Experimental analysis of spatial sound for storytelling in virtual reality

Abstract

Spatial sound is useful in enhancing immersion and presence of the user in a virtual world. The spatial audio design allows the game designer to place audio cues that appropriately match with the visual cues in a virtual game environment. These localized audio cues placed in a story based game environment also help to evoke an emotional response from the user and construct the narrative of the game by directing the user’s attention towards the guiding action events in the game. Our paper explores the usefulness of spatial sound for improving the performance and experience of a user in a virtual game environment. Additionally, with the help of the relevant subjective and objective inferences collected from a user study conducted on three different test cases, the paper also analyzes and establishes the potential of spatial sound as a powerful storytelling tool in a virtual game environment designed for Virtual Reality.