The PlayStation 5 DualShock 5 controller will feature adaptive triggers, and they will be used together with other controller features to create new experience and mechanics, as detailed by a new patent.
The new patent, which has been spotted by ResetEra forums member gofreak, has been filed by several people, including Sony Japan Studio's Nicolas Doucet and it details how adaptive triggers can be used in games.
The first application is for climbing mechanics. The PlayStation 5 DualShock 5 triggers correspond to the character's hands and the gamepad is tilted toward grips so that the players can press the trigger buttons to climb. If buttons are pressed too lightly, the character won't be able to hold on. If the buttons are pressed too hard, the grip may break off. The right amount of pressure required by the grip will be suggested by the controller's vibration, among other things like visual and sound cues.
The second PlayStation 5 controller application is even more interesting. It is for an object cutting mechanic.
The gamepad is tilted to control the angle of, for example, an electric circular saw relative to a target object. When not in contact with an object, the vibration and audio from the controller speaker can impart an idle state in the saw. You controller the saw motor with a trigger. When you tilt the saw into contact with the object, the vibration can indicate the contact and the start of the cut. You pull the trigger to activate the saw and start cutting into the object. A force is applied back against the motion of the trigger that depends on the material of the object - wood might impart small resistive force, stone might impart strong resistive force. As you cut through the object, the vibration in the grips also changes vs the saw idle state. When you finally cut clear through the object, the trigger resistance gives way to nothing, and the controller sound and vibration return to the saw idle state. The idea is to basically give you a different sense of resistance while cutting through different objects, and the sense of breaking through when you finish the cut.
This new patent seems to be part of the PlayStation 5 bigger unique elements that haven't been revealed yet as teased by Jim Ryan earlier this month. Considering these two possible applications, developers can get very creative with adaptive triggers, offering brand new experiences that are not possible with current controllers.
The PlayStation 5 console launches later this year worldwide.
