Systems and methods to provide interactive virtual environments
An interactive virtual world having virtual display devices and avatars. Scenes in the virtual world as seen by the eyes of the avatars are presented on the user devices controlling the avatars. Media contents are played in the virtual display devices presented on the user devices, as if the media contents were virtually played in the virtual world and observed by the avatars. Real time communication channels are provided among the user devices to facilitate voice communications during the sharing of the experiences of viewing the media content in a close proximity setting in the virtual world using user devices that are remote to each other in real world.
1. A method, comprising: presenting, by a computing device, a virtual world having:
a virtual display device; and an avatar in vicinity of the virtual display device in the virtual world;
adjusting, by the computing device, a location of the avatar and an orientation of the avatar based on input received in a user device, wherein the location of the avatar changes as the avatar associated with the user device moves through the virtual world;
capturing, by the computing device, a scene of the virtual world as seen by the avatar from a field of view of the avatar determined according to the location of the avatar and the orientation of the avatar, wherein the scene includes at least a portion of the virtual display device located in the virtual world;
communicating, by the computing device to the user device, the scene captured from the virtual world; and
causing the user device to display the scene with a video content that is associated with the virtual display device, wherein the video content is presented on the user device in the scene within the portion of the virtual display device.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the video content is presented within the scene in a way corresponding to playing back the video content in the virtual world in the virtual display.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
transmitting a video stream to the user device, the video stream includes the video content overlaid on the portion of the virtual display device.
4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
streaming the video content to the user device, wherein the user device overlays the video content on the portion of the virtual display device.
5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
clipping the video content according to a size of the portion of the virtual display device visible in the scene; and
transforming the video content according to an orientation of the virtual display device in the scene.
6. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
generating an audio stream from one or more audio sources in the virtual world based on distances from the one or more audio sources to ears of the avatar.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the audio stream includes a stereo stream of audio corresponding sounds from the one or more audio sources in the virtual world being heard at the ears of the avatar.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the avatar is a first avatar; the user device is a first user device; and the method further comprises:
presenting, by the computing device, a second avatar in the virtual world, the second avatar associated with a second user device;
receiving, in the computing device, an invitation from the first user device, the invitation identifying the second avatar;
communicating, by the computing device to the second device, the invitation;
receiving, in the computing device from the second device, an acceptance to the invitation; and
teleporting, by the computing device, the second avatar to vicinity of the first avatar in response to the acceptance.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising, after the teleporting of the second avatar,
adjusting, by the computing device, a location of the second avatar and an orientation of the second avatar based on input received in the second user device;
capturing, by the computing device, a second scene of the virtual world as seen by the second avatar from a second field of view of the second avatar according to the location of the second avatar and the orientation of the second avatar, wherein the second scene includes at least a second portion of the virtual display device located in the virtual world; and
communicating, by the computing device to the second user device, the second scene captured from the virtual world;
causing the second user device to display the second scene with the video content within the second portion of the virtual display device in the second scene, wherein playback of the video content in the second scene is synchronized with playback of the video content in the first scene.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, after the teleporting of the second avatar:
establishing, via the computing device, a real time communication channel between the first user device and the second user device.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the real time communication channel is configured to facilitate voice communications between a user of the first user device and a user of the second user device.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the establishing of the real time communication channel is in response to a request from one of: the first user device and the second user device.
13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
generating an audio stream from one or more audio sources in the virtual world based on distances from the one or more audio sources to ears of the first avatar; and
mixing the voice communications into the audio stream in providing the audio stream to the first user device.
14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
receiving, by the computing device from the second user device, voice input in a first language;
translating, by the computing device, the voice input into a voice communication in a second language; and
generating an audio stream from audio sources in the virtual world based on distances from the audio sources to ears of the first avatar, using audio data from the audio sources, including audio associated with the virtual display device and the voice communication in the second language from the second avatar as heard in the ears of the first avatar.
15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, in the computing device, an image of a user of the user device captured by a camera of the user device;
presenting, by the computing device, the avatar to second avatars associated with second user devices using the image.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user device is in communication with a sensor of a movement of a hand of a user of the user device; and the location of the avatar is adjusted based on the movement of the hand of the user.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the sensor is mounted on the hand of the user and configured to determine a relative motion between the hand and a display device of the user device.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the user device is in communication with a second sensor configured to detect at least one of: head movements and eye movements; and the orientation of the avatar is adjusted based on input from the second sensor.
19. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a server computing device, cause the server computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:
presenting, by the computing device, a virtual world having:
a virtual display device; and
an avatar in vicinity of the virtual display device in the virtual world;
adjusting, by the computing device, a location of the avatar and an orientation of the avatar based on input received in a user device, wherein the location of the avatar changes as the avatar associated with the user device moves through the virtual world;
capturing, by the computing device, a scene of the virtual world as seen by the avatar from field of view of the avatar determined according to the location of the avatar and the orientation of the avatar, wherein the scene includes at least a portion of the virtual display device located in the virtual world;
communicating, by the computing device to the user device, the scene captured from the virtual world; and
causing the user device to display the scene with a video content that is associated with the virtual display device, wherein the video content is presented on the user device in the scene within the portion of the virtual display device.
20. A server computing device, comprising:
at least one microprocessor; and
memory coupled to the at least one microprocessor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one microprocessor, cause the computing device to:
present a virtual world having:
a virtual display device; and
an avatar in vicinity of the virtual display device in the virtual world;
adjust a location of the avatar and an orientation of the avatar based on input received in a user device, wherein the location of the avatar changes as the avatar associated with the user device moves through the virtual world;
capture a scene of the virtual world as seen by the avatar from a field of view of the avatar determined according to the location of the avatar and the orientation of the avatar, wherein the scene includes at least a portion of the virtual display device located in the virtual world; and
communicate, to the user device, the scene captured from the virtual world; and
cause the user device to display the scene with a video content that is associated with the virtual display device, wherein the video content is presented on the user device in the scene within the portion of the virtual display device.