Celebrating 20 Years of Computer-based Audio Gaming

Abstract

We look back on two decades of academic research on audio games. During this time, a substantial amount of research has explored many facets of this special genre of computer games. However, despite many publications, there is a lack of review papers, which help delineate this growing research field. For this reason, we take one step back and investigate 20 years of audio game research by synthesizing a literature review adopting grounded theory methods. The resulting research map provides an overview of efforts into audio games with a special focus on how to design for audio games. We observed three important trends or tensions in audio game research. Firstly, audio games research depended heavily on technological advancements during the last two decades. Secondly, most studies about audio games were conducted with novices to audio games in lab situations, that is, based on artificial situations and not on real gamers and their genuine experience. Thirdly, the audio game design process per se has been greatly neglected in the literature so far. We conclude the paper by discussing design or research implications.