Haptic Overlay Logic for Hearing Impaired Gaming Accessibility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Hearing impaired players cannot fully experience video games due to the reliance on audio effects, resulting in a diminished gaming experience compared to non-impaired players.

Innovation Solution

Implementing overlay logic that supports a game engine to provide haptic responses for in-game effects, allowing players to experience the game through tactile sensations that correspond to audio cues, thereby enhancing accessibility for impaired players.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If audio effects are used to enhance gaming experience, then non-impaired players gain immersive experience, but hearing impaired players cannot access the same experience

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegaming accessibilityVSAvoidaudio effect information

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes the acoustic information channel with a haptic feedback channel. Haptic feedback devices convert game events into tactile sensations that players can feel through their controllers or wearable devices, replacing the role of audio effects in conveying game state information and enhancing immersion for hearing impaired players.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces haptic feedback as an intermediary between the game system and the player. The haptic feedback device acts as a mediator that translates digital game events into physical tactile sensations, enabling hearing impaired players to perceive game occurrences through touch rather than sound.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If haptic responses are added to translate audio effects, then hearing impaired players gain access to gaming experience, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplayer accessibilityVSAvoidoverlay logic system

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent makes the haptic feedback system universal by designing it to work with multiple game genres and platforms. The overlay logic can be integrated into existing game engines and works across different types of games (action, adventure, racing, etc.), making the accessibility solution broadly applicable rather than game-specific.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the haptic feedback system into modular components: event detection modules that identify game occurrences, translation modules that convert events to haptic patterns, and feedback delivery modules that execute the haptic responses. This modular architecture reduces overall system complexity by allowing independent development and configuration of each component.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS12311258B2Impaired player accessability with overlay logic providing haptic responses for in-game effects

Publication Date: 2025.05.27 SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC

AI summary

A method including executing game logic of a video game to generate a plurality of video frames for a game play of the video game by a player, wherein game state data is generated during the executing the game logic. The method including identifying an effect that is generated for at least one video frame in the plurality of video frames based on the game state data. The method including translating the effect to a haptic response presentable to the player simultaneous with the at least one video frame, wherein the haptic response is communicating a gaming experience that is rendered by the effect in the at least one video frame.