Adaptive learning system for video game enhancement

• US 9,616,329 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2012
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronic Arts Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Electronic Arts Incorporated
• Inventors: Szufnara, Ian, Lott, Fraser, Chaput, Harold
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuff, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/535,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20140004950A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,748 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16, 463 20, 463 25, 463 42, 463 43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/525 Changing parameters of virtual cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6027 using adaptive systems learning from user actions, e.g. for skill level adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed that can capture sequences of player input in response to situations confronting a player of a video game while playing the video game on a game console. A game engine within the game console may associate an archetype with the captured sequences. The outcomes of the captured sequences are determined with respect to the game situations and a score is applied to the captured sequences based on the outcomes. The captured sequences, the outcomes and the scores are stored in a runtime memory within the game console used to play the video game. Upon completion of the video game, the stored captured sequences, the outcomes and the scores may be downloaded and stored to an external memory associated with the game console. Subsequent video game sessions may load the captured sequences, the outcomes and the scores into the runtime memory to be used in the next session.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

during runtime execution of a video game application on a computing device, the video game application comprising a virtual environment,

capturing sequences of player input in response to one or more virtual events confronting a player controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment of the video game application;

for individual captured sequences,

determining an outcome of the captured sequence with respect to a virtual event of the one or more virtual events;

applying a score to the captured sequence based, at least in part, on the outcome;

storing the captured sequence, the outcome, and the score in a runtime memory within the computing device used to play the video game application;

in response to a virtual event confronting a computer controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment,

identifying one or more captured sequences based, at least in part, on a game status and computer controlled virtual agent status associated with the virtual event confronting the computer controlled virtual agent;

selecting a captured sequence from the one or more captured sequences based, at least in part, on the scores and outcomes associated with the individual sequences; and

executing the selected captured sequence by the computer controlled virtual agent in response to the virtual event confronting the computer controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising:

determining an outcome of the selected captured sequence with respect to the virtual event of the one or more virtual events;

applying a score to the selected captured sequence based on the outcome;

updating the score of the selected captured sequence in the runtime memory based on the outcome of the played back sequence; and

storing the updated score of the selected captured sequence to external memory upon completion of the video game.

3. The method of claim 2, the selection of the captured sequence for the computer controlled virtual agent restricted according to an archetype associated with the selected sequence and an archetype associated with the computer controlled virtual agent.

4. The method of claim 1, the captured sequence comprising:

a feature vector including data pertaining to player position, player velocity and an archetype flag;

a data payload including data pertaining to player game controller inputs during the sequence and animation signals used by the game engine to render the movements during playback; and

statistical data including data pertaining to score tracking, playback completion and the number of times the sequence has been selected.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising culling the external memory by deleting captured sequences having a score below a threshold value.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating a set of training sequences comprised of a number of captured sequences having a score above a threshold value.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising storing the set of training sequences on a remote network connected storage device.

8. The method of claim 7, the set of training sequences stored on the remote network connected storage device obtained from multiple game consoles over a network connection.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising downloading the set of training sequences from the remote network connected storage device to a runtime memory of a game console.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising synchronizing a runtime memory of a first game console with a runtime memory of a second game console upon a new instance of a video game to be played across a network between the first and second game consoles.

11. The method of claim 10, the synchronizing comprising:

loading captured sequences of a first external memory associated with the first game console into the runtime memory of the second game console; and

loading captured sequences of a second external memory associated with the second game console into the runtime memory of the first game console.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

restricting access to the captured sequences obtained from the second game console and loaded into the runtime memory of the first game console to prevent the first game console from selecting these sequences during gameplay; and

restricting access to the captured sequences obtained from the first game console and loaded into the runtime memory of the second game console to prevent the second game console from selecting these sequences during gameplay.

13. A system, comprising:

a processor component comprising one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs);

a runtime memory;

an external memory;

a sequence manager component operative on the processor component to;

capture sequences of player input from a game controller in response to one or more virtual events confronting a player controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment of a video game application;

for individual captured sequences,

determine an outcome of the captured sequence with respect to a virtual event of the one or more virtual events;

apply a score to the captured sequence based, at least in part, on the outcome;

store the captured sequence, the outcome, and the score in the runtime memory while playing the video game application;

in response to a virtual event confronting a computer controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment,

identify one or more captured sequences based, at least in part, on a game status and computer controlled virtual agent status associated with the virtual event confronting the computer controlled virtual agent;

select a captured sequence from the one or more captured sequences based, at least in part, on the scores and outcomes associated with the individual sequences; and

execute the selected captured sequence by the computer controlled virtual agent in response to the virtual event confronting the computer controlled virtual agent within the virtual environment.

14. The system of claim 13, the sequence manager further operative to:

determine an outcome of the selected captured sequence with respect to the virtual event of the one or more virtual events;

apply a score to the selected captured sequence based on the outcome;

update the score of the selected captured sequence in the runtime memory based on the outcome of the played back sequence; and

store the updated score of the selected captured sequence to the external memory upon completion of the video game.

15. The system of claim 14, the selection of the captured sequence for the computer controlled virtual agent restricted according to an archetype associated with the selected sequence and an archetype associated with the computer controlled virtual agent.

16. The system of claim 13, the captured sequence comprising:

a feature vector including data pertaining to player position, player velocity and an archetype flag;

a data payload including data pertaining to player game controller inputs during the sequence and animation signals used by the game engine to render the movements during playback; and

statistical data including data pertaining to score tracking, playback completion and the number of times the sequence has been selected.

17. The system of claim 13, the sequence manager further operative to cull the external memory by deleting captured sequences having a score below a threshold value.

18. The system of claim 13, the sequence manager further operative to create a set of training sequences comprised of a number of captured sequences having a score above a threshold value.

19. The system of claim 18, the sequence manager further operative to store the set of training sequences on a remote network connected storage device.

20. The system of claim 19, the set of training sequences stored on the remote network connected storage device obtained from multiple game consoles over a network connection.

21. The system of claim 19, the sequence manager further operative to store download the set of training sequences from the remote network connected storage device to the runtime memory.

22. The system of claim 13, the sequence manager further operative to synchronize a runtime memory of a first game console with a runtime memory of a second game console upon a new instance of a video game to be played across a network between the first and second game consoles.

23. The system of claim 22, the sequence manager further operative to:

load captured sequences of a first external memory associated with the first game console into the runtime memory of the second game console; and

load captured sequences of a second external memory associated with the second game console into the runtime memory of the first game console.

24. The system of claim 23, the sequence manager further operative to:

restrict access to the captured sequences obtained from the second game console and loaded into the runtime memory of the first game console to prevent the first game console from selecting these sequences during gameplay; and

restrict access to the captured sequences obtained from the first game console and loaded into the runtime memory of the second game console to prevent the second game console from selecting these sequences during gameplay.