Patent ID: 7386799

Claim:
A method of displaying a user-specified conversation involving a plurality avatars in a simulation environment during a simulation in which each of a plurality of users participate, each of the users using a separate one of a plurality of processing systems on a network to control a separate one of the avatars, the method comprising: storing data defining a prop to facilitate the user-specified conversation between the avatars, the prop including a plurality of associated slots, in proximity to each other, at which an avatar can be placed to facilitate the conversation, and a plurality of viewpoints in proximity to the plurality of associated slots and defined relative to the prop, each of the viewpoints to provide a view during the simulation, at least one of the viewpoints to provide a view directed to one of the slots; and placing the prop in the simulation environment during the simulation; placing each of the plurality of avatars in a separate one of the slots in the prop during the simulation; generating a view of a first avatar controlled by a first user from a first viewpoint of the plurality of viewpoints during the simulation; and automatically changing the view from the first viewpoint to a second viewpoint of the plurality of viewpoints, in response to a user-initiated action of a second avatar controlled by a second user, where the second viewpoint differs from the first viewpoint in field of view or distance to subject or both, such as to give the second viewpoint a different zoom from the first viewpoint, to emphasize an element of non-verbal avatar communication.