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Physical responses (arousal) to audio in games

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The Computer Games Journal

Abstract

This study investigates the role that audio plays in the video gaming experience. Two groups of participants played three games (of different styles). One group played the games with the audio switched on; the other group played the games with the audio switched off. A bioharness was used to measure the heartbeat and respiration rates of the participants as they played the game. The results showed that for all three games, the heartbeat and respiration rates of the participants in the group (playing the games with the audio switched on) were higher than the heartbeat and respiration rates of participants in the other group. This suggests that audio effects in video games provide a measurable enhancement of the game-playing experience.

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Further Reading

  • Scheumie, M., van der Straaten, P., Krijn, M., & van der Mast, C. (2001). Research on Presence in Virtual Reality: A Survey. Cyberpsychology and Behaviour. 4(2) pp.183–201.

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  • Serafin, S., & Serafin, G. (2004). Sound Design to Enhance Presence in Photorealistic Virtual Reality. In: Proceedings of ICAD 04–Tenth Meeting of the International Conference on Auditory Display. Sydney, Australia, July 6–9, 2004, [poster] http://www.icad.org/websiteV2.0/Conferences/ICAD2004/posters/serafin_serafin.pdf [accessed 12 September 2013]

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  • Steuer, J. (1992) Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions Determining Telepresence. Journal of Communication. 4(2) pp.73–93.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Euphonious Ltd, Dundee, UK

    Raymond Usher

  2. Institute of the Arts, Media and Computer Games, The University of Abertay Dundee, Kydd Building, Dundee, UK

    Paul Robertson & Robin Sloan

Authors
  1. Raymond Usher
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  2. Paul Robertson
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  3. Robin Sloan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raymond Usher.

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Cite this article

Usher, R., Robertson, P. & Sloan, R. Physical responses (arousal) to audio in games. Comput Game J 2, 5–13 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392340

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392340

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