Raph’s Website » Google files patent on analyzing your gameplay

Google files patent on analyzing your gameplay

May 14th, 2007 (Visited 2467 times) Tags:

Interesting article on the Guardian about a patent filing from Google based around watching how you play, what you chat about, how you tend to communicate, etc, then building psych profiles of you in order to better target ads. In addition, there’s mention of targeting ads based on game save state — crash a car in a racing game, then have a car pitch made to you with stuff like “this one has better handling!”

I suppose it’s inevitable — given that ads companies already aggressively mine psychographic data from us, extending that into gamespace seems like a natural next step. And of course, virtual worlds in particular are essentially panopticons. And yet, the implications are troubling.

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External News wrote on May 15th, 2007 at 1:19 am:

[...] Google files patent on analyzing your gameplay [...]

Azaroth’s Blog » Blog Archive » You are being watched. Hey. We saw you PK that newbie. wrote on May 16th, 2007 at 11:31 am:

[...] of himself specialized in computer game design, blogging, and offering mugs from cafepress), we see a post on Google patenting the process of, well, uh.. watching [...]

The Other Here » Blog Archive » Lifelogging Mania: Metaverse Matrixes, Charlie Stross Waxing, Platonic Chains, Googlogs, and A Destroy Television Art Show wrote on May 17th, 2007 at 3:50 pm:

[...] that virtual worlds offer tied in with lifelogging, yesterday I saw on Raph’s blog that Google has registered some patents on data mining player behavior in online games to build psychological profiles and target [...]

Gamespace forums * Raph’s Website » Google files patent on analyzing your gameplay * DASMOR.INFO wrote on July 17th, 2007 at 6:28 am:

[...] Raph’s Website » Google files patent on analyzing your gameplay [...]

Mike Rozak said on May 14th, 2007 at 9:29 pm:

And: “If the user has been playing for over two hours continuously, the system may display ads for Pizza Hut, Coke, coffee.”

I posted about this on TerraNova a few years ago.

Morgan Ramsay said on May 14th, 2007 at 11:20 pm:

And yet, the implications are troubling.

Not when business is recognized as an inseparably human activity. Does anyone believe that monitoring and tracking consumer behavior is something new?

Sue Charman of online campaign Open Rights Group said: “I can understand why they are interested in this, but I would be deeply disturbed by a company holding a psychological profile.”

She apparently does. What we basically have here are people complaining about other people watching and reacting to their behavior. At a more general level, everyone operates this way. In business, even auto salespeople monitor and track consumer behavior… in real time. I don’t think there’s anything inherently evil about writing down what you see.

For anyone interested in psychographics, I recommend reading “Rediscovering Market Segmentation” by Daniel Yankelovich who introduced the concept as a solution to the failures of demographic segmentation more than forty years ago.

Richard Bartle said on May 15th, 2007 at 2:26 am:

I do hope Google gets this patent - it means we won’t have to endure it in every single game we play, just those that Google deals with (which we can then studiously avoid).

Patenting data-mining, who’d have thought it?

Richard

Amaranthar said on May 15th, 2007 at 4:09 am:

Yeah, Richard, but it won’t be long before everyone does it (or pays for a service).

I wonder, since I (54 years old) and my son (16 years old) play the same games with the same computer, what kind of a profile they’d give me (us)? Will they be comming to take me away, take me away, take me away? Ha ha!

Morgan Ramsay said on May 15th, 2007 at 8:32 am:

Who wouldn’t avoid a Google game? Every application Google produces is permanently in the beta stage or earlier.

Raph said on May 15th, 2007 at 8:37 am:

The thing is, Morgan, we’re not talking mere psychographics. We’re talking potentially detailed, individual-level tracking of behavior.

JuJutsu said on May 16th, 2007 at 6:24 am:

“I don’t think there’s anything inherently evil about writing down what you see.”

It depends on why it’s done. is it consistent with Thiroux’s practical imperative [Always act so as to treat rational nature(i.e., other human beings) as an end, never as a means only]?

“At a more general level, everyone operates this way. In business, even auto salespeople monitor and track consumer behavior… in real time.”

This may be a justification for a company to do it [I'll reserve judgement for the moment] but it seems a poor basis for saying that the watched shouldn’t be upset by being watched.

Allen Sligar said on May 16th, 2007 at 5:39 pm:

“Patenting data-mining, who’d have thought it?”

Plenty of industries patent thier algorithims, specifically data mining techniques.

Data Mining can and does actually help make products better, refines and iterates processes and improves production. Furthermore it allows for predictive modeling not only behavioral patterns, but preferances. This informs research as well as marketing and even thoretical constructs defining what types of players play games….

If 100bn dollar industries can be improved for consumers and businesses, why should the game industry be any different?

I think the primary concern is privacy and consent not derived benifits.

Google is only maximizing its investment of thier in-game advertising aquisition doing what they do best, indexing. As to thier ability to accurately execute algorithims representative of players, there are significant issues they’ll have to get past.

Morgan Ramsay said on May 16th, 2007 at 5:52 pm:

The public cried for personalization.

And now they’re upset that businesses want to *gasp* serve them better!?

I can’t help but laugh. There’s simply no pleasing some people.

Allen Sligar said on May 16th, 2007 at 10:15 pm:

not even some of the time?

Amaranthar said on May 18th, 2007 at 6:33 am:

There is absolutely no need for anyone to keep personal records on me to know what sells or is attractive to people in general. This is an invasion of privacy, pure and simple. But like always, things get pushed to their breaking point and laws get passed.

When the hell did the public cry for “personalization”? They cried for the ability to personalize, and there’s a difference there. We’ll take care of ourselves, and we want the ability to do so. People who think that we want them to spoon feed us by sticking their nose in our business can jump in a lake. They can choose the lake of their choice, I’m not keeping records.

In the year 2525, if man is still alive…..it’ll be because man refuses to be pigeon holed and controlled.