Beyond the Screen What we can Learn about Game Design from Audio-Based Games

DOI: 10.5176/2251-1679_CGAT06

Authors: Karen Collins and Bill Kapralos

Abstract:

Sound plays a vital role in the communication of information in computer applications and entertainment. In video games, sound has many important functions, from communicating important information to the player to helping emotionally invest the player in a narrative. Despite its importance, sound has typically played a lesser role in interactive media, where emphasis has been placed on the visual scene and the generation of realistic graphics. Audio-based interactions in games have recently been explored as an alternative to visual-based media, and can offer us many insights into ways to better implement sound in audio-visual media. Here we provide a survey of existing audio-based games with a special focus on Beowulf and Papa Sangre. In the process of doing so, we describe approaches to changing the ocularcentrism of games in favour of a more balanced presentation of audio-visual information.

Keywords: sound; audiogames; games; design; Papa Sangre