EA Might Start Giving Online Players Detention For Toxic Behaviour

Rundown:

• Electronic Arts has recently published a patent for a system that monitors players’ behaviour in online multiplayer gameplay sessions and creates a secondary gameplay experience to educate players who violated the rules in the original gameplay session.
• The remediation session is a secondary gameplay experience based on the data from the original gameplay session where the violation occurred and is intended to provide feedback and help the player improve their behaviour in future gameplay sessions.
• The system may substitute other player characters with automated agents, which would help guide and optimise the player’s actions during the remediation session, and incorporate the remediation objective.
• The system may also impose sanctions on a player’s account for violating the established rules for player interactions, which may be removed upon the player’s completion of the remediation session.
• Players who violate rules that may have affected other players during the online multiplayer video game session might, as part of the remediation objective, have to experience the misconduct they committed from the perspective of the affected player(s) in the original gameplay session.

Electronic Arts has recently been awarded a patent titled “Feedback oriented gameplay sessions in video games,” filed in August 2021 under Electronic Arts Inc. The patent, published earlier this week, describes a system for monitoring and providing feedback during online multiplayer gameplay sessions by capturing game state data and creating a remediation session based on the game state data for players who violate the policies of the particular video game. The remediation session is a secondary gameplay experience based on the data from the original gameplay session where the violation occurred and is intended to provide feedback and help the player improve their behaviour in future gameplay sessions. The system also determines when the player has completed the remediation session for further action.

“Systems and methods are described herein for monitoring a gameplay session for violations of a policy and creating a remediation gameplay session through which remediation can be provided to players or player accounts that violate gameplay policies,” reads the abstract for the patent. “The systems and methods can create a remediation gameplay session based in part on the game state data of the gameplay session during which the violation occurs.” In simple words, the system tracks players’ behaviour in a particular video game and creates a secondary gameplay experience to educate players who broke the rules in the original gameplay session. As the patent explains, “Access to gameplay sessions including feedback that remediates conflicts and misconduct among players (commonly known as “toxicity” or “toxic behavior”) can help maintain fair play environments in gameplay sessions.”

With the increase in the popularity of online multiplayer video games, there has also been a growing concern from both players and video game developers over the misconduct of players interacting with each other in online multiplayer gameplay sessions. In November 2022, we came across a published patent from Electronic Arts that describes an automated detection system that identifies emergent behaviours in-game and adapts to them in near real-time to treat players differently based on their in-game behaviours. It seems like Electronic Arts may have the same concept in mind but with additional features to not only punish abusive players but also remediate their actions through what seems like detention so they don’t repeat the same violations.

According to the claims made by the patent, the system connects multiple player characters to an online multiplayer video game session, establishes a set of rules for player interactions, monitors player behaviour to detect violations of these rules, captures game data when a violation occurs, creates a secondary remediation session based on this data, and tracks completion of this session by the violating player. The system could categorise violations and determine a specific gameplay objective to address and remediate the violation. In addition, the system may also consider previous player violations when determining the remediation objective and allow the player to access and start the remediation session, which may include substituting other player characters with automated agents, which would help guide and optimise the player’s actions during the remediation session, and incorporating the remediation objective.

Furthermore, the system may also impose sanctions on a player’s account for violating the established rules for player interactions, which may be removed upon the player’s completion of the remediation session. “The system of claim 5, wherein the first player account is sanctioned in response to the detection of the violation, causing a sanction to be associated with the first player account,” reads the patent. “The system of claim 6, wherein completion of the remediation session by the first player account removes the sanction on the player account.” While it’s unclear exactly what the sanctions would be, it can be inferred that they will be the standard punishments for violations in video games, such as a temporary ban or deactivation of certain connectivity features.

An interesting detail mentioned in the patent is that players who violate rules that may have affected other players during the online multiplayer video game session might, as part of the remediation objective, have to “play as or view the gameplay from the player character associated with a different player account that was the subject (or victim) of misconduct in the original gameplay session.” Hence, players that violated the rules may have to experience the misconduct they committed from the perspective of the affected player(s) in the original gameplay session to educate them about “how their misconduct affected another player and/or the impact it had on the outcome of gameplay session.” Likewise, the system may provide the players in the remediation session some control over interacting with the other players they would either be playing or viewing. Additionally, the system may also show players in the remediation session an alternative situation, using automated agents, how the outcome would have been had they not interfered with their misconduct.

While it remains to be seen whether this system would be implemented by Electronic Arts into any of its video game franchises, the system could certainly change how online multiplayer video games handle player misconduct and provide a more fair and enjoyable gameplay experience for all players. With this patent, the video game industry may be poised for a major shift in handling disruptive behaviour in online multiplayer video game sessions. However, it’s important to note that a patent isn’t confirmation, and only time will tell how (or if) this innovative system will come to fruition.

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