Granted Patent B2

US 12,589,308 · App. 18/213,868 · Granted Mar 31, 2026

Inventors: Sudha Rao (Bothell, WA); William Brennan Dolan (Kirkland, WA); Christopher John Brockett (Kirkland, WA); Weijia Xu (Bellevue, WA); Nebojsa Jojic (Redmond, WA); Gabriel A. Desgarennes (Issaquah, WA); Yun Hui Xu (San Francisco, CA)

Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

A63F13/67A63F13/47A63F13/65

Abstract

Claims (37)

1 . A method comprising:

tracking a player's path through a narrative state graph associated with a computer-implemented narrative game, the narrative state graph comprising a plurality of nodes corresponding to event points in the game;

monitoring the player's interactions with game assets along the player's path;

determining, for each node along the player's path, a local player engagement metric based at least in part on the monitored interactions associated with the node;

determining a global player engagement metric based at least in part on the monitored interactions associated with all nodes along the player's path; and

using a foundation model to modify the narrative state graph based on the local and global player engagement metrics.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the local and global player engagement metrics are determined by the foundation model or another foundation model.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising acquiring indicators of the player's real-world reaction to the game along the player's path as derived from at least one of audio or video signals, wherein the local and global player engagement metrics are determined further based on the indicators of the player's real-world reaction.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the narrative state graph comprises at least one of adding a node to the narrative state graph, deleting a node from the narrative state graph, adding a link between a pair of nodes, or deleting a link between a pair of nodes.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of nodes falls into one of a plurality of domains, the plurality of domains comprising at least two of main quest, side quest, no quest, and minigame, and wherein modifying the narrative state graph comprises moving at least one of the nodes from one domain to another domain.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the player's path is tracked, the player's interactions are monitored, and local and global player engagement metrics are determined for multiple players, and wherein the foundation model is used to modify the narrative state graph based on an aggregate of the local and global engagement metrics of the multiple players.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein monitoring the player's interactions for multiple players comprises monitoring interactions between the multiple players via the game, and wherein the narrative state graph is modified further based in part on the interactions between the multiple players.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the game assets comprise one or more assets controlled by one or more computer-controlled agents and the monitored interactions comprise player input to the one or more computer-controlled agents, the method further comprising operating the foundation model or another foundation model on prompts comprising the player input to generate a model output, and controlling the one or more computer-controlled agents at least in part based on the model output.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein modifying the narrative state graph comprises incorporating at least a portion of the model output into the narrative state graph.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the player's interactions are monitored for multiple players and wherein the model output is based on monitored interactions of the multiple players with multiple computer-controlled agents used in conjunction.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more computer-controlled agents comprise a conversational agent controlled at least in part based on natural-language model output generated by the foundation model from a prompt comprising natural-language player input received as part of the monitored interactions.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the conversational agent is associated with a non-player character.

13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein at least one of the one or more computer-controlled agents is controlled at least in part based on programmatic output generated by the foundation model from the prompts.

14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the foundation model operating on the prompts comprising the player input is a multi-modal model and the one or more computer-controlled agents are controlled based on multi-modal model output of the multi-modal foundation model.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the multi-modal model output comprises at least two of natural-language output, programmatic output, and visual output.

16 . A system comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

computer memory storing instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:

tracking a player's path through a narrative state graph associated with a computer-implemented narrative game, the narrative state graph comprising a plurality of nodes corresponding to event points in the game;

monitoring the player's interactions with game assets along the player's path;

determining, for each node along the player's path, a local player engagement metric based at least in part on the monitored interactions associated with the node;

determining a global player engagement metric based at least in part on the monitored interactions associated with all nodes along the player's path; and

using a foundation model to modify the narrative state graph based on the local and global player engagement metrics.

17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the local and global player engagement metrics are determined by the foundation model or another foundation model.

18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein modifying the narrative state graph comprises at least one of adding a node to the narrative state graph, deleting a node from the narrative state graph, adding a link between a pair of nodes, or deleting a link between a pair of nodes.

19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the game assets comprise one or more assets controlled by one or more computer-controlled agents and the monitored interactions comprise player input to the one or more computer-controlled agents, the operations further comprising operating the foundation model or another foundation model on prompts comprising the player input to generate a model output, and controlling the one or more computer-controlled agents at least in part based on the model output, wherein modifying the narrative state graph comprises incorporating at least a portion of the model output into the narrative state graph.

20 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing machine-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more computer processors, cause the one or more computer processors to perform operations comprising:

tracking a player's path through a narrative state graph associated with a computer-implemented narrative game, the narrative state graph comprising a plurality of nodes corresponding to event points in the game;

monitoring the player's interactions with game assets along the player's path;

determining, for each node along the player's path, a local player engagement metric based at least in part on the monitored interactions associated with the node;

determining a global player engagement metric based at least in part on the monitored interactions associated with all nodes along the player's path; and

using a foundation model to modify the narrative state graph based on the local and global player engagement metrics.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (201)