Game client, game server, Web application server, and database server including database with data representative of a virtual world. Game client or server, or both, includes motifs, motif manager, character manager, scenes-a-faire manager, and display manager coupled to display, all in communication with game manager, and pseudorandomizer, which can instigate changing of a motif. Motifs are representative of a game character or environment. A user interface has mass sensor, accelerometer, haptic device, first device for visual input, output, or both, second device for audio input, output, or both, and tactile sensor, effector or both. Included may be automatic translator, or TTS/STT module. The online game can be virtual world representative of at least two of a northern continent, a western continent, a southern continent, a central continent, and an eastern continent. Methods provide game client, game server, and a database that manipulate character or environment motifs and scenes-a-faire.

Techniques for providing an immersive storytelling experience using a plurality of storytelling devices. Each of the storytelling devices may be configured to perform one or more actions based on a current context of a story and in response to a stimulus event. The actions include at least one of an auditory and a visual effect. Embodiments also provide a controller device configured to manage a playback of the story, by adjusting the stimulus event and the effect of each of the plurality of storytelling devices, based on the current context of the story, thereby creating an interactive and immersive storytelling experience.

An information processing method including generating virtual space data for defining a virtual space comprising a virtual camera and a sound source object. The virtual space includes first and second regions. The method further includes determining a visual field of the virtual camera in accordance with a detected movement of a first head mounted display (HMD). The method further includes generating visual-field image data based on the visual field of the virtual camera and the virtual space data. The method further includes instructing the first HMD to display a visual-field image based on the visual-field image data. The method further includes setting an attenuation coefficient for defining an attenuation amount of a sound propagating through the virtual space, wherein the attenuation coefficient is set based on a the visual field of the virtual camera. The method further includes processing the sound based on the attenuation coefficient.

Techniques for providing an immersive storytelling experience using a plurality of storytelling devices. Each of the storytelling devices may be configured to perform one or more actions based on a current context of a story and in response to a stimulus event. The actions include at least one of an auditory and a visual effect. Embodiments also provide a controller device configured to manage a playback of the story, by adjusting the stimulus event and the effect of each of the plurality of storytelling devices, based on the current context of the story, thereby creating an interactive and immersive storytelling experience.

A computer-based system maintains and provides a graphical authoring tool on a display device that enables a user to create a narrative storyline for uploading to a database system. The authoring tool operates to receive text content for a first passage of the narrative storyline, and text content for a second passage of the narrative storyline, establish a link from the first passage to the second passage, and assign user personality trait characteristics to the link. The trait characteristics influence personality trait profiles maintained by the database system for readers of the narrative storyline when the readers select the link to obtain the second passage. The authoring tool operates to upload the narrative storyline data from the computer-based system to the database system. The uploaded data includes the text content for the passages, the link, and the user personality trait characteristics assigned to the link.

An electronic book apparatus displays an event invitation icon along with contents of a book wherein the event invitation icon represents event data that includes a text file and/or a game data file that relates to contents of a specified part of the contents of the book. When a player selects the event invitation icon while reading the contents of the book, the apparatus presents the text as shown in the text file or executes a game from the game data file.

In one implementation, a portable device is provided, including: a sensor configured to generate sensor data for determining and tracking a position and orientation of the portable device during an interactive session of a virtual reality program presented on a main display, the interactive session being defined for interactivity between a user and the virtual reality program; a communications module configured to send the sensor data to a computing device, the communications module being further configured to receive from the computing device an ancillary video stream of the interactive session that is generated based on a state of the virtual reality program and the tracked position and orientation of the portable device.

An electronic book apparatus displays an event invitation icon along with the contents of a book wherein the event invitation icon represents an event data that includes text files and/or game data files that relate to the contents of a specified part of the contents of the book. When a player selects the event invitation icon while reading the contents of the book, the apparatus presents the text as shown in the text files or executes a game from the game data files.

Methods and apparatus provide for a game server carrying out actions, including: generating a selection screen that presents a plurality of reproduction data items, each for reproducing a state of a respective point in time during execution of a game and allowing a user of a game device to select one of the reproduction data items, each reproduction data item representing a respective state of the game achieved by the user while engaged in game play on the game device, the selection screen presenting a first reproduction data item, which is one of the plurality of reproduction data items, in association with a second reproduction data item, wherein the selection screen provides an indication to the user of whether the second reproduction data item reproduces a state of a point in time at which the game has progressed with reference to the state reproduced by the first reproduction data item; and transmitting the generated selection screen to the game device over a network such that the game device may display the received selection screen on a display device.

Game client, game server, Web application server, and database server including database with data representative of a virtual world. Game client or server, or both, includes motifs, motif manager, character manager, scenes-a-faire manager, and display manager coupled to display, all in communication with game manager, and pseudorandomizer, which can instigate changing of a motif. Motifs are representative of a game character or environment. A user interface has mass sensor, accelerometer, haptic device, first device for visual input, output, or both, second device for audio input, output, or both, and tactile sensor, effector or both. Included may be automatic translator, or TTS/STT module. The online game can be virtual world representative of at least two of a northern continent, a western continent, a southern continent, a central continent, and an eastern continent. Methods provide game client, game server, and a database that manipulate character or environment motifs and scenes-a-faire.