A comparison of player performance in a gamified localisation task between spatial loudspeaker systems

Joseph David Rees-Jones; Damian Thomas Murphy

A comparison of player performance in a gamified localisation task between spatial loudspeaker systems

Joseph David Rees-Jones, Damian Thomas Murphy

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Abstract

This paper presents an experiment comparing player performance
in a gamified localisation task between three loudspeaker configurations:
stereo, 7.1 surround-sound and an equidistantly spaced
octagonal array. The test was designed as a step towards determining
whether spatialised game audio can improve player performance
in a video game, thus influencing their overall experience.
The game required players to find as many sound sources as possible,
by using only sonic cues, in a 3D virtual game environment.
Results suggest that the task was significantly easier when listening
over a 7.1 surround-sound system, based on feedback from 24
participants. 7.1 was also the most preferred of the three listening
conditions. The result was not entirely expected in that the octagonal
array did not outperform 7.1. It is thought that, for the given
stimuli, this may be a repercussion due to the octagonal array sacrificing
an optimal front stereo pair, for more consistent imaging
all around the listening space.

Original language	English
Pages	329-336
Number of pages	8
Publication status	Published - 7 Sept 2017
Event	20th Int. Conf. on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx17) - Edinburgh, United Kingdom Duration: 5 Sept 2017 → 9 Sept 2017 http://www.dafx17.eca.ed.ac.uk/

Conference

Conference	20th Int. Conf. on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx17)
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Edinburgh
Period	5/09/17 → 9/09/17
Internet address	http://www.dafx17.eca.ed.ac.uk/

Keywords

game audio
spatial sound
Audio Engineering

Access to Document

http://www.dafx17.eca.ed.ac.uk/papers/DAFx17_paper_34.pdfLicence: Unspecified

Cite this

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title = "A comparison of player performance in a gamified localisation task between spatial loudspeaker systems",

abstract = "This paper presents an experiment comparing player performancein a gamified localisation task between three loudspeaker configurations:stereo, 7.1 surround-sound and an equidistantly spacedoctagonal array. The test was designed as a step towards determiningwhether spatialised game audio can improve player performancein a video game, thus influencing their overall experience.The game required players to find as many sound sources as possible,by using only sonic cues, in a 3D virtual game environment.Results suggest that the task was significantly easier when listeningover a 7.1 surround-sound system, based on feedback from 24participants. 7.1 was also the most preferred of the three listeningconditions. The result was not entirely expected in that the octagonalarray did not outperform 7.1. It is thought that, for the givenstimuli, this may be a repercussion due to the octagonal array sacrificingan optimal front stereo pair, for more consistent imagingall around the listening space.",

keywords = "game audio, spatial sound, Audio Engineering",

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N2 - This paper presents an experiment comparing player performancein a gamified localisation task between three loudspeaker configurations:stereo, 7.1 surround-sound and an equidistantly spacedoctagonal array. The test was designed as a step towards determiningwhether spatialised game audio can improve player performancein a video game, thus influencing their overall experience.The game required players to find as many sound sources as possible,by using only sonic cues, in a 3D virtual game environment.Results suggest that the task was significantly easier when listeningover a 7.1 surround-sound system, based on feedback from 24participants. 7.1 was also the most preferred of the three listeningconditions. The result was not entirely expected in that the octagonalarray did not outperform 7.1. It is thought that, for the givenstimuli, this may be a repercussion due to the octagonal array sacrificingan optimal front stereo pair, for more consistent imagingall around the listening space.

AB - This paper presents an experiment comparing player performancein a gamified localisation task between three loudspeaker configurations:stereo, 7.1 surround-sound and an equidistantly spacedoctagonal array. The test was designed as a step towards determiningwhether spatialised game audio can improve player performancein a video game, thus influencing their overall experience.The game required players to find as many sound sources as possible,by using only sonic cues, in a 3D virtual game environment.Results suggest that the task was significantly easier when listeningover a 7.1 surround-sound system, based on feedback from 24participants. 7.1 was also the most preferred of the three listeningconditions. The result was not entirely expected in that the octagonalarray did not outperform 7.1. It is thought that, for the givenstimuli, this may be a repercussion due to the octagonal array sacrificingan optimal front stereo pair, for more consistent imagingall around the listening space.

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