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Sound design has received little attention in location-based games research. Typically, existing prototypes heavily rely on visual information with sound only having a marginal role in the game design and development process. This paper investigates the role of sound as primary interface for conveying game information and creating engaging gaming experiences. As a case study, we present SoundPacman, a prototype location-based game, wherein players experience the game space with the use of 3D sounds, which augment the physical environment. Preliminary tests utilizing EEG analysis provide evidence that sound augmentation may significantly contribute towards enhancing the immersion levels of players.

an immersive first-person 3D computer game was designed and developed to investigate if the visual characteristics of a player's avatar influences their behavior. Two types of gender-matched biped avatar were used: Normal looking Humanoids and tougher looking Aliens. In the game, players had to block incoming projectiles fired from two canons with their hands. The number of times the players were hit as well as a measure of how hard they hit the projectiles was recorded. Results show differences in these measures dependent on the type of avatar used, in line with previous findings whereby people appear to be influenced by the perceived characteristics of their digital representation.

No abstract

Sound propagation in 3D spaces is governed by similar physical principles as light. As a result, sound rendering in a 3D virtual environment can benefit from methods developed for graphics rendering and vice versa. In this review, we provide an overview of methods used for sound rendering that share concepts and techniques with graphics rendering. Firstly we describe geometrical propagation techniques where the computations are based on ray theory similar to ray tracing techniques in computer graphics. Secondly, we review numerical techniques. These techniques, similar to the idea of radiosity, are based on the subdivision of the space into elements. Then we describe acceleration techniques that can be used in combination with other methods to speed up calculations. Lastly, for the sake of completeness, a quick overview is given of sound computation techniques that simulate specific sound effects that do not apply on illumination. The aim of this survey is to share knowledge among the two disciplines using familiar and known concepts.