Causing Fear, Suspense, and Anxiety Using Sound Design in Computer Games - Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments - page 187

FUtUrE rEsEArcH DIrEctIONs to add new insights and dimensions to emotional

theories, as well.

One of the limitations of this study is that most
participants were male and tended to be heavy
gamers. Future studies may want to focus on popu-
lations that better represent female and/or casual
gamers. Another limitation is that all the sound
effects were included in one level and there was
possible interaction between the volume, timing,
and source variables For instance, the volume of
a sound effect may influence the emotional im-
pact of timing and/or source. In order to control
for these possible confounding factors, a future
study may focus on the affect of solely one sound
property. Furthermore, as in most studies, a larger
population should yield better external validity.
One possible research direction is to continue
studying fear, suspense, and anxiety beyond the
parameters of the study described in this chapter.
For instance, are the sound design techniques the
same for causing fear, suspense, and anxiety in
game genres other than survival horror? What is the
difference between male and female responses to
sound design techniques that cause fear, suspense,
and anxiety? What are the effects of the absence
of sound on fear, suspense, and anxiety? What is
the relationship between visual gameplay elements
and sound effects on how they affect players'
fear, suspense, and anxiety? How can other types
of sounds, such as music and dialogue, increase
fear, suspense, and anxiety? How do other sound
properties affect fear, suspense, and anxiety?
Finally, future possible research can study other
emotions using the same or other sound proper-
ties. For example, how can game designers elicit
the emotions of anger, joy, and sadness in players
through sound design? This research would lead
to inquiry into the questions raised previously,
such as the effect of genre, visual gameplay ele-
ments, and the type of sound evoking the studied
emotion. From this research, we would not only
understand how to promote certain emotional
experiences from playing computer games through
the use of sound design, but we may be also able

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