Ubisoft is bringing its own virtual assistant to players in the form of Sam. Players who use Sam will be able to access information about all of the company’s games or to learn more about what’s new in Ubi’s social network, the Ubisoft Club.
Sam can provide information about game releases, what esports events might be coming up and even pull up more personal stats such as kill counts, time spent in a given game, challenges or achievements that are nearing completion, provide access to tutorial videos, point to push content and much more.
According to Ubisoft …
GamesIndustry.biz has an interesting interview with Ubi’s Damien Moret about why Sam is something good for players.
“We’ve seen players looking for this information, and either it takes time for them to find or they don’t find it and they’re not very happy – and they don’t tend to call customer support for it. So we wanted to fill the gap there, to streamline information so they can find that stuff very fast. We know people are looking for that.
“Our games are different now, they’re connected, so we need to find a way to help. It’s also to facilitate the process so players spend less time searching for the info they need and more time in the game. So it will have an impact on the way people play because they won’t lose time looking for information.” Moret said.
With nearly 49 million players connecting to the Ubisoft Club mobile app, Sam fills a need to help guide players quickly and efficiently to the information they’re trying to find. Moret believes that Sam will not be servicing a “niche crowd”, but will cut a much broader swathe through the community.
Ubi will be accessing and assessing the types of questions players are asking Sam so that they can expand its database of answers and suggestions.
One of the chuckle-worthy components of Sam is that it will provide weather in any one of Ubi’s library of games.
But much more than that, Sam will ensure that the resources players are directed towards are verified and that they will be useful:
“Everything we push, the videos for example, is something we’ve validated,” Moret explained. “When you look for walkthroughs on the internet, for example, you’ll find a lot but finding the right one takes time. We want to streamline that process, give direct access so you don’t have to wonder which is the best one. We’re just reducing the time to get the information. We know it exists, but plenty of people don’t know where it is. We are gamers, we’re used to that, we know how to navigate [that information]. Some people aren’t as familiar with those systems, so we give them a facilitator to give better access to that.
“We wanted to focus on verified information. That’s why it links to websites we know and videos we’ve checked, to be sure that what we show you makes sense and is relevant. That’s a challenge for [other] chatbots because they cover a wider spectrum of data. We really wanted to be focused, deeper – that’s why we’re also linked with your profile, so we can adapt the answer to be much more personalised.
It sounds pretty interesting. Do you see yourself ever using such a tool in your gaming life? Leave us your thoughts!
Kelley
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