Unpacking the Audio Game Experience: Lessons Learned from Game Veterans

Abstract

People with or without visual impairments play and enjoy audio games. While this genre of computer games has attracted a strong fan base and some attention in HCI, little research has been dedicated to the people who actually play audio games in their daily life. There is a pressing need to capture the viewpoints of authentic or expert players, designers and developers to advance audio game design. Thus, we give voice to seven game veterans of sound-based gaming, i.e., people who each have more than a decade of profound experience in playing or designing audio games. We conducted a total of 14 interviews and employed grounded theory methods to unpack their experiences. We found that audio games enriched their life through creativity, play, and social exchange. Those core concepts were influenced by peripheral concepts like, inter alia, aesthetics & enjoyability, accessibility, or the availability of audio games. We show how they relate to each other and discuss design implications.