Peripheral information and digital tells in electronic games

Abstract

An indication of actions by participants taking part in an interactive environment that can represent peripheral information or tells (i.e., not essential to participating in the environment) are communicated to computing devices used by other participants in the interactive environment. Each such action or behavior being monitored is associated with a corresponding indicator. After one of the additional behaviors is detected, the corresponding indicator can be presented to another participant by a computing device used by the other participant. Thus, the other participant may perceive, and respond to the peripheral behavior. For example, if the interactive environment is a card game, a player's act in reordering cards that are held, counting chips, moving the input device in a spurious manner, and other such behaviors are indicated to other players. Receiving indicators of these behaviors enables other players to respond to these behaviors, making the interactive environment more like playing face-to-face.