Single finger user interface camera control

1. A method comprising:

presenting, on a two dimensional touchscreen display of a computing device, a camera view into a three dimensional environment;

receiving input indicating a single touch by a user on the two dimensional touchscreen display of the computing device, the single touch by the user comprising a slide across the two dimensional touchscreen display; and

updating, in response to the input, the camera view into the three dimensional environment presented on the two dimensional touchscreen display of the computing device, wherein the updating comprising

rotating the camera view in accordance with a first direction of the input across the two dimensional touchscreen display, and

changing a distance of the camera view in accordance with a second direction of the input across the two dimensional touchscreen display.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a current anchoring point, with respect to which the distance of the camera view is changed in response to the input, is selected from a series of anchoring points in the three dimensional environment, and the method comprises receiving additional input from the user to toggle through or select which of the series of anchoring points to use as the current anchoring point.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the series of anchoring points are defined by the user through a user interface.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the series of anchoring points are defined by an application providing the three dimensional environment.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the updating comprises changing a height and a pitch of the camera view in accordance with the second direction of the input across the two dimensional touchscreen display.

6. A system comprising:

a two dimensional touchscreen display;

one or more processors coupled with the two dimensional touchscreen display; and

one or more memory devices encoding instructions that, when run by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to

present a camera view into a three dimensional environment shown on the two dimensional touchscreen display,

receive input indicating a single touch by a user on the two dimensional touchscreen display, the single touch by the user comprising a slide across the two dimensional touchscreen display, and

update, in response to the input, the camera view into the three dimensional environment presented on the two dimensional touchscreen display of the computing device, wherein the update comprises rotating the camera view in accordance with a first direction of the input across the two dimensional touchscreen display, and changing a distance of the camera view in accordance with a second direction of the input across the two dimensional touchscreen display.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein a current anchoring point, with respect to which the distance of the camera view is changed in response to the input, is selected from a series of anchoring points in the three dimensional environment, and the instructions, when run by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to receive additional input from the user to toggle through or select which of the series of anchoring points to use as the current anchoring point.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the series of anchoring points are defined by the user through a user interface.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the series of anchoring points are defined by an application providing the three dimensional environment.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the update uses a first anchoring point for rotating the camera view and a second anchoring point for changing the distance of the camera view, and the second anchoring point is separately changeable from the first anchoring point.

11. The system of claim 6 , wherein the update comprises changing a height and a pitch of the camera view in accordance with the second direction of the input across the two dimensional touchscreen display.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein changing the distance, the height and the pitch of the camera view comprises changing the camera view in accordance with a function defined based on the three dimensional environment.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the three dimensional environment represents a golf game comprising different holes, and the function is defined in accordance with an overall size and shape of a current one of the different holes being played in the golf game.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the function is defined as a spline that curves around an obstacle in the three dimensional environment.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the function is defined to adjust an amount of the pitch of the camera view based on one or more objects of interest in the three dimensional environment.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the update comprises changing a yaw angle of the camera view, with respect to a location of interest in the three dimensional environment, in accordance with the second direction of the input across the two dimensional touchscreen display.

17. The system of claim 6 , wherein the update comprises moving a targeted location, used for at least the rotating, toward a predefined location in the three dimensional environment at least when changing the distance of the camera view results in increasing the distance.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein moving the targeted location is done when rotating the camera view.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the instructions, when run by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to modify the targeted location in response to additional user input.

20. The system of claim 17 , wherein the instructions, when run by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to modify when and how the targeted location is moved in response to additional user input.