Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed an intriguing patent designed to make “grindy” games easier to play. The patent describes a system that lets players have AI “auto-play” portions of games that are a grind, which is music to the ears especially of those who want to unlock excruciating trophies without resorting to methods such as rubber banding their controller sticks.
Grindy games can be ‘less exciting’ and ‘less interesting’ to play, Sony acknowledges
Spotted by Exputer, the patent application was originally filed in 2022 but was only just approved in April 2024. In it, Sony acknowledges that games can become “less exciting” and “less interesting” to play if they force players to grind. The company has come up with the idea of an AI-driven “auto-play mode” that’ll detect “anticipated grinding content,” and allow users to hit the auto-play button.
“Some players might find a video game less exciting to play during a portion of the game in which the players are required to perform repetitive tasks,” Sony says. “Other players might be less interested in playing a portion of a video game that involves a quest they do not like.”
Interestingly, Sony also presents a scenario in which parts of a game simply don’t match players’ skill sets, adding that each of these situations can vex players. The auto-play system would theoretically make such games less of a chore to play.
Patents don’t always come to fruition, but I think a large number of PlayStation players will be crossing their fingers for this one.
