Sony Wants To Moderate Players’ Emotions During Gameplay

Rundown:

• Sony Interactive Entertainment has been awarded a patent for emotion detection and gameplay moderation based on voice inputs from players to solve the problem of negative emotions affecting a player’s mental health or sensory processing conditions during gameplay sessions.
• The system stores the player’s emotional profile in memory, which includes one or more moderation rules that specify a moderation action responsive to one or more emotional states.
• The current communication session associated with the player and one or more other players is monitored based on the player’s emotional profile, and an emotional state detected as being associated with a subset of the messages may trigger at least one of the moderation rules.
• The presentation of at least one of the messages in the subset being provided to the player may be modified in accordance with the moderation action specified by the player’s emotional profile.
• The patent also adds the concept of punishment to the system, specifying that identified players may lose privileges within the communication session due to violating moderation rules.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has recently published a patent titled “EMOTION DETECTION & MODERATION BASED ON VOICE INPUTS,” filed in September 2021 under the name of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. The patent, published last month, discusses a system for detecting and moderating emotions based on voice inputs from players. The technology involves storing a player’s emotional profile, which includes rules for moderating communication based on emotional states.

During a communication session, the system monitors for emotional states and triggers moderation rules based on the player’s emotional profile. The system can modify the presentation of messages in accordance with the moderation action specified by the player’s emotional profile. This technology can be used to prevent negative emotions, such as anger or bullying language, from affecting a player’s mental health or sensory processing conditions.

“Systems and methods for emotion detection and emotion-based moderation based on voice inputs are provided. A user emotion profile may be stored in memory for a user. The user emotion profile may include one or more moderation rules that specifies a moderation action responsive to one or more emotional states. A current communication session associated with the user and one or more other users may be monitored based on the user emotion profile,” reads the abstract for the patent.

“An emotional state detected as being associated with a subset of the messages may trigger at least one of the moderation rules by corresponding to at least one of the emotional states specified by the user emotion profile. A presentation of at least one of the messages in the subset being provided to the user device may be modified in accordance with the moderation action specified by the user emotion profile.”

With the rise in popularity of online multiplayer video games, there is a growing concern among players and video game companies about managing these online communities. Specifically, parents, guardians, and supervisors are worried about limiting their children’s exposure to negative emotions and language during gameplay. The emotional state of players can significantly affect their gameplay experience and mental health, as well as their sensory processing conditions.

Last year, we disclosed a patent from Electronic Arts that discusses an automated detection system to actively determine and punish bots and/or malicious players by identifying emergent behaviours in-game and adapting to them in near real-time to treat players differently based on their in-game behaviours.

It seems like Sony Interactive Entertainment may be working on something similar by allowing players to control the types of emotions they encounter within a communication session and to limit their exposure to negative emotions, such as anger or bullying language.

According to the patent’s claims, the system detects emotions in voice inputs during a communication session and uses those emotions to modify the presentation of messages sent to a player.

This method involves storing an emotional profile for the player, monitoring the communication session for the emotional states of other players, detecting when those emotional states trigger moderation rules specified in the player’s emotional profile, and modifying the presentation of messages accordingly.

The patent elaborates that “monitoring the current communication session includes monitoring emotional states associated with the user and with each of the other users.” Additionally, the emotional states are assigned to pre-determined categories for easier tracking and analysis, including sub-categories that correspond to a gradient between mild and extreme levels of an emotional state. These emotional states associated with subsets of messages are identified using artificial intelligence models.

Furthermore, the emotional states being monitored and acted upon are associated with identified players within the communication session. In addition, the patent also adds the concept of punishment to the system, specifying that identified players may lose privileges within the communication session due to violating moderation rules.

The patent also specifies modifying the presentation of messages by neutralising the emotional state associated with a message, as opposed to simply removing or censoring it. For instance, if a message has a negative emotional tone, it can be modified to have a neutral tone while retaining its original meaning. The purpose of this method is to improve communication by reducing the impact of emotional biases that may exist in the original message.

Sony Interactive Entertainment’s concept is undoubtedly a groundbreaking innovation in the video game industry that could potentially revolutionise how online multiplayer video games are moderated, making them a safer and more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. However, it is important to note that implementing such a system is certainly not a simple task, and it may be challenging to ensure that the system is accurate and effective in all cases, as emotions can be complex and nuanced.

Additionally, while the concept is promising, it is crucial to remember that the patent does not guarantee implementation or development by the company. Only time will tell exactly how the company has planned, if at all, to integrate this system into its existing and future video game franchises and platforms.

What do you think about this? Do tell us your opinions in the comments below!

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Jace

Jace loves both video games and writing, so he thought the best career was to write about video games. He attended Full Sail University and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. He joined Gamsual in 2022, and when not covering video game news, he is often building and strategizing in simulation and RTS games. Xbox: Alchemist5966