Distributed display functionality on multiple mobile devices

A computer-implemented method comprising:

• receiving, by a configured computing system of a distributed functionality provider server system, information about a defined group of multiple mobile devices in use by multiple users and about a game application to be played by the multiple users together in a distributed manner on the multiple mobile devices, wherein each of the multiple mobile devices has an associated user that is one of the multiple users and has a display screen for displaying information to the associated user, wherein the multiple mobile devices are inter-connected via one or more wireless connections, and wherein two or more of the multiple mobile devices each has capabilities to participate in an additional connection to the configured computing system;
• determining, by the configured computing system, a current state of an interactive GUI (“graphical user interface”) of the game application to be simultaneously displayed in a distributed manner on the display screens of the multiple mobile devices, the determining including selecting a distinct subset of the interactive GUI for each of the multiple mobile devices;
• selecting, by the configured computing system, one of the two or more mobile devices to act as a host device for the group to manage communications between the configured computing system and the multiple mobile devices of the group, the selecting being based at least in part on the capabilities of the selected one mobile device to participate in the additional connection;
• and
• exchanging, by the configured computing system, multiple communications with the multiple mobile devices of the group via the selected one mobile device, the exchanging of the multiple communications including sending one or more communications to the selected one mobile device that include specified information to be forwarded to other mobile devices of the group, the specified information including, for each of the other mobile devices of the group, information to cause the mobile device to display the selected distinct subset of the interactive GUI for that mobile device on the display screen for that mobile device, so that the multiple users each receive displayed information for the application that is different from information for the application displayed to other of the multiple users, and wherein a combination of the selected distinct subsets displayed on the multiple mobile devices includes all of the current state of the interactive GUI.

A system comprising:

• one or more processors of a computing device;
• and
• one or more modules that are configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, manage interactions for a group that includes multiple mobile devices by:
• receiving information about an application to be executed for multiple users in a distributed manner for the group, wherein each of the multiple mobile devices has an associated user that is one of the multiple users and has a display screen for displaying information to the associated user;
• determining to act as a host device for the group to manage execution of the application for the group;
• determining information for a graphical user interface (“GUI”) of the application to be displayed in a distributed manner on the display screens of the multiple mobile devices, the determining including selecting a distinct subset of the GUI for each of the multiple mobile devices;
• and
• providing, based on the determining to act as the host device, the determined information for the GUI to the multiple mobile devices in a manner to cause each of the multiple mobile devices to display the selected subset of the GUI for that mobile device on the display screen of that mobile device, so that the multiple users each receives displayed information for the application that is different from information for the application displayed to other of the multiple users.