Causing Fear, Suspense, and Anxiety Using Sound Design in Computer Games - Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments - page 185

There was not a statistically significant dif-
ference between sourced and acousmatic sound
effects. Some participants reported that they felt
anxiety when they could not find the source of
a sound effect. Other participants stopped and
looked around when an acousmatic sound played,
as they did for untimed sound effects, and pro-
ceeded to search for the source of the sound effect.
One player stated that not finding the source of
an untimed sound effect made him worry that he
had possibly missed something important.

tive at causing fear in players than by introducing
the gameplay element without a sound effect or
with a mistimed sound effect.
Finally, there were mixed results of whether
sourced sounds elicit more fear than acousmatic
sound effects. Quantitative data did not show a
significant increase in fear responses to sourced
sounds compared to acousmatic sound effects.
However, qualitative data suggested that an acous-
matic sound effect drew attention to a potentially
imminent danger in the game, which may have
put players in a state of suspense. If this is the
case, some participants may not have reported
that sourced sound effects evoked significantly
more fear than acousmatic sounds because they
considered their suspense responses to be closer
to fear than anxiety.

Discussion

Causing Fear Discussion

Results strongly suggest that high volume sound
effects are most effective at causing fear in play-
ers. The quantitative data showed a significant,
large increase in reported fear responses, when a
sound effect is louder than the rest of the sounds
in the game. This implies to game designers that
the louder they create a sound effect, relative to
other sounds, the more effective it is at promoting
fear in a player.
In addition, results strongly suggest that sound
effects timed to coincide with a visual gameplay
element, such as an in-game enemy, are effec-
tive at eliciting fear. Quantitative data showed a
significant, large increase in fear responses due to
timed sound effects compared to untimed sound
effects. However, the qualitative data showed that
players may not have reacted with fear to the sound
itself, but, rather, fear was primarily evoked by
the accompanied visual gameplay element. That
is, a well-timed sound effect amplifies attention
to the gameplay element and enhances the initial
fear response caused by the visual perception of
that element. The synchronization of the sound and
corresponding image enhanced the feeling of fear
through the process of synchresis, which promoted
veridicality. This implies to game designers that
accompanying a visual gameplay element with a
well-timed, appropriate sound effect is more effec-

Causing Anxiety Discussion

Results showed that medium and high volume
sound effects are significantly and substantially
more effective at eliciting anxiety in players than
low volume sound effects. Perhaps low volume
sound effects are not easily perceived because
they become masked amidst other higher volume
sounds. In contrast, high volume sound effects are
easily perceived but not necessary, because there
is no significant difference between medium and
high volume sound effects for evoking anxiety.
Furthermore, given that high volume sound seems
to elicit fear reactions from players, the use of
this sound technique for evoking anxiety should
be avoided, because of its potential confounding
effect. This implies to game designers that the best
volume to play anxiety-causing sound effects at
is at the same volume as the average soundscape
in the game. Low volume sound effects, perhaps,
should be used to immerse the player by generating
the ambience and mood of the game (Roux-Girard,
2011) rather than to promote specific emotions.
The quantitative results did not show a signifi-
cant change in anxiety between timed and untimed
sound effects. Qualitative results indicated that