A first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus communicate with one another. The first information processing apparatus has a first communication device and the second information processing apparatus has a second communication device. The first information processing apparatus displays combined state information of the first and second information processing apparatuses on a first display device, such that the combined state information of the first and second information processing apparatuses is superimposed with surroundings information on the first display device. The second information processing apparatus displays the combined state information of the first and second information processing apparatuses on a second display device.

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an audio control apparatus having a game audio port for receiving a gaming audio signal generated by a gaming application, a chat port for receiving a chat signal comprising audio information generated by at least one gamer, and an audio system coupled to the game audio port and the chat port. The audio system can be operable to detect an energy level in the chat signal that exceeds a threshold, reduce a magnitude of the gaming audio signal to a desired audio energy level responsive to the aforementioned detection, generate a mixed audio signal comprising a combination of the gaming audio signal having the reduced magnitude and the chat signal, and transmit the mixed audio signal to a listening apparatus. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

A first information processing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus communicate with one another. The first information processing apparatus has a first communication device and the second information processing apparatus has a second communication device. The first information processing apparatus displays combined state information of the first and second information processing apparatuses on a first display device, such that the combined state information of the first and second information processing apparatuses is superimposed with surroundings information on the first display device. The second information processing apparatus displays the combined state information of the first and second information processing apparatuses on a second display device.

Systems and methods presented herein include ride vehicles configured to locally store player state caches. For example, ride vehicles may include an on-board ride and game control sub-system configured to control local features of a ride and game control system associated with an amusement park ride system (e.g., that occur locally on the ride vehicles), to locally cache player state data for riders of the ride vehicles during ride cycles of the ride vehicles, and to synchronize the locally-cached player state data with global player state data maintained by an off-board ride and game control sub-system after the ride cycles of the ride vehicles.

Systems and methods of multi-participant interactive experiences are disclosed. Participants located location can interact with one another and share gaming, educational and other experiences. The system includes a coordination node to coordinate experiences between participants and one or more of interactive nodes. At each interactive node there is a main display that shows shared information to each of the participants and to other viewers. Each of the participants also uses a personal controller such as a smart phone which has a personal display. Information that is specific to the participant can be displayed on the personal controller.

Systems and methods of multi-participant interactive experiences are disclosed. Participants located location can interact with one another and share gaming, educational and other experiences. The system includes a coordination node to coordinate experiences between participants and one or more of interactive nodes. At each interactive node there is a main display that shows shared information to each of the participants and to other viewers. Each of the participants also uses a personal controller such as a smart phone which has a personal display. Information that is specific to the participant can be displayed on the personal controller.

An application can be executed for multiple peers using a peer-to-peer network structure. State data for the peers can be compared to provide for authority on the session even though there is no dedicated authority component. Such an approach can help to maintain consistency across the distributed network, as well as to minimize the occurrence of cheating or manipulation of the data on the session. A set of state variables is selected, and peers use their local values for those variables to generate hashes to be sent to the other peers. The hash values are compared and any variations addressed accordingly. For any outlier peers that report different hash values, their state values can be adjusted to attempt to bring those outliers back in sync with the other peers. This can involve updating or rolling back specific parameter values for the outlier or all peers.

A virtual reality (VR) system has a server coupled to a data repository and having a processor executing software, a VR game stored in the data repository; and a first network-connected appliance having a display screen, in communication with the network-connected server over the network. The server interacts with the first appliance enabling a user to play a VR game, and prepares a data stream based on the interaction to be streamed to a second computerized appliance, enabling a user of the second computerized appliance to view the activity of a virtual object of the user of the first network-connected computerized appliance as a passive observer from the viewpoint of the avatar, having no control input.

A media center may include an interface to receive video game information including first and second tags from a communication link. The media center may also include a module to separate the video game information based on the first and second tags. A first modulator may modulate first video game information corresponding to the first tag at a first frequency on a media communication link, and a second modulator may modulate second video game information corresponding to the second tag at a second frequency on the media communication link.

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an audio control apparatus having a game audio port for receiving a gaming audio signal generated by a gaming application, a chat port for receiving a chat signal comprising audio information generated by at least one gamer, and an audio system coupled to the game audio port and the chat port. The audio system can be operable to detect an energy level in the chat signal that exceeds a threshold, reduce a magnitude of the gaming audio signal to a desired audio energy level responsive to the aforementioned detection, generate a mixed audio signal comprising a combination of the gaming audio signal having the reduced magnitude and the chat signal, and transmit the mixed audio signal to a listening apparatus. Additional embodiments are disclosed.