Designing Sound for a Pervasive Mobile Game

1
Designing Sound for a Pervasive Mobile Game

• Inger Ekman, Jussi Lahti, Jani Nummela, Petri
  Lankoski, Frans Mäyrä
• Game Research Lab
• University of Tampere
• perti.lankoski_at_uta.fi

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Pervasive Mobile Games

• Mobile games not just mobile game devices
• Mobility part of gaming
• gt Location-aware game device
• Pervasive gaming
• Playing in relation to physical world activities
• gt Game environment superimposed over physical
  world

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The Songs of North

• Location-based multiplayer mobile game
• Players act as shamans in a mythological spirit
  world
• Playing requires moving around the spirit world,
  casting spells and communicating with spirits and
  other player-shamans
• Spellcasting by drumming a shaman drum

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Role of Sounds in the Songs of North

• Sound information facilitates playing by moving
• Playing by listening - possible to monitor nearby
  game objects and events without looking at the
  device
• Alternative way of constructing engaging playing
  experiences
• Game world aesthetics

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Sound Design Issues

• Technical restrictions (N-Gage/Series 60)
• Memory, frequency response, available channels,
  sound control options,
• Varying listening conditions
• General relation of environment sound to game
  world sound
• Social playability
• Narration of sound
• What is the narrative function of sound

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Play-tests

• 2 play-tests
• Version1 (tested June 2004, 19 players)
• gt Design iteration
• Version2 (tested May 2005, 16 players)
• Qualitative and quantitative data
• Questionnaires
• Group interviews
• Game server log

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Thank You!

• Questions?
• Petri Lankoski Inger Ekman
• petri.lankoski_at_uta.fi inger.ekman_at_uta.fi