Using a portable device to interact with a virtual space

A method, comprising:

• executing, by a computing device, an interactive session of a virtual reality program presented on a main display, the interactive session being defined for interactivity between a user and the virtual reality program;
• processing, by the computing device, sensor data received from a portable device to determine and track a position and orientation of the portable device;
• generating, by the computing device, an ancillary video stream of the interactive session based on a state of the virtual reality program and the tracked position and orientation of the portable device, the state of the virtual reality program being determined based on the interactivity between the user and the virtual reality program;
• sending the ancillary video stream from the computing device to the portable device for rendering on a display of the portable device;
• wherein a first virtual viewpoint into a virtual space is presented on the main display by the virtual reality program, the main display provides a direct view into the virtual space depicted from a perspective of the first virtual viewpoint, wherein a second virtual viewpoint is viewed via the portable device based on a location of the portable device, the portable device provides a side view into the virtual space depicted from a perspective of the second virtual viewpoint that exposes a separation between objects in a foreground and objects in a background of the direct view, the perspective of the second virtual viewpoint providing a different vantage point of the virtual space than the perspective of the first virtual viewpoint;
• and
• wherein the ancillary video stream includes images of the virtual space captured from the perspective of the second virtual viewpoint;
• wherein the ancillary video stream is generated based on the position and orientation of the portable device relative to a tracked position of the user during the interactive session;
• wherein the position and orientation of the portable device relative to the position of the user define the position and orientation of the second virtual viewpoint within the virtual space defined by the virtual reality program.

A system, comprising:

• a computing device, the computing device configured to execute an interactive session of a video game, to generate a primary video stream presented on a main display, a state of the interactive session being determined based on interactivity with a first user that views the main display;
• a portable device, including, a sensor configured to generate sensor data, a communications module configured to send the sensor data to the computing device, and a display;
• wherein the computing device is configured to process the sensor data to determine and track a position and orientation of the portable device;
• wherein the computing device is configured to generate an ancillary video stream of the interactive session based on the state of the interactive session and the tracked position and orientation of the portable device, the ancillary video stream being presented on the portable device for viewing by a second user;
• wherein the primary video stream presented on the main display provides a direct view into the virtual space depicted from a perspective of a first virtual viewpoint;
• wherein the ancillary video stream presented on the portable device provides a side view into the virtual space depicted from a perspective of a second virtual viewpoint that exposes a separation between objects in a foreground and objects in a background of the direct view;
• wherein the perspective of the second virtual viewpoint being different than the perspective of the first virtual viewpoint, so that the primary video stream and the ancillary video stream provide viewing of the virtual space from different vantage points, wherein the ancillary video stream is generated based on the position and orientation of the portable device relative to a tracked position of the first user during the interactive session;
• wherein the position and orientation of the portable device relative to the position of the first user define the position and orientation of the second virtual viewpoint within the virtual space defined by the virtual reality program.