Browsing by Author "Roque, Licinio"
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- Dynamic enhancement of videogame soundscapesPublication . Pires, Durval; Alves, Valter; Roque, LicinioA game soundscape often includes sounds that are triggered by the game logic according to the player’s actions and to other real time occurrences. The dynamic nature of such triggering events leads to a composition that is not necessarily interesting, at a given moment. We propose a system aiming at the enhancement of the soundscape generated during gameplay. The main component of the system is a module that implements heuristics, which we set to follow principles from Acoustic Ecology and, specifically, the notion of healthy soundscape. In order to inform the heuristics, designers can characterize the sounds being handled by the sound engine, using an API that aims to be accessible and informative about the designer’s intentions. We also present reflections on an essay where a game was remade using the proposed system, which helped us to support the feasibility of the proposed system.
- Guidelines for sound design in computer gamesPublication . Alves, Valter; Roque, LicinioThe inconsequential exploitation of sound in most computer games, both in extent and nature, contrasts with its prominence in our daily lives and with the kind of associations that have been explored in domains such as music and cinema. Sound design remains the craft of a talented minority and the unavailability of a public body of knowledge on the subject has greatly contributed to this state of affairs. This leads to a mix of alienation and best-judgment improvisation in the broader development community. A sensitivity to the potential of sound for the enrichment of the experience—with emphasis on game specifics—is, therefore, necessary. This study presents a contribution to the practice of sound design for computer games. An approach to intentional sound design, informed by multi-disciplinary interpretations of concepts including emotion, context, acoustic ecology, soundscape, resonance, and entrainment, is distilled into a set of design guidelines that holistically address the different sound layers.
- Proceedings of the 6th Audio Mostly Conference: A Conference on Interaction with SoundPublication . Roque, Licinio; Alves, ValterThe Audio Mostly Conference has since its start in 2006 become a venue for researchers, technicians and artists exploring audio in interactive and other computer-based environments. The conference themes varied over the years, from the first focus on "Sound in Games" over to "Interaction with Sound", "Sound and Motion", "Sound and Emotion", "Sound and Design", to this year's (2011) theme "Sound and Context". Through its editions, the Audio Mostly Conference series fostered the thoughtfulness for the unexploited potential of audio in computer-based environments and across many contexts. It aimed to help open up this area of thinking by bringing together game designers, audio experts, content creators, and technology and behavioural researchers. Through this forum, varied experts can discuss developments and new potentials for audio in many areas such as entertainment, health and fitness, education, industrial training, serious gaming, etc. This is also a venue to present sonic solutions to development and design challenges in low resolution scenarios or environments where screens are unavailable. The theme for the sixth Audio Mostly Conference covers ways in which sound and music can be utilized as a way to create context, in physical and virtual environments, and especially as a way to enhance the experience in interactive applications. Sound is both an expression of an environment and a drive for change in that context. The perception of sound as a context carrier emphasizes the interest in exploring the interpretative value of sound and the way it can affect users in context. By realizing the contextualizing potential of sound, researchers and designers can enhance users' experiences and provide richer sense making contexts. Appreciating sound woven into contexts can also foster holistic approaches that benefit overall design coherence.
- A Software Architecture for Dynamic Enhancement of Soundscapes in GamesPublication . Pires, Durval; Alves, Valter; Roque, LicinioDespite an emerging interest in the application of dynamic computer music systems to computer games, currently there are no commonly accepted approaches to empirically evaluating game music systems. In this paper we pose four questions that researchers could assess in order to evaluate different aspects of a game music system. They focus on the music's effect on the game playing experience (whether the music leads to a more enjoyable experience, and whether it affects the player in the intended way during the game), and how the music itself is perceived (whether it reaches a certain aesthetic standard, and whether it accurately conveys the intended narrative). We examine each of these questions in turn, for each one establishing a theoretical background as well as reviewing and comparing relevant research methodologies in order to show how it could be addressed in practice.