ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE AND METHOD

1 . An entertainment device comprising:

a display generator arranged to generate for display a representation of an on-line virtual environment, and to generate for display within the representation of the on-line virtual environment an avatar controlled by a user of the entertainment device and one or more avatars corresponding to users of one or more remote entertainment devices, the avatars being animated in response to a replayed music track;

a receiver operable to receive from an administrator of the online virtual environment an indicator of a music track currently selected for use in the virtual environment, and operable to receive from the administrator a music event signal;

music data storage operable to store a local copy of one or more music tracks; and

a processor operable to initiate playback of the selected music track from a locally stored copy in response to an initial placement of the user's avatar within the online virtual environment, and operable to detect breakpoints in the currently played music track;

in which:

the processor is operable to select the next breakpoint in the currently played music track following reception of a music event signal, and to substitute the currently played music track at the selected breakpoint with a shorter piece of music of a predetermined length that is shorter than that portion of the currently played music track that it replaces which remains unplayed at the time of the substitution.

2 . An entertainment device according to claim 1 , in which, following substitution of a music track with a shorter piece of music, the processor is operable to do one selected from the list consisting of:

i. play a different music track upon completion of the shorter piece of music;

ii. play the music track previously replaced by the shorter piece of music upon completion of the shorter piece of music, beginning playback from a predetermined breakpoint other than the start of the music track;

iii. play a music track upon receipt of a commencement signal from the administrator of the online virtual environment after completion of the shorter piece of music; and

iv. not play a music track upon completion of the shorter piece of music.

3 . An entertainment device according to claim 1 , in which the virtual environment comprises a virtual dance floor.

4 . An entertainment device according to claim 3 , in which:

the receiver is operable to receive, from the administrator and/or the one or more remote entertainment devices, dance style information for one or more avatars corresponding to users of the one or more remote entertainment devices;

the processor is operable to initiate dance animations for one or more avatars corresponding to respective received dance style information, and to initiate a dance animation for the user's avatar responsive to a dance style selection made by the user;

and wherein each dance animation and each selected music track are arranged to all share the same tempo, so that each dancing avatar can appear to dance in time to the beat irrespective of the selected music track or dance style.

5 . An entertainment device according to claim 3 , in which:

the processor and display generator are operable to incorporate lighting effects in the virtual dance floor of the virtual environment corresponding to a respective dance style, the lighting effects being positioned in accordance with one or more selected from the list consisting of:

i. the location of an avatar dancing with the respective dance style;

ii. the combined locations of two or more avatars dancing with the respective dance style and located within a threshold distance of each other; and

iii. substantially over the whole dance floor if a threshold number or proportion of avatars dance with the respective dance style.

6 . An entertainment device according to claim 1 , in which the processor is operable to select, as a shorter piece of music to be substituted for a currently played track, a shorter piece of music of the same musical style as that of the currently played track.

7 . A server arranged to administer a virtual environment, to which a plurality of remote entertainment devices may connect, wherein each remote entertainment device is represented within the virtual environment by an avatar, the server comprising:

a transmitter operable:

(a) to transmit to each remote entertainment device an indicator of a music track currently selected for replay in the virtual environment; and

(b) to transmit a music event signal to instruct the remote entertainment devices to substitute music currently played by each of the remote entertainment devices with a shorter piece of music of a predetermined length that is shorter than that portion of the music track that it replaces which remains unplayed at the time of the substitution.

8 . A server according to claim 7 , in which the virtual environment comprises a dance floor.

9 . A server according to claim 7 , comprising:

a receiver operable to receive from respective remote entertainment devices dance style information for their corresponding avatars; and

a processor operable to evaluate the number of avatars dancing each of a number of available dance styles, operable to select a dominant dance style based upon the evaluation, and operable to select a next music track responsive to the dominant dance style;

and wherein

the processor is arranged to detect whether the dominant dance style changes between successive evaluations, and if so to cause the transmitter to transmit a music event signal that indicates a change of music style.

10 . A server according to claim 9 , in which the server is arranged to retain the current music selection for a predetermined minimum period irrespective of the current dominant dance style.

11 . A server according to claim 7 , comprising:

a receiver operable to receive from respective remote entertainment devices avatar gesture information for their corresponding avatars; and

a processor operable to count the number of avatars adopting each of a number of available positive or negative gestures, operable to evaluate a positive or negative vote based upon the count, and operable to modify a property of the virtual environment in response to the outcome of the vote.

12 . A server according to claim 11 , in which the on-line environment facilitates voice communication between users, and the modified property of the virtual environment is associated with the avatar corresponding to a user who was performing using the voice transmission facility.

13 . A method of administering an online virtual environment for an entertainment device, wherein the virtual environment is operable to host a plurality of users each connecting to the online virtual environment using a respective entertainment device, and where each user is represented in the virtual environment by an avatar, and for each respective entertainment device the method comprises the steps of:

receiving from an administrator of the online virtual environment an indicator of the music currently being played;

initiating playback of the music from a locally stored copy in response to an initial placement of the avatar of the respective user within the online virtual environment;

detecting breakpoints in the currently played music;

receiving from the administrator of the online virtual environment a music event signal;

and in response to receiving the music event signal,

selecting the next detected breakpoint in the currently played music,

and substituting the currently played music at the selected breakpoint with a shorter piece of music of a predetermined length that is shorter than that portion of the currently played music that it replaces which remains unplayed at the time of the substitution.

14 . A method according to claim 13 , in which the step of substitution comprises one selected from the list consisting of:

i. playing different music upon completion of the shorter piece of music;

ii. playing the music previously replaced by the shorter piece of music upon completion of the shorter piece of music, beginning playback from a predetermined breakpoint other than the start of the music;

iii. play a music track upon receipt of a commencement signal from the administrator of the online virtual environment after completion of the shorter piece of music; and

iv. not playing music upon completion of the shorter piece of music.

15 . A method according to claim 13 , in which the virtual environment comprises a virtual dance floor.

16 . A method according to claim 15 , comprising the step of:

incorporating lighting effects in the virtual dance floor of the virtual environment corresponding to a respective dance style, the lighting effects being positioned in accordance with one or more selected from the list consisting of:

i. the location of an avatar dancing with the respective dance style;

ii. the combined locations of two or more avatars dancing with the respective dance style and located within a threshold distance of each other; and

iii. substantially over the whole dance floor if a threshold number or proportion of avatars dance with the respective dance style.

17 . A method of administering an online virtual environment for a server, wherein the online virtual environment is operable to host a plurality of users each connecting to the online virtual environment using a respective entertainment device, and where each user is represented in the virtual environment by an avatar, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving from respective remote entertainment devices dance style information for their corresponding avatars;

evaluating the number of avatars dancing each of a number of available dance styles;

selecting a dominant dance style based upon the evaluation;

detecting whether the dominant dance style changes between successive evaluations;

selecting music responsive to the dominant dance style; and

transmitting a music event signal to the remote entertainment devices to substitute the music currently played by each of the remote entertainment devices with a shorter piece of music of a predetermined length that is shorter than that portion of the music that it replaces which remains unplayed at the time of substitution, and then to subsequently play a piece of music responsive to the dominant dance style.

18 . A method according to claim 17 , comprising the steps of:

receiving from respective remote entertainment devices avatar gesture information for their corresponding avatars;

counting the number of avatars adopting each of a number of available positive or negative gestures;

evaluating a positive or negative vote based upon the count; and

modifying a property of the virtual environment in response to the outcome of the vote.

19 . A tangible, non-transitory computer program product on which computer readable instructions of a computer program are stored, the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of administering an online virtual environment for an entertainment device according to claim 13 .

20 . A tangible, non-transitory computer program product on which computer readable instructions of a computer program are stored, the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of administering an online virtual environment for a server according to claim 17 .