Abstract: According to other aspects, a real-time system may be provided that is capable of scaling to hundreds of thousands of real-time clients (or more) to conduct a single-program instance in an interactive manner that combines video elements with interactive program elements. To provide such capabilities, a system and client software is provided that allows real-time distribution of video, and scripted rendering of interactive elements in relation to the video. Such systems may include, for example, cluster-based systems that are capable of scaling horizontally based on the number of clients involved in a particular program instance.