GB2614931A

GB2614931A - Data processing

Info

Publication number: GB2614931A
Application number: GB2204444.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jenabzadeh Mandana; William Sanders Matthew; Schembri Danjeli; Cappello Fabio
Original assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc
Current assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc
Priority date: 2022-01-19
Filing date: 2022-03-29
Publication date: 2023-07-26
Also published as: GB202204444D0; GB2614880A

Abstract

A data processing apparatus for modifying difficulty of a video game responsive to physiological, emotional or biological data for a user playing the video game. The apparatus comprises access circuitry 410 to access data parameters related to the difficulty of the video game, receiving 420 circuitry to receive bio-data for the user indicative of one or more current detected user properties, selection circuitry 430 to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the bio-data for the user, control circuitry 440 to modify at least one selected parameter to thereby obtain at least one modified parameter and to update the first data based on the at least one modified parameter, and processing circuitry 450 to execute the video game in dependence upon the updated first data corresponding to a modified difficulty for the video game. Also disclosed is a data processing method.

Description

DATA PROCESSING

Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to data processing. In particular, the present disclosure relates to data processing for improving usability of content for video games.

Description of the Prior Art

The "background" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior against the

present disclosure.

Video games exist for which one or more difficulty settings are specified in advance by developers. For example, during a development stage of a video game, a testing stage may include releasing an early version for testing by users so that user feedback can be used for a range of purposes including identifying bugs and assessing levels of difficulty. Video games are thus typically released with a predefined level of difficulty and in some cases a plurality of predefined levels of difficulty such as easy, medium and hard. However, whilst such predefined levels of difficulty may be suited to some users. many users may find one level too difficult and/or overly stressful whilst finding another level too easy and/or boring due to differences in skill and/or ability and/or a user's current state, thereby resulting in a lack of engagement with the video game title. As such, the provision of a limited number of levels of difficulty for a video game can be a limiting factor for the usability of a video game.

It is an aim to improve usability of video games.

It is in the context of the above arrangements that the present disclosure arises.

Various aspects and features of the present disclosure are defined in the appended claims and within the text of the accompanying description. Example embodiments include at least a data processing apparatus, a method, a computer program and a machine-readable, non-transitory storage medium which stores such a computer program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a computer game processing apparatus; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data processing apparatus for improving usability of content for a video game based on user data; Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of a data processing method; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a data processing apparatus for improving usability of content for a video game based on bio-data Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating another data processing apparatus comprising classification circuitry; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system; and Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of a data processing method.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, a number of specific details are presented in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to a person skilled in the art that these specific details need not be employed to practice the present invention. Conversely, specific details known to the person skilled in the art are omitted for the purposes of clarity where appropriate.

Figure 1 schematically illustrates the overall system architecture of a computer game processing apparatus such as the Sony® PlayStation 4® entertainment device. A system unit 10 is provided, with various peripheral devices connectable to the system unit.

The system unit 10 comprises an accelerated processing unit (APU) 20 being a single chip that in turn comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 20A and a graphics processing unit (GPU) 20B. The APU 20 has access to a random access memory (RAM) unit 22.

The APU 20 communicates with a bus 40, optionally via an I/O bridge 24, which may be a discreet component or part of the APU 20.

Connected to the bus 40 are data storage components such as a hard disk drive 37, and a Blu-ray CD drive 36 operable to access data on compatible optical discs 36A. Additionally the RAM unit 22 may communicate with the bus 40.

Optionally also connected to the bus 40 is an auxiliary processor 38. The auxiliary processor 38 may be provided to run or support the operating system.

The system unit 10 communicates with peripheral devices as appropriate via an audio/visual input port 31, an Ethernet 0 port 32, a Bluetooth wi reless link 33, a W-Fi wireless link 34, or one or more universal serial bus (USB) ports 35. Audio and video may be output via an AV output 39, such as an HDMI port.

The peripheral devices may include a monoscopic or stereoscopic video camera 41 such as the PlayStation Eye 0; wand-style videogame controllers 42 such as the PlayStation Move ® and conventional handheld videogame controllers 43 such as the DualShock 4 0; portable entertainment devices 44 such as the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita 0; a keyboard 45 and/or a mouse 46; a media controller 47, for example in the form of a remote control; and a headset 48. Other peripheral devices may similarly be considered such as a printer, or a 3D printer (not shown).

The GPU 20B, optionally in conjunction with the CPU 20A, processes data and generates video images (image data) and optionally audio for output via the AV output 39. Optionally, the audio may be generated in conjunction with or instead by an audio processor (not shown).

The video and optionally the audio may be presented to a television 51. Where supported by the television, the video may be stereoscopic. The audio may be presented to a home cinema system 52 in one of a number of formats such as stereo, 5.1 surround sound or 7.1 surround sound. Video and audio may likewise be presented to a head mounted display unit 53 worn by a user 60.

In operation, the entertainment device defaults to an operating system such as a variant of FreeBSD 9.0. The operating system may run on the CPU 20A, the auxiliary processor 38, or a mixture of the two. The operating system provides the user with a graphical user interface such as the PlayStafion Dynamic Menu. The menu allows the user to access operating system features and to select games and optionally other content.

Figure 1 therefore provides an example of a data processing apparatus suitable for executing an application such as a video game.

The operations to be discussed below relate to techniques for improving usability of a video game. In particular, the operations to be discussed below relate to improving usability of a video game for one or more respective users according to user data and/or biometric data for one or more respective users.

Parameter selection with user data Figure 2 schematically illustrates a data processing apparatus 200 for improving usability of content for a video game. In some examples, the data processing apparatus 200 comprises: access circuitry 210 to access first data comprising one or more parameters related to difficulty of a video game; receiving circuitry 220 to receive user data for a user, the user data indicative of one or more user interactions with respect to one or more video games; selection circuitry 230 to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the user data; control circuitry 240 to modify at least one selected parameter in dependence upon the user data to obtain at least one modified parameter; and output circuitry 250 to output second data indicative of the at least one modified parameter.

The data processing apparatus 200 accesses the first data comprising one or more parameters that have an influence on a difficulty of a video game, and at least some of the one or more parameters are selected for modification so that a difficulty of the video game is adjusted. In particular, one or more parameters are selected for modification such that one or more aspects of the video game can be adjusted in difficulty according to the user data to achieve a user-specific difficulty for the game. Techniques for selecting a respective parameter and modifying a selected parameter depending on the user data for the user are discussed in more detail later.

The data processing apparatus 200 may for example be provided as part of a processing device such as that shown in Figure 1, or as part of a general purpose computing device. Alternatively, the data processing apparatus 200 may be provided as part of a server, such as a content distribution server for distributing content to user devices (e.g. personal computers or game consoles).

The access circuitry 210 is configured to access first data comprising one or more parameters related to difficulty of a video game. The first data may for example be accessed from a storage unit (not shown in Figure 2) provided as part of the data processing apparatus 200. For example, the data processing apparatus 200 may be provided as part of a game console, such as the Sony PlayStation 50, and the access circuitry 210 can be configured to access the first data from a storage unit, such as a solid-state drive (SSD) or other type of storage that stores data for one or more video games. Alternatively or in addition, the first data may be accessed from a remote storage unit provided as part of another processing device such as a remote server. The access circuitry 210 may access the first data via a wired or wireless communication (e.g. WFie) with a remote data processing apparatus to thereby obtain the first data.

In some examples, the access circuitry 210 may access the first data by accessing one or more files associated with a respective video game. An example of this is a game configuration file for a video game application, which comprises parameters corresponding to respective settings that each have an influence on game difficulty. For example, the access circuitry 210 can be configured to access one or more files comprising parameters defining how an non-player character (NPC) is controlled, and/or one or more files comprising parameters defining how a player character is controlled responsive to user inputs, and/or one or more files comprising parameters defining one or more properties for an in-game environment. Hence more generally, the access circuitry 210 obtains the first data for a respective video game, in which the first data comprises one or more parameters related to a degree of difficulty for the video game.

The first data may comprise one or more parameters associated with a respective portion of the video game, such as a respective level or task within the video game. Alternatively or in addition, the first data may comprise one or more parameters associated with one or more respective characters (e.g. a player character and/or an NPC) of the video game. The data processing apparatus 200 can thus access the first data including a set of parameters associated with difficulty for a portion of a video game.

The receiving circuitry 220 can be configured to receive user data for a user, the user data indicative of one or more user interactions for the user with respect to one or more video games. The user data for the user may be received via a wired or wireless communication with another processing device, such as a server of a cloud gaming site that stores data for one or more user profiles. In some examples, the data processing apparatus 200 can be provided as part of a game console, such as the Sony ® PlayStation 5®, and at least some of the user data may be stored by a storage unit provided as part of the game console. In this case, the user data for the user may relate to data collected for a user's past game play for one or more video games stored by the game console, and the user data can be obtained by the receiving circuitry 220 for use in selecting at least some of the parameters included in the first data so as to select one or more respective parameters for adjustment for that user.

The user data represents data that has been collected for a user during and/or after a game session for an instance of a video game. The user data provides an indication of user interactions by that user with one or more previous game sessions for one or more video games. The user data may for example provide an indication of user interactions comprising one or more in-game achievements and/or statistics associated with one or more performance metrics.

The user data may relate to user interactions with a single video game (or two or more video games) that is either the same as or different from the video game associated with the first data. Properties indicated by the user data for a given user are discussed in more detail later. The user data for a user may generally indicate one or more statistics for the user with respect to one or more game sessions for one or more video games, and hence the user data provides an indication of a previous level of performance for that user for one or more respective aspects of gameplay. This is discussed in more detail later.

The selection circuitry 230 can be configured to select one or more of the parameters included in the first data for the video game in dependence upon the user data for the user. The one or more parameters are each related to a respective aspect of difficulty for a video game in that each parameter has an influence on difficulty in a different way. As such, using the user data indicative of one or more user interactions for the user with respect to one or more previous game sessions played by the user, one or more parameters can be selected to allow adjustment of the difficulty of the video game in one or more ways to better suit the user's past performance indicated by the user data.

In some cases, a first parameter may be selected for adjustment based on the user data so as to modify the first parameter to increase or decrease a difficulty for a first aspect of the game play associated with the first parameter, and a second parameter may be selected for adjustment based on the user data so as to modify the second parameter to increase or decrease a difficulty for a second aspect of the game play.

In some cases, the user data may indicate that the user has a relatively high level of performance for one aspect of gameplay whilst also indicating that the user has a relatively low level of performance for another aspect of gameplay, and as such one or more parameters can be selected and modified to increase a difficulty for one or more aspects of the difficulty of the video game and one or more other parameters can be selected and modified to decrease a difficulty for one or more other aspects of the difficulty of the video game.

For example, a first parameter may define a maximum velocity associated with movement of a non-player character, a second parameter may define an amount of damage inflicted by a non-player character per operation, and a third parameter may define an accuracy of an operation by a non-player character. Such parameters can be selected and modified to thereby alter a degree of difficulty for the video game. Whilst the above examples refer to parameters that are a non-player character type of parameter, the one or more parameters included in the first data may comprise one or more parameters related to a non-player character and/or one or more parameters related to a player character and/or one or more parameters related to one or more properties of the in-game environment. For example, a first parameter may define a maximum velocity associated with movement of a non-player character, and a second parameter may define either a maximum velocity associated with movement of a player character or an amount of damage inflicted by the player character per operation.

Hence more generally, the respective parameters included in the first data may each correspond to a respective aspect of difficulty for the video game such that modifying a respective parameter allows modification of a corresponding respective aspect of difficulty for the video game.

For example, modification of a parameter related to N PC maximum velocity to either increase or decrease the maximum velocity allows modification of game difficulty that makes the game either more difficult or less difficult, respectively. The first data may relate to a video game for a first person shooter video game or a driving video game, and a corresponding game configuration file may comprise a plurality of parameters including a parameter defining a maximum velocity for a non-player as well as a parameter defining a maximum velocity for a player. Optionally, parameters defining a maximum acceleration and/or parameters defining agility and/or vehicle handling may be included in the game configuration file.

The selection circuitry 230 can select at least one parameter from the one or more parameters included in the first data in dependence upon the user data so as to select at least one parameter for adjusting at least one aspect of game difficulty so that the at least one aspect of game difficulty is modified to have a different associated difficulty that is better suited to the user data indicative of the user's previous user interactions.

The first data may comprise a plurality of parameters each related to difficulty for the game such that the combination of the plurality of parameters defines an overall difficulty for the video game, and respective parameters contribute to difficulty associated with respective aspects of the overall difficulty.

Rather than modifying each of the plurality of parameters On other words, rather than a bulk modification of the plurality of parameters) to achieve an overall increase (or an overall decrease) in difficulty, the techniques of the present disclosure can allow for selection of respective parameters to allow modification of respective aspects of difficulty contributing to the overall difficulty, in which selection is performed depending on the user data for a user. In this way, a user-specific selection of the parameters in the first data can be made for a given user and then modification of the selected parameter(s) can be performed to achieve a user-specific difficulty. Consequently, in some cases some of the parameters are selected for modification and other parameters not selected by the selection circuitry 230 may be left unmodified.

For example, in the case of first-person shooter video games, the user data may indicate one or more statistics, such as a number of headshots completed by the user (e.g. a percentage of opponents defeated using a headshot and/or a rate at which the user completes headshots and/or a number of bullets fired per-kill)I. Hence, performance statistics in the user data can provide an indication of the user's level of performance (or skill) with respect to accuracy of shooting. It will be appreciated that other performance statistics can similarly provide an indication with respect to user skill for other aspects of gameplay. In the case of such user data, the selection circuitry 230 can select one or more parameters for modification, such as a parameter related to shooting or aiming accuracy, or related to an ease with which an opponent can be targeted, to either increase or decrease a difficulty for this aspect of game play. For example, a parameter related to auto aim for a player character may be adjusted and/or a parameter related to aiming sensitivity in response to user input may be selected for modification and/or a parameter related to a maximum speed associated with a reticle (e.g. cross-hair) may be selected for modification. A reticle is typically displayed to a user during a game to assist the user in aiming. A parameter defining a size of a reticle, and/or a parameter defining a maximum rate of movement of a reticle in response to a user input, and/or a parameter defining a range within which a reticle locks onto a target to provide an auto aim function may be selected for adjustment to vary a difficulty associated with an aiming aspect of gameplay for the video game. Similarly, one or more parameters related to speed and/or agility for an NPC may be adjusted to either make it easier or harder to successfully target an NPC.

Hence more generally, the selection circuitry 230 can be configured to select at least one parameter and the control circuitry 240 can be configured to modify a parameter selected by the selection circuitry 230 to obtain at least one modified parameter. One or more parameters can be selected by the selection circuitry 230 as explained above, and the control circuitry 230 modifies a selected parameter by modifying one or more values associated with a selected parameter to vary the selected parameter to either increase or decrease a difficulty for an aspect of gameplay associated with the selected parameter. In some cases, the control circuitry 240 is configured to modify a value for a selected parameter by a given amount that is dependent upon the value for the parameter prior to modification. Alternatively, the control circuitry 240 can optionally be configured to modify a value associated with a selected parameter in dependence upon the user data. This is discussed in more detail later.

The user data may be indicative of the user as having a relatively high level of performance for a certain aspect of gameplay (e.g. the user data may comprise statistics associated with one or more trophies already acquired by the user and/or one or more performance criteria for one or more previous tasks), and the control circuitry 240 can thus modify a selected parameter associated with an aspect of difficulty to change one or more values associated with the selected parameter to increase a difficulty for that aspect. Conversely, the user data may be indicative of the user as having a relatively low level of performance for a certain aspect of game play (e.g. the user data may comprise statistics associated with one or more performance criteria for one or more previous tasks such as a time taken and/or a number of attempts to complete a task or level), and the control circuitry 240 can thus modify a selected parameter associated with an aspect of difficulty to change one or more values associated with the selected parameter to decrease a difficulty for that aspect..

The user data can thus be used by the selection circuitry 230 to identify one or more parameters for selection and to identify at least a direction of change (whether to increase or decrease) for modifying a value associated with a selected parameter. In a simplest case, in response to selection of a parameter by the selection circuitry 230, the control circuitry 240 is configured to either increase or decrease the selected parameter by a predetermined amount.

For example, the control circuitry 240 may change (increase or decrease) a value by a predetermined amount corresponding to a predetermined proportion of the original value (e.g. change the original value by X%, such as 10%, of the original value). In this way, an original value for a selected parameter can be modified to vary the parameter in a way that changes a difficulty for an aspect of the video game in a way that results in difficultly that is better suited for gameplay by the user associated with the user data.

The output circuitry 250 can be configured to output second data indicative of at least one modified parameter generated by the control circuitry 240. The output circuitry 240 can be configured to output the second data for storage by a storage unit provided as part of the data processing apparatus 200 and/or a storage unit provided as part of another data processing apparatus. For example, the output circuitry 250 may output the second data for storage in association with the first data accessed by the access circuitry 210. Alternatively or in addition, the output circuitry 250 may output the second data for storage in association with the user data. For example, the user data may be received from a server (such as a cloud gaming server) and the output circuitry 250 may output the second data for storage by the server. In this way, the user data and the second data can be stored in association so that the second data can be used for execution of an instance of the video game when played by the user corresponding to the user data.

In some cases, the first data corresponds to a predetermined difficulty setting for the video game. Video games are typically developed with one or more predefined difficulty settings.

Examples of this include a video game having a predefined difficulty level such as easy, intermediate or hard (or beginner and advanced). In some cases, a video game may be released having a single predefined difficultly level such that each player plays the game with a same degree of difficulty. Hence more generally, the access circuitry 210 can be configured to access first data corresponding to a predefined difficulty setting for a video game, in which the first data comprises one or more parameters each having one or more associated values for defining a difficulty for at least one aspect of game difficulty. The techniques of the present disclosure can be performed so as to select one or more parameters in a user-specific manner by using the user data and modify one or more of the selected parameters to thereby obtain a personalised difficulty setting from a predefined difficulty setting.

The access circuitry 210 can access one or more data files associated with a video game to thereby access the first data comprising parameters for a predefined difficulty setting for a video game. As such, in some examples the first data includes parameters corresponding to a predetermined difficulty setting and at least some of the parameters can be selected for modification to modify a selected parameter to either increase or decrease difficulty for an aspect of the gameplay with respect to a predefined setting for that aspect. As explained above, in some examples the control circuitry 240 can modify a given parameter to increase or decrease a value associated with a selected parameter and the control circuitry 240 can be configured to use a predetermined amount (e.g. X % of the original value) to increment of decrement the selected parameter.

In some cases the selection circuitry 230 can be configured to select one or more of the parameters included in the first data in dependence upon one or more differences between the user data and predetermined reference data associated with the first data. The predetermined reference data for use with the first data may be obtained in a number of ways. The predetermined reference data for use with the first data may be created in advance by a developer to manually specify reference settings suitable for being evaluated with the user data for a user. Alternatively or in addition, the predetermined reference data may be obtained by recording one or more statistics for a given player's gameplay for the video game to obtain reference properties for a player suitably matched to the level of difficulty for the video game. As explained in more detail later, in some cases the predetermined reference data comprises statistical data for a plurality of other users.

More generally, the predetermined reference data includes one or more reference settings.

The reference settings are each associated with a level of user performance that is expected to be appropriately matched to the difficulty associated with the parameters included in the first data for the video game.

The predetermined reference data thus defines one or more reference settings such that the predetermined reference data can be evaluated with respect to the user data for a given user, and one or more differences identified between the reference data and the user data can be used by the selection circuitry 230 for identifying one or more parameters of the first data for selection.

In particular, when creating a video game with a given difficulty setting corresponding to a set of predefined parameters, a developer can also create corresponding predetermined reference data for the video game such that the reference data comprises reference settings that each include one or more values representing a level of user performance for an aspect of gameplay that is suited to the given difficulty setting. One example of this is a reference setting comprising a value indicating a period of time taken to complete a certain in-game level for a user, and it is expected that completion of that in-game level in the period of time corresponds to a user with a level of performance suitably matched to the difficulty determined by the parameters included in the first data. It will be appreciated that any number of reference settings may similarly be provided for different aspects of gameplay and user data can be evaluated with respect to the reference settings to identify one or more reference settings for which there is deviation with respect to the user data.

For example, the first data may comprise a plurality of parameters related to difficulty for a given in-game level for the video game, and the reference data for use with the first data may be indicative of reference settings, such as one or more from the list consisting of: an amount of time taken to complete one or more previous in-game levels preceding the given in-game level corresponding to the first data; a number of attempts required to complete one or more previous in-game levels; a number of rewards (e.g. trophies) obtained in one or more previous in-game levels; a score associated with one or more previous in-game levels; an amount of damage received by a player for one or more previous in-game levels; and an amount of damage inflicted by a player for one or more previous in-game levels.

Whilst the above examples refer to reference settings related to a level of performance for an in-game level prior to the portion of the video game associated with the first data, the reference settings for use with the first data may alternatively or additionally relate to a level of performance for a portion of the video game associated with the first data. In particular, the first data may comprise parameters related to a difficulty for a portion of a video game (such as an in-game level) and one or more of the reference settings may be associated with a level of performance for a sub-portion of that portion of the video game. For example, one of the reference settings may define an amount of time taken to progress from a first point to a second point within a portion of an in-game level so that an amount of time taken for the user to progress from the first point to the second point can be obtained and evaluated with the reference setting for identifying whether to select one or more of the parameters for the in-game level.

Consequently, the predetermined reference data can define one or more respective reference settings, and a reference setting includes at least one value corresponding to a level of performance for an aspect of game play which is appropriate for the first data for the video game.

The one or more reference settings can thus be evaluated with respect to the user data for a given user and differences between the user data and one or more of the reference settings allow for selection of at least some of the parameters included in the first data.

The predetermined reference data for use with the first data may comprise a plurality of reference settings (which are either manually specified by a developer and/or identified from recording a given player's game play and/or calculated from statistical data for a plurality of users, as discussed later), in which each reference setting corresponds to one or more of the parameters in the first data. In other words, a respective reference setting is associated with (or mapped to) at least one of the parameters for the first data, so that selection of that parameter is dependent upon an evaluation of the associated reference setting with respect to the user data.

In some examples the association between respective reference settings and respective parameters may be determined by a developer in advance by manually specifying a reference setting for use with a parameter. Alternatively, the association between respective reference settings and respective parameters may be determined using one or more machine learning algorithms trained to learn a mapping between performance for different aspects of gameplay and parameters that influence difficulty for different aspects of gameplay.

An evaluation of a reference setting with respect to the user data can be used by the selection circuitry 230 to determine whether to select a parameter corresponding to that reference setting. In some examples, a single reference setting corresponds to a single parameter of the first data, and some or all of the parameters included in the first data have a corresponding reference setting. Alternatively or in addition, two or more reference settings may correspond to a same parameter such that the parameter can be selected based on an evaluation of at least one of the reference settings with respect to the user data. Hence more generally, the predetermined reference data includes one or more reference settings such that a given reference setting can be evaluated with respect to a property indicated by the user data for determining whether to select a parameter corresponding to the reference setting. Such a selection condition can be provided for some or all of the parameters included in the first data to enable selection of some or all of the parameters.

In some examples, the user data is indicative of one or more statistics for the user with respect to the one or more video games. The user data may for example include statistics that provide an indication of one or more in-game achievements and/or one or more performance metrics for the user. For example, the user's performance with regards to: shooting accuracy; damage received; damage inflicted; points scored; time taken for completion; and number of attempts taken for completion, for a given video game or for one or more levels of a video game may be indicated by the user data. The user data may include a range of different statistics for the user previous game sessions but generally provide an indication of a user's past performance for one or more aspects of gameplay which can be suitably compared with a reference setting included in the predetermined reference data to identify one or more parameters for selection according to the user's past performance.

In some examples, the user data may indicate a level of damage sustained by a player in at least one previous in-game level or task. The predetermined reference data may similarly comprise a reference setting indicating a level of damage for a reference player (e.g. manually set by a developer or calculated from statistical data for a plurality of users). Based on a comparison of the predetermined reference data and the user data, the data processing apparatus 200 can identify a difference between the predetermined reference data and the user data for this aspect of user skill. Accordingly, in the case of a user sustaining a larger amount of damage for a previous level than the reference setting, one or more parameters relating to aspects of gameplay such as a shooting/aiming accuracy for an NPC and/or a damage per operation for the NPC (e.g. damage per bullet and/or damage per blade attack) and/or speed or agility of the player character can be selected and modified to adjust a difficulty of the video game in that respect. Conversely, in the case of a user sustaining a smaller amount of damage for a previous level than the reference setting, indicating that the user has a higher level of performance than the reference setting, one or more parameters relating to aspects of gameplay such as the shooting/aiming accuracy for the NPC and/or the damage per operation for the NPC (e.g. damage per bullet and/or damage per blade attack) and/or speed or agility of the player character can be adjusted to increase a difficulty for that aspect of the video game.

Alternatively or in addition, in some examples the predetermined reference data may comprise a reference setting indicating a number of headshots for one or more previous levels and/or a number of shots per kill for one or more previous levels. The user data may similarly indicate, for one or more previous levels played by the user, a number of headshots and/or a number of shots per kill. As such, the user data can be evaluated with respect to the predetermined reference data and in the case of the user achieving a higher number of headshots and/or a lower number of shots per kill than the reference setting, one or more parameters related to player character shooting accuracy and/or one or more parameters related to NPC movement can be selected for modification. Conversely, in the case of the user achieving a lower number of headshots and/or a higher number of shots per kill than the reference setting, one or more parameters can similarly be selected as described above and instead modified in an opposite manner to decrease a difficulty for this aspect of the video game. In particular, a parameter related to aiming sensitivity for a player character can be modified to increase or decrease a difficulty for an aiming aspect, and/or a parameter related to NPC maximum speed and/or NPC reaction time (a time between an NPC observing an event and starting to react to that event) can be selected for modification to increase or decrease a difficulty associated with an NPC.

More generally, the predetermined reference data comprises one or more reference settings which can be evaluated with respect to the user data for a user, and the selection circuitry 230 can select one or more parameters for modification in dependence upon one or more differences between the user data and the predetermined reference data. It will be appreciated that whilst the above refers to examples of user interactions for a shooting type of video game, these examples are non-limiting and a range of different user interactions for a range of different types of video games can be used in the manner described above.

In some examples, the predetermined reference data comprises statistical data for a plurality of users. The predetermined reference data may be obtained by monitoring game sessions for a plurality of respective players so as to obtain statistics indicative of user interactions for the plurality of users. The statistical data for the plurality of players is thus indicative of a level of performance for a plurality of users for a portion of a video game such as one or more in-game levels or one or more in-game challenges/tasks. The statistical data for the plurality of users can thus be used to define one or more reference settings. A value indicative of an average level of performance for an aspect of gameplay for a portion of a video game can be calculated using the statistical data for the plurality of users. For example, a set of N users may each play a portion of a video game and a time taken by each user to complete (or progress through) the portion of the video game can be recorded for each of the N users. An average (mode, median or mean) value for the time taken can thus be calculated and used as a reference value for a respective reference setting. In this way, user data received by the receiving circuitry 220 can be compared, by the selection circuitry 230, with the predetermined reference data to compare a statistic of the user data associated with a time required by the user to complete (or progress through) that portion of the video game with the reference value. Whilst the above example refers to recording an amount of time taken for completion or progression, other properties can similarly be recorded for a plurality of users and used to create one or more reference settings, such as one or more from the list consisting of: a time to complete an in-game level; a number of attempts to complete an in-game level; an amount of damage sustained in an in-game level; a number of respective opponents defeated in an in-game level; a score for an in-game level; a number of respective weapons used for an in-game level; and a number of shots fired per defeated opponent. In this way, one or more average (mode, median or mean) values can be derived from the statistical data for the plurality of users and used as reference values for reference settings for evaluation with respect to user data for a user for identifying one or more parameters for selection. In this way, the user data can be evaluated with respect to the reference setting to identify whether the user is more skilled or less skilled than the average for the plurality of users or possibly well matched with the average.

Hence more generally, a corpus of data collected for a plurality of users indicating user interactions can be used for defining one or more reference settings in the predetermined reference data so that the predetermined reference data can be evaluated with respect to the user data for a user to establish whether the user has a higher or lower (or substantially similar) level of performance for an aspect of gameplay. In some examples, the corpus of data collected for a plurality of users can be used to define a reference setting comprising a value corresponding to an average of the plurality of users obtained by averaging a set of values for a given user interaction.

In some examples the selection circuitry 230 is configured to select a respective parameter from the one or more parameters in dependence upon whether the user data satisfies a selection condition for the respective parameter. A selection condition for a parameter comprises one or more reference settings as described above. The user data received by the receiving circuitry 210 can be compared with the predetermined reference data to compare at least one statistic of the user data with a corresponding reference setting and identify a magnitude of a difference between the statistic of the user data and the reference setting. Such a selection condition is provided for some or all of the parameters included in the first data. A reference setting associated with a given parameter may define a value related to a performance for an aspect of game play, such as an amount of health lost for a given portion of a video game. The reference setting associated with the given parameter thus defines a value indicative of a level of performance for a given aspect of gameplay for a portion of a video game (such as a portion of an in-game level or an entire in-game level) and the value can be evaluated with respect to the user data. Selection of the given parameter is thus dependent on a magnitude of a difference between the value and the user data.

In some examples, the selection circuitry 230 is configured to select a respective parameter in dependence upon whether the user data satisfies a selection condition for the respective parameter, wherein the user data satisfies the selection condition for the respective parameter when there is a difference between the user data and a reference setting. Any difference between the user data and the reference setting indicates that the user has obtained a level of performance for that reference setting that is either a higher level of performance or a lower level of performance than what is set for that reference setting, thus indicating that the user has a higher or lower skill level than is appropriate. Therefore, in response to the selection circuitry 230 calculating a difference between a value of a reference setting and a corresponding statistic of the user data, the selection circuitry 230 can select the respective parameter for modification by the control circuitry 240.

It will be appreciated that depending on the reference setting and the aspect of gameplay associated therewith, a selection condition in which selection is performed for any difference between the reference setting and the user data may or may not be sensible. For example, in the case of a reference setting comprising a value indicating a number of points scored for a portion of a video game, or a value indicating a time taken to progress from a first point to a second point in a video game, a degree of variation is to be expected even between users having a generally similar skill level.

Consequently, in some cases the selection circuitry 230 is configured to select a respective parameter in dependence upon whether the user data satisfies a selection condition for the respective parameter, wherein the user data satisfies the selection condition for the respective parameter when a difference between the user data and a reference setting is greater than or equal to a threshold amount. The selection circuitry 230 can be configured to evaluate the user data with respect to a reference setting and calculate a difference between a value for the reference setting and the user data. The selection circuitry 230 can be configured to select the respective parameter in dependence upon whether the calculated difference is greater than or the same as a threshold amount. The threshold amount may be set according to a magnitude of the value for the reference setting. For example, the threshold amount may be calculated as a fraction of the reference value (referred to above as a value) for the reference setting. In particular, the threshold amount may correspond to N% of the reference value (e.g. N = 5, 10, 15 or 25%) so that in response to calculating a difference between the user data and the value for the reference setting that is greater than or equal to N%, the selection circuitry 230 selects the respective parameter associated with the reference setting. Hence in this way, a selection condition can be set for one or more of the respective parameters included in the first data to allow selection of a given parameter when the user data differs from the reference setting for the given parameter by at least +/-N%. For example, a given reference setting may comprise a value indicating an amount of time to complete a portion of a game (e.g. by progressing from a first point to a second point or by overcoming an in-game NPC) and the value can be evaluated with the user data. In the case of the value being X seconds (e.g. X = 100 seconds), a threshold value may be calculated as N% (e.g. 10%) of the value for the reference setting, so that completion of the portion of the game in a time that is less than or equal to 90 seconds satisfies the selection condition for a parameter and the parameter can be selected for modification to increase a difficulty associated with the parameter because the user data indicates a higher level of performance for the user than the reference setting. The above technique can be performed in a similar manner to select a parameter and decrease a difficulty associated with the parameter in the case of user data indicating completion of the portion of the game in a time that is greater than or equal to 110 seconds.

Whilst the above example refers to setting a threshold amount for a reference setting based on a fraction of the value for the reference setting, in some examples the threshold amount may instead be set by a developer. Moreover, in some examples, the first data may comprise a plurality of respective parameters each related to a respective aspect of difficulty for the video game, and one or more of the parameters may have a selection condition for which the threshold amount is calculated as a fraction of the value for a reference setting and one or more of the parameters may have a selection condition for which the threshold amount is manually specified by a developer.

Hence more generally, in some examples the selection condition for the respective parameter comprises a reference setting, and the selection circuitry 230 is configured to select the respective parameter in dependence upon a difference between the reference setting and one or more of the statistics indicated by the user data.

In some examples the selection circuitry 230 is configured to select a first subset of the parameters included in the first data in dependence upon the user data, and the control circuitry 240 is configured to modify the first subset of the parameters. Using the techniques discussed above, the user data for a user can be evaluated with respect to the predetermined reference data and differences between the user data and the predetermined reference data can be identified and used for determining whether to select respective parameters included in the first data based on a selection condition for each respective parameter. The techniques discussed above can be performed using a plurality of reference settings each associated with one or more respective parameters. In response to the user data satisfying a selection condition for a first parameter and a selection condition for a second parameter, the selection circuitry 230 can select both the first parameter and the second parameter for modification by the control circuitry 240. As such, the control circuitry 240 modifies the first parameter that has an influence on a first aspect of difficulty for the video game, and the control circuitry 240 also modifies the second parameter that has an influence on a second aspect of difficulty for the video game.

For example, the first parameter may relate to a parameter associated with a player character (such as speed of movement) whereas the second parameter may relate to a parameter associated with an NPC (such as a maximum amount of health or in other words a maximum amount of damage that can be sustained). Alternatively or in addition, both the first and second parameter may relate to one of a player character and an NPC. Alternatively or in addition, at least one of the first parameter and the second parameter may be an in-game environment parameter related to one or more properties associated with an in-game environment for the video game. For example, the first parameter may comprise a value defining a frequency with which packs for restoring health are provided in a game environment. In particular, the first parameter may comprise a first value defining a temporal frequency with which health packs are provided (e.g. X packs every Y seconds) and/or a second value defining a spatial frequency with which health packs are provided (e.g. one pack every Z metres in the environment) and/or a second value defining an amount of health provided for a respective health pack.

Hence more generally, a first subset of the parameters included in the first data can be selected in dependence upon the user data to obtain a user-specific selection of the parameters and each parameter in the first subset of parameters is modified to thereby vary different aspects of gameplay that contribute to the difficulty. For user data indicating a user as having a relatively high level of performance with respect to a reference setting for a first parameter and a relatively low level of performance with respect to a reference setting for a second parameter, both the first and second parameters can be selected and individually modified so that a difficulty determined by the first parameter is increased and a difficulty determined by the second parameter is decreased.

In some examples the control circuitry 240 is configured to modify a first parameter in the first subset of parameters to increase a degree of difficulty related to the first parameter and to modify a second parameter in the first subset of parameters to decrease a degree of difficulty related to the second parameter. In some cases, user data evaluated with respect to the predetermined reference data may satisfy a selection condition for a first parameter of the first data and a selection condition for a second parameter of the first data. In addition, the difference between the user data and a reference setting indicates whether the user has a higher level of skill or a lower level of skill than the reference setting. In some cases, the evaluation of the user data with respect to the reference settings may thus indicate that the user has a higher level of skill than a first reference setting whilst also having a lower level of skill than a second reference setting. For example, the comparison of the user data and the predetermined reference data may indicate that the user has a higher level of performance with regards to aiming accuracy (e.g. by comparing a headshot statistic with a reference setting and/or comparing a bullets fired per kill statistic with a reference setting), whilst also having a lower level of performance with regards to preserving health (e.g. by comparing an amount of damage received statistic with a reference setting and/or comparing a number of attempts statistic with a reference setting). In this example, a level of engagement for the user with the video game can be improved by modifying one or more parameters to increase a difficulty associated with targeting one or more opponents whilst also modifying one or more parameters to decrease a difficulty associated with loss of player health such that a user-specific parameter modification is performed for the user.

In some examples, the receiving circuitry 220 is configured to receive second user data for a second user, the selection circuitry 230 is configured to select a second subset of the parameters included in the first data in dependence upon the second user data, and the control circuitry 240 is configured to modify the second subset of the parameters, the second user data being different from the user data and the second subset of the parameters being different from the first subset of the parameters. The receiving circuitry 230 can receive user data for any number of respective users, and the selection circuitry 230 can select one or more of the parameters in the first data in dependence upon the received user data. User data for different users will typically vary in one or more ways due to different users having different levels of performance for different aspects of a video game. A first subset of the parameters can be selected for the first user data for a first user, and a second subset of the parameters can be selected for the second user data for a second user, and due to the differences in the first and second user data a different parameter selection is obtained for the different users.

Consequently, a specific selection of the parameters in the first data can be obtained for the first user data and a specific selection of the parameters in the first data can be obtained for the second user data. The one or more parameters selected for the first user are thus modified by the control circuitry 240, and the output circuitry 250 outputs an instance of the second data indicative of at least the one or more parameters modified for the first user. Similarly, the one or more parameters selected for the second user are thus modified by the control circuitry 240, and the output circuitry 250 outputs another instance of the second data indicative of at least the one or more parameters modified for the second user.

In some examples the control circuitry 240 is configured to modify at least one selected parameter in dependence upon a difference between the user data and a reference setting corresponding to the selected parameter. As an alternative to modifying a value for a selected parameter by increasing or decreasing the value by a given percentage (e.g. N%) of the original value, the control circuitry 240 can be configured to modify a value for the selected parameter so that the value is modified to an extent that is dependent upon a degree of difference between the user data and the reference setting for the selected parameter. As explained previously, the selection circuitry 230 can in some cases calculate a magnitude of a difference between the user data and a value for a reference setting by calculating a difference between a statistic of the user data and the value (also referred to as a reference value) for the reference setting. In addition to using such a difference as part of a selection condition for determining whether to select a parameter, the control circuitry 240 can in some cases modify a value for the selected parameter in dependence upon the magnitude of the difference. In this way, a larger difference between the user data and the reference setting is used to apply a larger modification to the selected parameter, whereas a smaller difference between the user data and the reference setting is used to apply a smaller modification to the selected parameter. One possible calculation that may be used to achieve this is as follows: Modification value = original value for parameter x (Ireference value -statistic of user datal), in which the control circuitry 240 modifies the original value for a parameter by either adding the modification value to the original value or subtracting the modification value from the original value depending on whether the statistic of the user data is greater than or less than the reference value. It will be appreciated that the above calculation is one example calculation suitable for achieving this and that a scaling factor may suitably be included in the above calculation.

In some examples, the user data comprises data indicative of one or more from the list consisting of: a rate of progression with respect to at least one of an in-game level and an in-game task; a number of attempts to complete at least one of an in-game level and an in-game task; and a number of in-game trophies previously acquired by the user. Such properties can be suitably evaluated with respect to one or more reference settings by the selection circuitry 230 as part of a selection condition for selecting one or more parameters in the first data using the techniques discussed above.

In some examples the one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game comprise one or more from the list consisting of: one or more non-player character parameters related to one or more operations associated with at least one non-player character; one or more player character parameters related to one or more operations associated with a player character; and one or more in-game environment parameters related to one or more properties associated with an in-game environment for the video game. Examples of possible non-player character parameters, player character parameters and in-game environment parameters have been discussed previously. Non-player character parameters typically include one or more values defining how a non-player character interacts within the video game and modification of such parameters adjusts one or more abilities for a non-player character such as abilities related to movement, shooting, intelligence, health amount and damage resistance. In some embodiments of the disclosure, one or more of the non-player character parameters relate to at least one of a maximum velocity and a reaction time for the at least one non-player character. A first non-player character parameter may define a maximum velocity that is possible for an NPC or in other words an upper limit for the speed of movement of an NPC. Alternatively or in addition, a second non-player character parameter may define a reaction time for an NPC, which is an amount of time between an event and the NPC initiating a reaction to that event.

In some examples the one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game comprise at least one parameter defining a mapping of a controller input to a game control function for the video game. The one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game may comprise one or more parameters specifying a mapping of one or more respective controller inputs to a respective game control function. For example, in the case of a handheld controller such as the Sony® DualShock 4 PO, a controller input such as a respective button input, a thumb stick input, or motion input sensed by a hardware motion sensor (such as an accelerometer) or a combination thereof, can be mapped to a respective game control function. Therefore, in the case of a button press on a first button of the controller, a corresponding game control function mapped to the first button can be executed based on the mapping specified by the parameter. Similarly, in the case of a combination of two or more concurrent button presses on two or more buttons, a corresponding game control function mapped to the combination can be executed based on the mapping specified by the parameter.

The selection circuitry 230 can be configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the user data, in which a selected parameter defines a mapping of a controller input to a game control function for the video game, and the control circuitry 240 can be configured to modify the at least one selected parameter to obtain at least one modified parameter specifying a different mapping by mapping the controller input specified by the parameter to another game control function and/or by mapping another controller input to the game control function specified by the parameter.

In some examples, the control circuitry 240 is configured to modify the at least one selected parameter to map another controller input to the game control function for the video game and/or to modify the at least one selected parameter to map the controller input to another game control function for the video game. In some examples, a respective parameter may define a mapping for a respective controller input to a respective game control function. Modification of the respective parameter enables remapping of another respective controller input to the game control function. Hence, in this case the game control function is mapped to another controller input different from the originally mapped controller input such that the game control function is available to the user using a different controller input to the original controller input. Optionally, the originally mapped controller input of the parameter may be remapped to another game control function or the originally mapped controller input may be left unmapped. Hence in this case, the same game control function is still made available to the user but using a different or potentially additional controller input. Alternatively or in addition, the controller input may be mapped to a different game control function from the original game control function and the original game control function may or may not be available via another controller input. Hence in some cases, the parameter modification may be performed to reduce a number of game control functions available to the user and may similarly be performed to increase the number of game control functions.

Hence more generally, the one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game may comprise a first parameter defining a mapping for a first controller input and a second parameter defining a mapping for a second controller input, and at least one of the first parameter and the second parameter (or both the first and second parameters) can be selected by the selection circuitry 230 in dependence upon the user data. In other examples, a respective parameter may define a mapping for a first controller input to a respective game control function and also a mapping for a second controller input to another respective game control function, such that modification of the respective parameter enables remapping of the first and second controller inputs. It will be appreciated that the controller input may be a single button press, or a combination of two or more concurrent button presses, or motion detected by a hardware motion sensor, or a combination of at least one button press and detected motion. For example, in some video games a combination of two (or even three) concurrent button presses may be considered as a controller input mapped to a respective game control function.

Hence more generally, the control circuitry 240 can be configured to modify at least one selected parameter to modify the mapping of one or more controller inputs. In some examples, in response to the user data comprising one or more statistics for the user with respect to one or more video games and indicating that the user's level of performance is higher or lower than expected for the difficulty of the video game, the selection circuitry 230 can select a parameter and the control circuitry 240 can modify the selected parameter to change a mapping for a controller input to remap the controller input to a different game control function for the video game. For example, one or more parameters may be modified to simplify a controller layout by reducing a number of controller inputs mapped to game control functions for the video game. In some examples, a controller input such as a first button (e.g. trigger button provided on a rear portion of a handheld controller) may be initially mapped to a first game control function according to a parameter, and the parameter can be modified to instead (or additionally) map a second button (e.g. a button provided on an upward facing surface of the handheld controller) to the game control function. In this case, the user can then control the game control function via the second button. Optionally, the first button may be left unmapped resulting in a reduction in the number of controller inputs for controlling the video game via the controller. Alternatively, the first button may remain mapped to the same game control function, or the first button may be remapped to a game control function that was previously mapped to the second button so as to swap the game control functions for the two buttons, or the first button maybe remapped to another different game function. In the case, where the first button remains mapped to the game control function, both the first and second buttons may thus provide the user with the possibility to control a same game control function.

In some examples, a parameter can be modified to update the mapping so that an initially mapped controller input is left unmapped, and the game control function initially mapped to the controller input is either mapped to a different controller input or not mapped. An example of this may be removing the ability to press down on a joystick to summon a sniper scope. Parameter modification in this way can reduce the number of inputs available for the user, whilst avoiding accidental activation and potentially accommodating dexterity issues of the user, which may be partially attributable to their prior performance statistics.

Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a data processing method. The method comprising: accessing (at a step 310) first data comprising one or more parameters related to difficulty of a video game; receiving (at a step 320) user data for a user, the user data indicative of one or more user interactions with respect to one or more video games; selecting (at a step 330) one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the user data modifying (at a step 340) at least one selected parameter to obtain at least one modified parameter; and outputting (at a step 350) second data indicative of the at least one modified parameter.

Parameter selection with bio-data Figure 4 schematically illustrates a data processing apparatus 400 for by modifying difficulty of a video game responsive to bio-data for a user playing the video game. The data processing apparatus 400 can thus improve usability of a video game for a user responsive to the bio-data for the user. In embodiments of the disclosure, the data processing apparatus 400 comprises: access circuitry 410 to access first data comprising one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game; receiving circuitry 420 to receive bio-data for the user indicative of one or more current properties detected for the user during the video game; selection circuitry 430 to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the bio-data for the user; control circuitry 440 to modify at least one selected parameter to thereby obtain at least one modified parameter and to update the first data based on the at least one modified parameter; and processing circuitry 450 to execute the video game in dependence upon the updated first data corresponding to a modified difficulty for the video game.

The data processing apparatus 400 comprises the processing circuitry 450 (e.g. one or more CPUs) for executing a video game application. The data processing apparatus 400 may for example be provided as part of a server, such as a cloud gaming sever, for remotely executing a video game application. In this case, the receiving circuitry 420 can receive the bio-data for the user via a network (e.g. via the internet). Alternatively, the data processing apparatus 400 may be provided as part of an entertainment device (e.g. a game console), such as that shown in Figure 1, and the receiving circuitry 420 can receive the bio-data via a wired and/or wireless communication (e.g. Bluetooth® and/or WiFi0) with one or more devices for detecting current properties for the user. Hence more generally, the data processing apparatus 400 can be provided either locally or remotely with respect to the user and bio-data for the user during the video game is received by the data processing apparatus 400 for use in selection of one or more of the parameters included in the first data.

Unless stated otherwise, the first data comprising the one or more parameters is the same as that discussed above with respect to Figures 2 and 3. Similarly, the access circuitry 410 can be configured to operate similarly to the access circuitry 210 discussed above so as to access the first data (also referred to as parameter data) comprising one or more difficulty related parameters for a video game.

As explained above with respect to Figures 2 and 3, the first data comprises one or more parameters that have an influence on a difficulty of a video game. The first data may for example be obtained from data, such as settings file or game configuration file associated with a video game. The type of video game application is not particularly limited. The data processing apparatus 400 comprises access circuitry 410 to access the first data and, using the bio-data for the user, at least some of the one or more parameters are selected for modification so that a difficulty of the video game is modified depending on the bio-data for the user. In particular, one or more parameters are selected for modification such that one or more aspects of the video game can be adjusted in difficulty according to the bio-data to achieve a user-specific difficulty depending on the user's current properties indicated by the bio-data.

The receiving circuitry 420 may for example comprise an Ethernet port and/or a wireless communication unit (e.g. Bluetoothe and/or WFie) for receiving the bio-data for the user. Hence more generally, the receiving circuitry 420 may receive the bio-data via a wired and/or wireless communication. The receiving circuitry 420 is configured to receive the bio-data for the user, in which the bio-data is indicative of one or more current properties detected for the user during the video game.

One or more current properties for the user during the video game can be obtained using a range of sensor technologies. In some example, one or more current properties for the user are detected using one or more wearable sensors and/or one or more sensors for capturing one or more images. Alternatively or in addition, a sensor provided as part of a handheld controller device and/or a head-mountable display device may be used to detect one or more current properties.

In some examples, one or more motion sensors included in a handheld controller device and/or a head-mountable display device may be used for this purpose. Techniques for detecting current properties for the user are discussed in more detail later.

More generally, bio-data indicative of at least one current property for the user during the video game is obtained by the data processing apparatus 400 for use in selecting at least one parameter in dependence upon the bio-data for the user.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the received bio-data can be compared with historical bio-data for the user and one or more differences used for selecting one or more of the parameters. Historical bio-data for a user refers to bio-data that has been previously obtained for a user and provides an indication of one or more reference values for one or more user properties, such as a typical resting heart rate for the user. In this way, a respective user property for which the received bio-data differs from the historical bio-data can be identified. One or more user properties for which the bio-data differs from the historical bio-data (or optionally differs by more than a threshold amount, such as X% of the value for the property for the historical bio-data) can be identified and used for selecting one or more of the parameters. This is discussed in more detail later.

Alternatively or in addition, in some embodiments of the disclosure the received bio-data can be analysed to generate classification data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions so that one or more parameters can be selected in dependence upon one or more of the predefined user emotions identified for the current user.

More generally, the selection circuitry 430 is configured to select at least one parameter based on the bio-data for the user, and the control circuitry 440 modifies the selected parameter to obtain a modified parameter. The parameter defines a difficulty for at least one aspect of the video game, and the modified parameter thus corresponds to a modified difficulty (a different difficulty) compared to the unmodified parameter.

Unless stated otherwise, the control circuitry 440 can be configured to operate similarly to the control circuitry 240, described previously with reference to Figure 2, so as to modify a selected parameter. In particular, in some examples the control circuitry 440 is configured to modify a selected parameter to either increase or decrease a value for the selected parameter by a predetermined amount. For example, the control circuitry 440 may change (increase or decrease) a value by a predetermined amount corresponding to a predetermined proportion of the original value (e.g. change the original value by X%, such as 10%, of the original value). In this way, an original value for a selected parameter can be modified to vary the parameter in a way that changes a difficulty for an aspect of the video game in a way that results in difficultly that is adjusted for the received bio-data. Hence more generally, in response to selection of a respective parameter, the control circuitry 440 may modify the selected parameter according to a predetermined proportion of a value associated with the selected parameter. In some cases the control circuitry 440 can similarly modify a given parameter according to a magnitude of a difference between the value for the current property and the value for the reference property in a manner similar to that discussed above in relation to the user data.

The control circuitry 440 is further configured to update the first data based on the at least one modified parameter. In particular, one or more parameters in the first data which have been selected by the selection circuitry 430 can be updated to replace an original value for a parameter with a modified value for the parameter. For example, the first data may comprise a plurality of parameters, and a respective parameter may have been selected and modified, and the control circuitry 440 can update the respective parameter in the first data with a value associated with the modified parameter. Therefore, the modification for a given parameter is reflected in the updated first data.

Bio-data received for the user during the video game is thus used for updating the first data to thereby modify the difficulty of the video game, and the processing circuitry 450 executes the video game in dependence upon the updated first data.

The following techniques refer to using the bio-data for the current user to select one or more parameters for modification to thereby vary the user's interaction with the video game in a way that can optimise the first data for the current user.

Bio-data for the current user can provide an indication of one or more user emotions, such as a level of stress, level of frustration, level of fatigue and level of excitement among potentially many others. Based on the bio-data for the current user, parameter selection and modification can be performed so as to modify the user's interaction in one or more ways to reduce a level of stress and/or frustration (when the bio-data indicates a certain level of stress). Alternatively or in addition, parameter selection and modification can be performed so as to modify the user's interaction in one or more ways to potentially compensate for a level of fatigue identified via the bio-data for the user.

More generally, one or more current properties of the user indicated by the bio-data can be used for selecting respective parameters in the first data to modify the first data in a way that modifies the video game difficulty taking into consideration the current state of the user (e.g. compensate for fatigue) and/or modifies the first data to attempt to alleviate one or more properties associated with the current state of the user (e.g. alleviate stress or frustration or other similar emotions).

For example, one or more of the current properties can provide an indication of a user emotion such as stress and/or anxiety. An example of this is heart rate which is typically elevated during a time of high stress and/or anxiety. Similarly, a property such as skin conductance (indicative of perspiration) is often correlated with a level of stress, frustration and/or excitement. The bio-data can thus provide an indication of a property such a current heart rate and/or current electrodermal activity for the user, and parameter selection and modification can be performed to select and modify one or more parameters for modifying one or more aspects of the video game in one or more ways for potentially causing a subsequent change in the user's current properties. In this example, parameter modification may be performed with the aim of causing a reduction in the heart rate or amount of perspiration. Alternatively, in the case of a selection by the user of a target user emotion corresponding to excitement or energetic game play, for example, parameter modification may be performed with the aim of causing an increase in one or more of the above mentioned properties. Techniques using a target user emotion are discussed in more detail later. In some examples, the bio-data may indicate an amount of shaking for a hand (and/or a head) of the current user. Such a property can be detected using a motion sensor included in a handheld controller device and/or analysis of one or more images captured including the user.

The shaking may indicate a level of stress for the current user and one or more parameters can be selected for modification accordingly. For example, a parameter associated with speed or agility of a player character and/or non-player character can be selected and modified to adjust the video game in that respect, for example by optionally reducing a speed or agility in response to a high level of hand shaking to improve the usability of the video game. Alternatively or in addition, one or more parameters associated with an auto aim function and/or one or more parameters associated with aiming sensitivity may be selected and modified. A parameter defining a size of a reticule, and/or a parameter defining a maximum rate of movement of a reticule in response to a user input, and/or a parameter defining a range within which a reticule locks onto a target to provide an auto aim function may be selected for adjustment to vary a difficulty associated with an aiming aspect of gameplay for the video game.

Some examples may comprise selecting one or more parameters associated with speed of one or more characters (player character and/or non-player character) responsive to the bio-data indicating fatigue or a certain level of fatigue for the user, and modifying the selected parameters to change a speed associated with one or more of the characters accordingly. For example, a maximum velocity for a character may be reduced in response to bio-data indicative of fatigue for the user.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the first data corresponds to a predetermined difficulty setting for the video game. As discussed previously, the techniques of the present disclosure can be performed so as to select one or more parameters in a user-specific manner based on the bio-data and modify one or more of the selected parameters to thereby obtain a personalised difficulty setting from a predefined difficulty setting. Therefore, the data processing apparatus 400 can access the first data comprising one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the game and update the first data based on at least one modified parameter to obtain update first data corresponding to a modified difficulty for the video game.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the one or more current properties for the user to determine the level of user exertion, struggle, or lack thereof comprise one or more from the list consisting of: a beating rate of the user's heart; a conductance of the user's skin; a temperature of the user's body; a frequency and/or an amplitude of a shaking associated with the user's hand; a frequency and/or an amplitude of a shaking associated with the user's head; an amount of motion of the user over a predetermined period of time; and a maximum rate of actuator input via a handheld controller within a time interval. Sensors used for detecting such properties may include any of the following: a temperature sensor; a heart rate sensor; an electrodermal activity sensor; a motion sensor; a camera. One or more sensors for detecting one or more current properties for the user may for example be provided as part of a wearable device, such as a smartwatch device and/or a head-mountable display device (HMD). Alternatively or in addition, one or more such sensors may be included in a handheld controller operated by a user to provide one or more user inputs for the video game. Alternatively or in addition, one or more image sensors arranged to capture one or more images including a user can be used for detecting properties such as shaking of a body part and/or average motion over a period of time.

For example, a smartwatch comprising a temperature sensor (e.g. an infrared sensor configured to detect infrared radiation emitted from a portion of the user's body) and/or a heart rate sensor may be used to detect the user's body temperature and/or the user's heart rate and communicate bio-data indicative of the current properties to the data processing apparatus 400 via a wireless communication. A motion sensor comprising one or more of a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer may be provided in the smartwatch for tracking movement of the smartwatch device thereby allowing movements, and potential shaking, of the user's limb to be tracked.

Alternatively or in addition, in some examples a user may wear a head-mountable display (HMD) during a video game. One or more sensors (e.g. temperature sensor and/or heart rate sensor) for detecting one or more current properties for the user may be included in the HMD. One or more motion sensors comprising one or more of a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer may similarly be provided in the HMD for tracking movement of the HMD. Alternatively or in addition, one or more image sensors provided as part of the HMD can be used for inside-out-tracking to track the movement of the HMD and thereby track an amount of translational movement and/or shaking movement performed by the user within a time interval and/or an amount of head movement performed by the user within a time interval and/or a frequency and/or an amplitude of shaking associated with the user's head.

Alternatively or in addition, a handheld controller operated by the user to provide one or more user inputs for the video game may comprise one or more sensors for detecting one or more current properties for the user. For example, one or more motions sensors included in the handheld controller may be used to detect a current property such as an amount of motion of the user over a predetermined period of time and/or a frequency and/or an amplitude of shaking associated with the user's hand. Any of the above mentioned sensors may be provided as part of the handheld controller for detecting one or more current properties for the user when operating the handheld controller.

More generally, a heart rate sensor may be positioned so as to contact the user's skin so that electrical activity associated with the contraction of the user's heart is detected by the heart rate sensor and one or more detected parameters provide an indication of the beating rate of the user's heart. Alternatively or in addition, the heart rate sensor may comprise an optical sensor and a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit light of different wavelengths in order to detect one or more parameters indicating the user's heart rate. The different wavelengths refract differently off the blood flowing through the user's body and the optical sensor detects one or more parameters associated with the refracted wavelengths indicative of the changes in the blood flow and the user's heart rate.

One or more electrodermal activity sensors may be provided for detecting one or more parameters indicating the conductance of the user's skin, also referred to as electrodermal activity or galvanic skin response. Sweat glands can secrete fluid through pores towards the skin surface and the secreted sweat influences the electrical characteristics, such as conductance and resistance, of the skin surface. The amount of sweat secreted by the user can be evaluated by providing one or more electrodermal activity sensors in contact with the user's skin, which detect one or more parameters indicating the electrical properties of the user's skin.

Known temperature sensors may optionally be used, e.g as part of a handheld controller, HMD or smartwatch, for detecting the user's current body temperature.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the selection circuitry 430 is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon one or more differences between the received bio-data for the user and historical bio-data for the user. Different people generally have different physiological characteristics and what may be considered normal for one person may not be normal for another person. An example of this is resting heart rate, which can vary greatly from one user to another and is thus user-specific. Therefore, in some embodiments of the disclosure the received bio-data for the current user is compared with historical bio-data for the current user to identify one or more differences between the received bio-data and historical bio-data. In particular, a current property (e.g. heart rate) for the received bio-data can be compared with the historical bio-data so as to establish a difference for the current property relative to the historical bio-data.

In some examples, the selection circuitry 430 is configured to compare a current property for the received bio-data with the historical bio-data and to detect whether the current property differs from the historical bio-data by at least a threshold amount. An example of this is comparing a current heart rate for the received bio-data (e.g. 120 bpm) with the historical bio-data indicating that the heart rate for the user is normally 65 bpm (in some cases a range, such as 60-70 bpm in this example, may instead be indicated by the historical bio-data and the current property may be compared with a middle value, a lower value or an upper value for the range) and detecting a difference between the current heart rate and the historical bio-data. In response to detecting that the current heart rate differs from the historical bio-data by at least a threshold amount (e.g. 5%, 10%, 15% or 20% of the value indicated by the historical bio-data for the user property), the current heart rate (or more generally current property) can be used as a difference between the received bio-data for the user and historical bio-data for the user for use in selecting a parameter.

A mapping of respective user properties to respective parameters in the first data may be specified be a developer. An aspect of gameplay such as player character speed may be known to correlate with a user property such as heart rate, for example, such that a game developer can map a user property corresponding to heart rate to a parameter related to player character speed.

It will be appreciated that this represents one example that may be applicable for a given video game. In this way, in response to detecting that a given user property differs from the historical bio-data for the user, one or more parameters mapped to the given user property can be selected by the selection circuitry 430 for modification by the control circuitry 440. It will be appreciated that the mapping of user properties and parameters can be freely determined by a developer and may vary for different video games, and the mapping is not particularly limited. In some examples, the mapping for a respective parameter may be updated by the user so as to either specify a different user property for the respective parameter or to specify one or more further user properties for the respective parameter.

The data processing apparatus 400 may comprise a storage unit (not shown in Figure 4) for storing historical bio-data for the user. In some examples, the data processing apparatus 400 may be provided as part of an entertainment device (such as a game console) and may store historical bio-data for one or more users. For example, the data processing apparatus 400 may comprise one or more solid state drives for storing both the first data for the video game and historical bio-data for the user. Alternatively, the data processing apparatus 400 may be provided as part of a server and historical bio-data for a user may be acquired prior to or at the beginning a game session.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the selection circuitry 430 is configured to select a respective parameter in dependence upon whether a difference between a value of a current property indicated by the received bio-data and a value of a corresponding property indicated by the historical bio-data satisfies a selection condition for the respective parameter.

At least one selection condition can be provided for a respective parameter in the first data.

For example, a first selection condition related to a first user property (e.g. heart rate) may be defined for a given parameter and a second selection condition related to a second user property (e.g. skin conductance, or hand shaking) may also be defined for the given parameter, so that when any of the first and second selection conditions is satisfied the selection circuitry 430 selects the given parameter.

Alternatively or in addition, a selection condition may be defined for a given parameter which comprises a first sub-condition for a first user property and a second sub-condition for a second user property (and optionally one or more further sub-conditions for further user properties) and when each of the sub-conditions is satisfied the given parameter is selected by the selection circuitry 430. The use of a selection condition comprising a plurality of sub-conditions may in some cases provide more reliable parameter selection compared to using a single user property for selection of a parameter. For example, detecting perspiration on its own can provide an indication of stress, but the combination of detecting perspiration and an increased heart rate can provide a more reliable indication of stress.

The selection condition for a respective parameter defines a condition which when satisfied by the bio-data causes the selection circuitry 430 to select the respective parameter. The selection condition may for example define a difference value for at least one user property. VVhen the difference between the value of the current property indicated by the received bio-data and the value of the corresponding property indicated by the historical bio-data is greater than or equal to the difference value, the selection condition is satisfied. As explained above, a selection condition may in some examples define two or more sub-conditions each having a difference value for a respective user property.

A selection condition can be provided for some or all of the parameters in the first data to enable selection of some or all of the parameters by the selection circuitry 430 using the techniques discussed above.

The association between a user property and a respective parameter may be determined by a developer in advance by manually specifying a user property that is known to be correlated with a given parameter and this may vary from one game to another. In particular, when creating a video game with a given difficulty setting corresponding to a set of predefined parameters, the developer can also specify a mapping between the parameters and the user properties. Alternatively or in addition, the association may be determined using one or more machine learning algorithms trained to learn a mapping between changes in different user properties and parameters that influence difficulty for different aspects of gameplay.

More generally, as disclosed elsewhere herein the develop may associate specific responses, and/or general responses, to respective user properties or combinations thereof, for example characterised or classified as indicating a particular user emotion.

For example, specific responses may relate to the specific game title or genre, as user properties / emotions may be assumed to have different causes in different games or genres, and/or affect or be important to different aspects of game play. Hence as a non-limiting example if measuring controller shaking for stress/anxiety, an associated counteraction could be to have more aggressive auto-aiming. Meanwhile where a slowing heart rate might indicate drowsiness/exhaustion during a racing tournament, the counteraction could offer auto-braking, assisted steering, or the like to compensate for likely slower reaction times.

Meanwhile, general responses may relate to what the emotional state of the user (as inferred from the user properties) implies about what they want to achieve from a game play session; Such general responses typically relate to global game settings such as difficulty level. For example, the system choosing a "relaxing" gameplay session beforehand by lowering the game difficulty setting, and maintaining this by reading biometrics for stress and consistently trying to lower them or keep them below a threshold using either such general settings and optionally additionally specific responses. Likewise an 'intense' game play session might increase difficulty at key points to try to maximise swings from tense to happy.

Referring now to Figure 5, in some embodiments of the disclosure the selection circuitry 430 comprises classification circuitry 431 to output classification data in dependence upon at least one current property indicated by the received bio-data, the classification data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions, and the selection circuitry 430 is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the classification data. A relationship between values for a property (such as heart rate, skin conductance, temperature, amount of movement or shaking) and one or more predefined user emotions (such as stress, anxiety, frustration, excitement, arousal or fatigue) can be used to output one or more emotion classifications in response to the bio-data for the current user. For example, a correlation between heart rate and a user emotion such as stress can be used so that classification data indicative of a stress emotion is output when the bio-data indicates that the user's current heart rate is within a certain range and/or when the bio-data indicates that a rate of change of the user's current heart rate is within a certain range. During gameplay a user may become stressed, thus leading to release of hormones such as adrenaline which results in an increased heart rate. Similarly, a correlation between heart rate and another user emotion such as excitement can be used so that classification data indicative of an excitement emotion can be output based on the bio-data.

In some examples, the classification circuitry 431 optionally comprises one or more machine learning models trained to receive an input comprising a current user property and to output data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions. The one or more machine learning models may for example be trained using labelled training data comprising bio-data for users and having labels indicative of predefined user emotions. Such data may be obtained by collecting bio-data for users whilst playing a video game (which may optionally be the same as the video game associated with the first data) and asking a user to select one or more predefined user emotions either during or after completion of a portion of the video game. The one or more machine learning models can thus be trained for a plurality of predefined user emotions so as to output data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions based on one or more of the current properties indicated by the bio-data.

In some examples, the classification circuitry 431 comprises a plurality of respective machine learning models each trained to perform a binary classification for a respective predefined user emotion. The classification circuitry 431 may comprise a first machine learning model trained to perform a binary classification for a first predefined user emotion and a second machine learning model trained to perform a binary classification for a second predefined user emotion. In this way, a binary classification can be output for a given predefined user emotion to indicate presence or absence of that predefined user emotion (e.g. an indication of a level of stress may be provided using a classification that is either "stressed" or "not stressed"). Alternatively or in addition, the classification circuitry 431 may comprise one or more machine learning models trained to perform a multi-class classification for a respective predefined user emotion so as to output data indicative of a respective classification from a plurality of classifications for a respective predefined user emotion (e.g. a classification of high stress, moderate stress, or low stress). It will be appreciated that any suitable machine learning algorithm may be used for the classification techniques discussed above.

In some examples, the received bio-data may optionally be firstly compared with historical bio-data to obtain difference data indicative of one or more differing user properties. The one or more differences between the received bio-data for the user and historical bio-data for the user can thus be provided as an input to one or more of the machine learning models so as to output the classification data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions in dependence on the one or more differences. In this way, historical bio-data for the user can be factored in for the current user. Hence, the classification circuitry 431 can be configured to output classification data in dependence upon at least one current property identified as a difference property for the current user by comparing the received bio-data and the historical bio-data.

The classification circuitry 431 is configured to output classification data in dependence upon at least one current property indicated by the received bio-data to thereby indicate one or more predefined user emotions for the user. The selection circuitry 430 is operable to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon one or more of the predefined user emotions indicated by the classification data.

In a manner similar to that described above with respect to a user property associated with a respective parameter, in some embodiments of the disclosure predefined user emotions are associated with respective parameters in the first data so that presence of a predefined user emotion (as indicated by the classification data) causes selection of a respective parameter associated with the predefined user emotion. The mapping between predefined user emotions and respective parameters may be determined by a developer in advance by manually specifying a type of user emotion that is known to be correlated with a given parameter and this may vary from one game to another. In particular, when creating a video game with a given difficulty setting corresponding to a set of predefined parameters, the developer can also specify a mapping between the parameters and a plurality of predefined user emotions. Alternatively or in addition, the association may be determined using one or more machine learning algorithms trained to learn a mapping between predefined user emotions and parameters that influence those emotions.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, when the received bio-data is indicative of at least a first current property and a second current property for the user, the classification circuitry 431 is configured to output first classification data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions in dependence upon the first current property and to output second classification data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions in dependence upon the second current property, and the selection circuitry 430 is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon a predefined user emotion common to both the first classification data and the second classification data.

In some cases, a first current property and a second current property for the user may be related to a number of predefined user emotions. For example, a measured skin conductance may on its own indicate types of user emotion such as stress, frustration, excitement and arousal.

By outputting first classification data in dependence upon a first property and outputting second classification in dependence upon a second property and identifying at least one predefined user emotion present for both the first classification data and the second classification data, a more reliable user emotion for the user can be identified for use by the selection circuitry 430 when selecting one or more of the parameters. Therefore, rather than using each of the predefined user emotions indicated by the classification data, which in some cases may include a range of emotions, one or more matching user emotions from the first and second classification data can be identified and used for selecting one or more parameters.

The first classification data may indicate a first plurality of predefined user emotions based on the first user property. The second classification data may indicate a second plurality of predefined user emotions based on the second user property. The two sets of predefined user emotions can thus be evaluated to identify one or more predefined user emotions present in both sets, in which a predefined user emotion common to both sets is used for selecting a parameter.

It will be appreciated that the above technique may be further improved by further outputting third classification data based on a third user property and identifying a predefined user emotion common to each of the first, second and third classification data.

Hence more generally, in some embodiments of the disclosure when the received bio-data is indicative of a plurality of respective current properties for the user, the classification circuitry 431 can be configured to output respective classification data in dependence upon each current property, the respective classification data for at least one respective current property being indicative of a plurality of predefined user emotions, and the selection circuitry 430 is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon a predefined user emotion that is common the respective classification data for each of the plurality of respective current properties.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the receiving circuitry 420 is configured to receive a user selection indicative of a target user emotion and the selection circuitry 430 is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the bio-data for the user and the target user emotion. Before starting a game session for the video game associated with the first data (or during playing of the video game), the user may select a target user emotion from a plurality of predefined user emotions to indicate a target user emotion desired by the user for the game session. A graphical user interface including one or more selectable user emotions may be displayed to the user so that a user can select (e.g. using a pointing device or handheld controller input) a user emotion as a target user emotion for the game session. Parameter selection and modification can thus be performed by the data processing apparatus 400 to modify one or more parameters of the first data to change the interaction by the user with the video game in one or more ways that can result in a change in the bio-data such that the classification circuitry 431 outputs the classification data indicative of a user emotion corresponding to the target user emotion. For example, the user may select a predefined user emotion such as excitement as the target user emotion to be used for performing parameter selection and modification until the biodata for the user causes the classification circuitry 431 to output data indicative of the excitement user emotion. In some examples, the selection circuitry 430 may be configured to select one or more parameters depending on the target user emotion and modify the selected parameter(s) according to the techniques discussed previously so as to modify the first data once in a way that improves the likelihood of achieving the target user emotion for the user. In some examples, the selection circuitry 430 may initially select and modify one or more parameters depending on the target user emotion and then monitor the bio-data to determine whether a change in one or more current properties is observed, and if not then repeat the selection and modification to further update the first data. For example, a predetermined time period, such as 60 seconds or 180 seconds or any value in this range, may be used to detect whether one or more of the current properties have changed by a threshold amount, and if not then the first data can be further updated and this may be repeated until detecting a change (threshold change) for a current property or until the classification data comprise a predefined user emotion corresponding to the target user emotion.

As an alternative to a user selecting a target user emotion, the user may select a type of gameplay experience from a plurality of types of gameplay experience, and the type of gameplay experience can be associated with one or more target user emotions. For example, a graphical user interface may display a plurality of types of gameplay experience such as a relaxing game session for the video game and/or an energetic game session for the video game. A user selection with respect to the graphical user interface can be received, and the selected type of gameplay experience can be associated with one or more target user emotions for the game session.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the control circuitry 440 is configured to modify at least one selected parameter to either increase or decrease a degree of difficulty for an aspect of the video game associated with the at least one selected parameter. As explained above, the first data comprises one or more parameters related to a degree of difficulty for the video game.

Such parameters can be selected and modified to thereby alter a degree of difficulty for the video game. An increment or decrement in a value associated with a selected parameter can be performed to vary an aspect of the video game. For example, a parameter associated with a maximum velocity that is possible for a player character and/or a non-player character may be selected and modified to specify a lower or higher value.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the selection circuitry 430 is configured to select a plurality of the parameters included in the first data in dependence upon the bio-data, and the control circuitry 440 is configured to modify each selected parameter and update the first data based on each of the modified parameters. Whilst the above discussion generally refers to selection of at least one respective parameter, the selection circuitry 430 is operable to select and modify a plurality of parameters included in the first data and update the first data based on each of the modified parameters.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game comprise one or more from the list consisting of: one or more non-player character parameters related to one or more operations associated with at least one non-player character; one or more player character parameters related to one or more operations associated with a player character; and one or more in-game environment parameters related to one or more properties associated with an in-game environment for the video game.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, one or more of the non-player character parameters relate to at least one of: a maximum velocity; a reaction time; and an aggressiveness for the at least one non-player character. In particular, the first data may comprise a respective parameter corresponding to aggressiveness for a non-player character. Generally, the first data may be accessed from a settings file, or other similar file, which specifies settings for the video game. A parameter defining aggressiveness for a non-player character can thus be accessed and modified to change an aggressiveness for one or more non-player characters. For example, in response to a target user emotion corresponding to excitement, the parameter related to aggression can be selected and modified to increase an aggressiveness. Similarly, such a parameter can be modified to decrease aggressiveness when appropriate. Al aggressiveness typically relates to a likelihood of a non-player character launching an attack, and such a parameter may for example have a value in the range 0-1 (or 0-100 for some video games) and the data processing apparatus 400 is operable to select and modify such a parameter based on the bio-data, and update the first data accordingly.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game comprise at least one parameter defining a mapping of a controller input to a game control function for the video game. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the control circuitry 440 is configured to modify the at least one selected parameter to map another controller input to the game control function for the video game. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the control circuitry 440 is configured to modify the at least one selected parameter to map the controller input to another game control function for the video game.

As explained above with respect to the user data, the first data may comprise one or more parameters that each define a mapping of a controller input to a game control function for the video game. One or more such parameters can be selected based on the bio-data for the user and modified. Any of the techniques discussed above with respect to the user data can similarly be performed using the bio-data to modify a parameter defining a mapping of a controller input to a game control function. Specifically, the selection circuitry 430 can be configured to select, based on the bio-data, a respective parameter defining a mapping of a controller input to a game control function, and the control circuitry 440 can be configured to modify the respective parameter to obtain a modified parameter that specifies a different mapping.

A respective parameter may be modified to specify a different mapping that maps another controller input to the game control function. Therefore, another controller input may be mapped to the game control function for the parameter so as to map both the another controller input and the already mapped controller input to the game control function, such that an additional controller input can be used to access the game control function thereby allowing ease of access to the game control function. For example, based on the bio-data, it may be desirable to modify a parameter so that a frequently used game control function can be accessed via another controller input (and optionally via any one of the initially mapped controller input and the another controller input). This may be achieved by mapping a button associated with a lesser used game control function to the more frequently used game control function. The lesser used game control function may be mapped to a different control input or potentially left unmapped to provide a user with a simplified gaming experience that may be more suitable for a user experiencing symptoms of fatigue and/or stress.

It will be appreciated that the data processing apparatus 400 allows for parameter selection and modification responsive to the bio-data, and as such a controller mapping can be modified during a game session responsive to the bio-data. In some examples, in response to selection of a parameter defining a mapping of a controller input to a game control function, the processing circuitry 450 can be configured to generate an image for display including one or more graphical indicators indicative of a change of the controller mapping. For example, an image including an indication of a respective actuator of a controller and a game function may be generated for display. Therefore, the first data can be automatically modified to vary the controller mapping and an image generated for display to inform the user of the updated mapping.

Referring now to Figure 6, in some embodiments of the disclosure a system 600 comprises an entertainment device comprising the data processing apparatus 400 as shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5, and one or more sensors 610 configured to detect one or more of the current properties for the user. The one or more sensors 610 comprise one or more from the list consisting of: a temperature sensor; a heart rate sensor; an electrodermal activity sensor; an image sensor configured to capture one or more images including the user; and a motion sensor included in a head-mountable display (HMD) or a handheld controller. An entertainment device, such as a game console (e.g. Sony® PlayStation 4®), may comprise the apparatus features as shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5. The entertainment device thus receives the bio-data either directly or indirectly from one or more sensors 610 operable to detect one or more current properties for the user. For example, the entertainment device (more specifically the receiving circuitry 420) may receive the bio-data via a wireless communication (e.g. Bluetoothe) with a wearable device being worn by the user. In some examples, the entertainment device comprises one or more cameras configured to capture one or more images including the user to thereby detect one or more user properties.

Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a data processing method for modifying difficulty of a video game responsive to bio-data for a user playing the video game. The method comprising: accessing (at a step 710) first data comprising one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game; receiving (at a step 720) bio-data for the user indicative of one or more current properties detected for the user during the video game; selecting (at a step 730) one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the bio-data for the user; modifying (at a step 740) at least one selected parameter to thereby obtain at least one modified parameter; updating (at a step 750) the first data based on the at least one modified parameter; and executing (at a step 760) the video game in dependence upon the updated first data corresponding to a modified difficulty for the video game.

It will be appreciated that example embodiments can be implemented by computer software operating on a general purpose computing system such as a games machine. In these examples, computer software, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to carry out any of the methods discussed above is considered as an embodiment of the present disclosure. Similarly, embodiments of the disclosure are provided by a non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium which stores such computer software.

It will also be appreciated that any of the embodiments involving the use of bio-data can be combined with any of the disclosed techniques using the user data. Features of the data processing apparatuses 200 and 400 may be suitably combined. In particular, the data processing apparatus 400 may be adapted to further include the functionality of any of the features shown in Figure 2. Hence, in some example the data processing apparatus 400 may be operable to receive user data for a user, the user data indicative of one or more user interactions with respect to one or more video games. The data processing apparatus 400 may thus optionally be configured to select one or more of the parameters in the first data in dependence upon at least one of the biodata for the user and the user data for the user using any combination of the techniques discussed above It will also be apparent that numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practised otherwise than as specifically described herein

Claims

CLAIMS1. A data processing apparatus for modifying difficulty of a video game responsive to bio-data for a user playing the video game, comprising: access circuitry to access first data comprising one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game; receiving circuitry to receive bio-data for the user indicative of one or more current properties detected for the user during the video game; selection circuitry to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the biodata for the user; control circuitry to modify at least one selected parameter to thereby obtain at least one modified parameter and to update the first data based on the at least one modified parameter; and processing circuitry to execute the video game in dependence upon the updated first data corresponding to a modified difficulty for the video game.
2. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first data corresponds to a predetermined difficulty setting for the video game.
3. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the selection circuitry is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon one or more differences between the received bio-data for the user and historical bio-data for the user.
4. The data processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the selection circuitry is configured to select a respective parameter in dependence upon whether a difference between a value of a current property indicated by the received bio-data and a value of a corresponding property indicated by the historical bio-data satisfies a selection condition for the respective parameter.
5. The data processing apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the selection circuitry comprises classification circuitry to output classification data in dependence upon at least one current property indicated by the received bio-data, the classification data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions, and the selection circuitry is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the classification data.
6. The data processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the received bio-data is indicative of at least a first current property and a second current property for the user, the classification circuitry is configured to output first classification data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions in dependence upon the first current property and to output second classification data indicative of one or more predefined user emotions in dependence upon the second current property, and the selection circuitry is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon a predefined user emotion common to both the first classification data and the second classification data.
7. The data processing apparatus according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the receiving circuitry is configured to receive a user selection indicative of a target user emotion and the selection circuitry is configured to select one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the bio-data for the user and the target user emotion.
8. The data processing apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more current properties detected for the user to determine the level of user exertion, struggle, or lack thereof comprise one or more from the list consisting of: a beating rate of the user's heart; a conductance of the user's skin; a temperature of the user's body; a frequency and/or an amplitude of a shaking associated with the user's hand; a frequency and/or an amplitude of a shaking associated with the user's head; an amount of motion of the user over a predetermined period of time; and a maximum rate of actuator input via a handheld controller within a time interval.
9. The data processing apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the control circuitry is configured to modify the at least one selected parameter to either increase or decrease a degree of difficulty for an aspect of the video game associated with the at least one selected parameter.
10. The data processing apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the selection circuitry is configured to select a plurality of the parameters included in the first data in dependence upon the bio-data, and the control circuitry is configured to modify each selected parameter and update the first data based on each of the modified parameters.
11. The data processing apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game comprise one or more from the list consisting of: one or more non-player character parameters related to one or more operations associated with at least one non-player character; one or more player character parameters related to one or more operations associated with a player character; and one or more in-game environment parameters related to one or more properties associated with an in-game environment for the video game.
12. The data processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein one or more of the non-player character parameters relate to at least one of: a maximum velocity; a reaction time-and an aggressiveness for the at least one non-player character.
13. The data processing apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game comprise at least one parameter defining a mapping of a controller input to a game control function for the video game.
14. The data processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to modify the at least one selected parameter to map another controller input to the game control function for the video game.
15. The data processing apparatus according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the control circuitry is configured to modify the at least one selected parameter to map the controller input to another game control function for the video game.
16. A system comprising: an entertainment device comprising the data processing apparatus according to any preceding claim; and one or more sensors configured to detect one or more of the current properties for the user, the one or more sensors comprising one or more from the list consisting of: a temperature sensor; a heart rate sensor; an electrodermal activity sensor; an image sensor configured to capture one or more images including the user; and a motion sensor included in a head-mountable display (HMD) or a handheld controller.
17. A data processing method for modifying difficulty of a video game responsive to bio-data for a user playing the video game, comprising: accessing first data comprising one or more parameters related to the difficulty of the video game; receiving bio-data for the user indicative of one or more current properties detected for the user during the video game; selecting one or more of the parameters in dependence upon the bio-data for the user; modifying at least one selected parameter to thereby obtain at least one modified parameter; updating the first data based on the at least one modified parameter; and executing the video game in dependence upon the updated first data corresponding to a modified difficulty for the video game.
18. Computer software which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to carry out the method of claim 17.