on a more open-ended network and dynamically advertise games in the best way possible: By actually playing them.

 

[Alan Silvestro]

Like some mobile ads.

 

[too much eslim]

I think the idea is cool. Just wonder if it will be as cool as it sounds. If it's a 10 second clip am I just replaying a scene for 10 secs?

 

[Panaphonics]

Yeah. No publisher would want this. Basically people could play the whole game for free like this.

 

[ksdixon]

Wait... I'm not sure I understand why anyone would want this? It's not as advanced as shareplay where you can play a game together or play a full game by taking over another's controller.

 

[trikster40]

Yeah. No publisher would want this. Basically people could play the whole game for free like this.

There’s no way you could play a whole game in 1-3 minute spurts. And nobody would create 100s or 1000s of gameplay snips yo play it straight through.

Wait... I'm not sure I understand why anyone would want this? It's not as advanced as shareplay where you can play a game together or play a full game by taking over another's controller.

This would get it out to the masses. Think about it: I really want to try Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. My internet isn’t great, so shareplay just isn’t working great for me. Or my friend doesn’t want to let me play his game. Or I don’t have a friend that has the game.
This would allow me to download and play a brief snippet of the game, enough to whet my appetite.

The only concern I could see would be spoilers and how to tag and/or prevent them.

 

[Agent X]

I think the idea is cool. Just wonder if it will be as cool as it sounds. If it's a 10 second clip am I just replaying a scene for 10 secs?

This would depend on how they implement it. My understanding is that you are accessing a multipurpose file, which combines a video file with interspersed metadata. The metadata would include information such as the location of the player and other characters, their positions and movement trajectories, objects in the scene and their positions, and so on.

Depending on the complexity of the game, this could lead to enormous files. Something like this could be very easy to integrate into a game like Pac-Man, but might be much more difficult for something like Grand Theft Auto.

Yeah. No publisher would want this. Basically people could play the whole game for free like this.

It's more likely that the user would need to have access to the game--either by owning the game outright, or a demo with a limited portion of gameplay.

As trikster40 said above, this would also be most effective if they include some method of preventing spoilers. As it is now, someone could easily watch an online video clip and get some portion of the game spoiled. Having this type of interactive data embedded into the file might actually make the spoiler-blocking process easier, if it is utilized properly.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Interesting. I've thought up some stuff like this in my spare time as well, it should theoretically be possible. The question is how will it deal with those who don't actually own a copy of said game? Stream it, maybe? But will the game be available for streaming day-and-date with the physical and digital releases?

The other question is how will it handle making sure it can't be abused. Like for example, unless there's metadata that can be read to know when a "segment" has ceased, this could basically be used as a save state. But now you have an issue where one player can basically play the game, then create snippets as video "save states" and share them with anyone, infinitely, and they just cheese through the game. It's even crazier if dealing with people playing the game through streaming (if they don't own a copy) because unless there's checks in the metadata to prevent it, they can basically have someone create video shared "save states" for the whole game and play through it for free via streaming.

But we should also assume they'd have systems in place to prevent those situations, unless there are specific instances where they'd actually want users to use it for that type of functionality. Possibly limiting the amount of these type of interactive video shares a person can share out based on their friends list or such. Some would probably complain that if they could be used as a way of save states that could ruin the "artistic integrity" of games but honestly I think it is preferable to demanding developers simplify their games down with QoL features for the lesser-skilled. Companies like From Software should never need to seriously consider putting an "Easy Mode" in a Souls game, if you provide something like this which could essentially be used as a save state system at the system/OS level then the onus is on the end-user in how they want to customize their experience and provided through the platform holder directly, lifting that kind of burden off the developer so they can just focus on making the experience they truly want to make.

So yeah, hope this patent turns out to be true; long as they have some provisions in place to mitigate unwanted use-cases this should be pretty neat (and of course, with other features such as instant links to that game on the storefront if the user decides they want to get the full version; that kind of things should be completely seamless).

There’s no way you could play a whole game in 1-3 minute spurts. And nobody would create 100s or 1000s of gameplay snips yo play it straight through.

That's the thing though, and Agent X already explains this a bit. Depending on how the metadata is implemented and the range to which it pertains to the actual event that is clipped, you wouldn't need to create 100s or 1000s of clips, potentially just a small handful. And the worry of publishers being mad it's abused for free playthroughs only factors in for those who are given clips to be shared and don't actually own a copy of the game, as they'd likely be engaging with it through a stream version (provided it's an option).

If the metadata is too narrow ranged then the feature might not be worth it, if it's too broad it opens up appeals to find ways of abusing it. They've got to hit it just right. A concept like this sounds perfectly suited for save states, as well, I'd be slack-jawed if somehow save state functionality isn't integrated into this or, say, photo snapshots of a playthrough.

 

[Birdo]

This is one of those features that sounds cool, but you never use.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

This is pretty cool. Sony earned my respect with their share screen / second controller feature. I've played dozens of offline-only games with friends online using the feature, games they didn't own. I heard the same arguments back then "no way Sony would let people just play with their friends even if they didn't own the game". Well, you can.

I think Sony should be given some credit here. Genuinely cool social-gaming feature.

It also gives me hope that PS5 might include some sort of savestate system for (rumored) PS1-3 compatibility.

 

[ANIMAL1975]

This is one of those features that sounds cool, but you never use.

I think it sounds cool and could be a lot used. You see your friend is playing that game _ he shares the 3 min video _ instead of just watching it you can actually play it and decide if you want to buy it, or ask him to share play for a better view of the game. In the end, a free 'on the go' demo, without having to go through the steps of share play (and having someone willing and or available to share play with you). Cool feature if true.

 

[onQ123]

Wait... I'm not sure I understand why anyone would want this? It's not as advanced as shareplay where you can play a game together or play a full game by taking over another's controller.

Fast moving world some people don't want to sit down & play a whole game just to try something they liked but if they can just click on it & try it within seconds they will be more likely to play it.


We are in the meme , gif & short video clip generation .


something like this will have people trying it & sharing their own clip of it which will make it spread.

 

[Solarstrike]

Kinda like watching a toilet paper commercial and your television prints out a sheet for you to try

 

[a multicultural team of v]

I would think its likely that you would need to own the game to play the clip? Like the concept is my friend just beat a Dark Souls boss, now let me load his exact setup on my game and try to do the same.

How would having the ability to play any game even work? Download 50 gigs just so you can fight a boss for 2 minutes? Though, hasn't there been talk of downloads being modular for the PS5? Maybe it could be smart enough to literally only download what you need to fight an individual boss?

These consoles really need to be announced already lol

 

[wvnative]

Interesting. I've thought up some stuff like this in my spare time as well, it should theoretically be possible. The question is how will it deal with those who don't actually own a copy of said game? Stream it, maybe? But will the game be available for streaming day-and-date with the physical and digital releases?

The other question is how will it handle making sure it can't be abused. Like for example, unless there's metadata that can be read to know when a "segment" has ceased, this could basically be used as a save state. But now you have an issue where one player can basically play the game, then create snippets as video "save states" and share them with anyone, infinitely, and they just cheese through the game. It's even crazier if dealing with people playing the game through streaming (if they don't own a copy) because unless there's checks in the metadata to prevent it, they can basically have someone create video shared "save states" for the whole game and play through it for free via streaming.

But we should also assume they'd have systems in place to prevent those situations, unless there are specific instances where they'd actually want users to use it for that type of functionality. Possibly limiting the amount of these type of interactive video shares a person can share out based on their friends list or such. Some would probably complain that if they could be used as a way of save states that could ruin the "artistic integrity" of games but honestly I think it is preferable to demanding developers simplify their games down with QoL features for the lesser-skilled. Companies like From Software should never need to seriously consider putting an "Easy Mode" in a Souls game, if you provide something like this which could essentially be used as a save state system at the system/OS level then the onus is on the end-user in how they want to customize their experience and provided through the platform holder directly, lifting that kind of burden off the developer so they can just focus on making the experience they truly want to make.

So yeah, hope this patent turns out to be true; long as they have some provisions in place to mitigate unwanted use-cases this should be pretty neat (and of course, with other features such as instant links to that game on the storefront if the user decides they want to get the full version; that kind of things should be completely seamless).



That's the thing though, and Agent X already explains this a bit. Depending on how the metadata is implemented and the range to which it pertains to the actual event that is clipped, you wouldn't need to create 100s or 1000s of clips, potentially just a small handful. And the worry of publishers being mad it's abused for free playthroughs only factors in for those who are given clips to be shared and don't actually own a copy of the game, as they'd likely be engaging with it through a stream version (provided it's an option).

If the metadata is too narrow ranged then the feature might not be worth it, if it's too broad it opens up appeals to find ways of abusing it. They've got to hit it just right. A concept like this sounds perfectly suited for save states, as well, I'd be slack-jawed if somehow save state functionality isn't integrated into this or, say, photo snapshots of a playthrough.

Meh, you can already use share play to let a friend play through a game he doesn't own and publishers haven't freaked out yet.

 

[mortal]

As intriguing as this seems, I feel it's just a an excuse to push more ads in your face.

 

[ANIMAL1975]

I would think its likely that you would need to own the game to play the clip? Like the concept is my friend just beat a Dark Souls boss, now let me load his exact setup on my game and try to do the same.

How would having the ability to play any game even work? Download 50 gigs just so you can fight a boss for 2 minutes? Though, hasn't there been talk of downloads being modular for the PS5? Maybe it could be smart enough to literally only download what you need to fight an individual boss?

These consoles really need to be announced already lol

I think it's the exact opposite _ you don't own the game, you try it, you get compelled to buy it.

As intriguing as this seems, I feel it's just a an excuse to push more ads in your face.

I think you might be right, but the ad is the demo you will be playing _ a free ad to the game that might get you buying it. And if I'm not mistaken, you can share the last 15 minutes you played, that's what the PS4 automatically records. The 3 min clip seems to low.

 

[FranXico]

I think it's the exact opposite _ you don't own the game, you try it, you get compelled to buy it.


I think you might be right, but the ad is the demo you will be playing _ a free ad to the game that might get you buying it. And if I'm not mistaken, you can share the last 15 minutes you played, that's what the PS4 automatically records. The 3 min clip seems to low.

Up to 30min, it was increased a couple of years ago. But it's configurable.
And yes, your point stands more so.

I think that maybe this 3min demo feature is not locked behind a paywall, unlike PlayShare.

 

[FranXico]

Meh, you can already use share play to let a friend play through a game he doesn't own and publishers haven't freaked out yet.

Some did. There's a few who never authorized SharePlay. For example, Minecraft cannot be shared. Wonder why that is?

 

[EverydayBeast]

Game changer.

 

[Javthusiast]

Could be cool if done right, could also be one of them we have to have a gimmick to make the console more appealing at launch ideas.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

PS5 Patent Points To Possible Shareable ‘Mini Demo’ Create Feature

gamingbolt.com

 

[Myths]

Just from the title alone, it reminds me of Rockstar Editor. Similar to recording scripted events for a scene and its objects then running it back... something of the sort.