PlayStation VR2

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In late 2017 Sony filed documents to patent a means of ‘shadow banning’ users in social VR applications by monitoring their language and comments.

The filing, revealed in early May, outlines a means of “recognizing and tracking” behaviors of a reported user within a given social application. The system looks for “inappropriate” language, gestures and movements and generates a “saftey rating” for that user. That label is then compared to a set threshold, identifying anyone above it as a “griefer”.

Shadow banning that user might not necessarily kick them out of the social VR experience, but it would mean their movements and actions would be invisible to others and they may not be heard, either. Social VR applications give users more ways to express themselves than you could in a traditional game but with that comes increased possibilities for trolling, hence the need for more elaborate monitoring techniques. Facebook will utilize a monitoring system for its upcoming social VR app, Horizon, that sounds similar in principle.

Interestingly, one proposal for this solution includes “a system configured entirely with hardware” that specifically mentions tracking the user’s movement and even their gaze. Presumably, these would be features included in the headset itself. Another suggestion mentions using an “agent” placed within the application to judge any possible offenses.

While features like these may be necessary as VR expands, it also calls into question the security and privacy of any user’s actions within that social VR experience. Figuring out that balance will no doubt be a challenge for social VR app makers in the future.

It’s also interesting to note that Sony filed this document after PSVR’s release in 2016 and that the company doesn’t really have any big social apps to its own name on the platform. Could this be an indicator that Sony is indeed planning to launch a more robust social VR feature for the upcoming PS5 VR headset? We did report last month that the company had renewed the trademark for its PS3-era social VR service, PlayStation Home, so anything’s possible.

Sony Wants To Shadow Ban VR Users For ‘Inappropriate Gestures’ And More, Patent Filing Reveals

Virtual Reality serves to create new environments and, at the same time, to interact with games and other environments, but like other games, it also has toxicity. With this in mind, it appears that Sony is taking new steps with a patent on a ban system to players using their PlayStation VR.

But it would be more of a Shadow ban, defined as a ban without cause or reason, something that occurs in other games such as Overwatch or League of Legends. Later, there are causes, but the player is deprived of a full gaming experience because of his behavior. Even if this already exists in VR, it has been difficult to implement it due to the nature of the game, now Sony has an idea.

According to the patent, Sony explains that the reason for the system is to eliminate players known as “Griefer“, they are only going to hurt. This would prevent them from gesturing and speaking, as they recognize that ignoring or confronting these players would only increase harassment, so simply banning and ignoring would be the option. best formula to deal with them.

Sony goes into some extra detail, describing the technology used in these bans as it would detect movement and gesticulation, as well as how close the players are. There are other factors and these, such as that would receive grades for their gestures or words, and even touching.

For every action that may involve a veto, a score will be added to the player’s total, if he exceeds it he will be banned with a single warning. It could be effective, since the player has been warned before everything.

Sony patents a banning method in virtual environments