Sound in Electronic Gambling Machines - Game Sound Technology and Player Interaction: Concepts and Developments - page 15

An interesting area of research as yet unexplored
is determining whether gambling behavior is
affected when EGM sounds commingle with,
and compete against, external sources of music,
sounds, and noise. Further, it would be interesting
to explore whether a correlation exists between
the concurrent use of image and sound in EGMs.
Specifically, to determine if EGM sound and
video individually and together amplify and/or
reinforce the notion of a loss disguised as a win
or, conversely, if EGM sound and visuals instead
worked to distract and divert gamblers' attention
away from the machine, and by extension, from
the act of gambling. Early research does indicate
that sound does, in fact, reinforce the idea of
winning even when the player is losing. There
have been no studies to explore the impact that a
similar sonic process has in computer games, but
this is an interesting area for future exploration.
A particularly important concept that can be
taken from slot machines is the idea of custom-
ization. Slot machines, as shown, have two basic
markets that they cater to: arousal/action seekers,
and those who seek escape/dissociation. It may
be suggested that computer games have a similar
audience, although this simple way of dividing
players is perhaps inadequate. What does remain,
however, is the concept that players have differ-
ent needs for gameplay. And while some players
enjoy the sounds of slot machines and the casino
environment, others clearly would prefer the abil-
ity to turn down—or turn off—sound altogether.
computer games, of course, have long recognized
this and offered the ability to turn sound on, off,
and later adjust volumes of individual elements
(ambience/sound effects/dialogue/music). More
recently, the option for players to insert their own
preferred music into a game has furthered the
ability to customize game sound. Further, some
games have “boredom switches” that drop the
volume levels automatically after a player has
become “stuck” at a particular stage in the game.
However, it might also be possible to adjust sound
based on the player's skill level and ability—with

more frequent frustration sounds being used as the
player advances, for example, and greater sonic
encouragement at the start of a game. Different
sounds may be used when the game is being played
as a one-player or in multi-player mode.
Recently, with the creation of physiologically
aware gaming devices such as the Wii Vitality Sen-
sor, it has become possible to adjust in real-time
based on the player's physiological response. We
believe that this area of computer gaming—what
we might call “player aware” games—will become
an important future area for research. In particular,
it is possible to both craft sound to manipulate the
player based on their physiological response, as
well as to respond based on their physiological
response. It might be possible, in other words, for
games to “read” our emotional and physiological
state and adjust music to keep us interested, to
guide us to another state, or to enhance an exist-
ing state. Sound clearly plays an important role
in the perception of gaming, and will continue to
grow in importance as computer games search for
ever-increasing ways to keep players interested.

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