A micro-presentation prepared for the 2013 Games Learning Society 9.0 Conference. This presentation details my early research exploring participant experiences of sound in educational games

1. a phenomenological inquiry
of sound within educational
games
by: jason rosenblum
University of Texas at Austin
Presentation with refs: http://slidesha.re/13PPdZE

2. Study background
Pilot study to explore participant experience with
sound.
What’s it like to experience sound while playing
educational games?
Precursor to follow-up phenomenological research in
SP 2013, and will form the basis for dissertation work.
Takes a descriptive phenomenological approach

3. peeking into the literature
very little existing research with sound for educational
games
some work to identify sound in edu software (Bishop,
2008)
majority focuses on uses of narration or sound and
cognitive load (Kalyuga, 2010; Moreno & Mayer, 2000)
can learn much from game sound studies (Jorgensen,
2008; Collins, 2008) and film sound theory (Chion,
1994)

4. What is our
experience of sound
in educational games?
(Giorgi,1997; Moustakas, 1994)
a research question...

5. (Giorgi,1997; Moustakas, 1994)
What is our
experience of sound
in educational games?

6. “Thomas”, “Anne”
and “Karen”
from

7. hush...fate of the world alien rescue
3 Serious Games

8. + + +
Research Design

9. Interviews
Screenflow
2 interviews per participant, appx 6 hrs of audio and
recorded gameplay
Validation occurred with clarifying questions during the
interview

10. [ epoché ]
(Giorgi,1997; Moustakas, 1994)

11. (Giorgi,1997; Moustakas, 1994)
horizonalization
http://www.catherinehall.net/blog/2012/09/20/a-new-perspective-on-the-past/

12. reduction
(Giorgi,1997; Moustakas, 1994;
Corbin & Strauss, 2007)

13. Identified Horizons
identified 378 Horizons
Horizon = Results of open coding of Meaning Units in
interview protocol

14. Invariant Constituents
Constant comparison of
horizons to cluster horizons
into groups
Formed 51 Initial Invariant
Constituents
Additional grouping reduced
to 12 Final Constituents

15. Final Constituents
Game music supports
affective engagement
Sound should connect
with game elements
and decision making
Sound choices need
to fit game context
Sound effects convey
in-game movement
Game sound provides
immersion and impact
Sound in and out of
the game can be
distracting
Sound helps player to
identify as game
character
Sound to connect with
in-game characters
headphones provide
an immersive
experience
Music choices need to
fit game context
Sound and music
should provide
connection in video
Game visuals and
sound work closely
together

16. Sound and visuals worked
together
Enabled players to be fully present during gameplay
and maintain a, “sense of presence” (Jorgensen, 2008,
p. 171) in the game.
players connected with stories,
identified with the plight of game characters,
made emotional connections with the game
experience

17. Essence - emotional
connection
Anne felt the emotional contours left by playing Hush
and Karen thought the silent space station was
“...creepy”.
These experiences demonstrate an, “emotional
connection to the game world” (Jorgensen, 2008, p.
171)
and for Anne, was an example of how sound can
evoke anxiety during game play (Toprac & Meguid,
2011)

18. Essence : connection to
social issues
Thomas: “much deeper than I thought it was going to
be. Definitely went from a typing game to a, ’Oh wow!’
This is a serious social issue.”
Anne: “...when you go in [with sound] you can’t help
but understand it in a… much more experiential way
that sort of touched not just my head but my heart,
too.”

19. Implications for research
Forms basis for further inquiry into sound and player
experience
Can be used to develop a framework to design sound
for educational games
Descriptive phenomenological approach useful for
other types of game-based learning research

20. Only my perspective in deriving horizons & doing analysis
Descriptive phenomenology approach used not
generalizable
Describes 3 people’s experiences collectively but could
benefit from deeper analysis of overlap in meaning units
First full phenomenology study. Many lessons learned about
methodology from Colaizzi, 1978 and Robinson, 1994

21. Follow-up Research
Based on Colaizzi, 1978 and Robinson, 1994
Rigorous reduction of meaning units to clearly connect
interpretation to interview protocol
1 Participant, “Everest”
3 in-depth interviews
Started with appx 300 meaning units, reduced to 30
Meaning Unit clusters and finally to 11 Final
Constituents

22. references
Chion, M. (1994). Sound on Screen (C. Gorbman,Trans.): Columbia University Press.
Colaizzi, Paul. (1978). Psychological Research as the PhenomenologistViews It. In R.Valle & M. King (Eds.), Existential
Phenomenological Alternatives for Psychology (pp. 48-71). NewYork: Oxford Press.
Collins, K. (2008). Game Sound:An Introduction to the History,Theory, and Practice ofVideo Game Music and Sound
Design:The MIT Press.
Giorgi,A. (1997).The theory, practice, and evaluation of the phenomenological method as a qualitative research procedure.
Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 28(2), 26.
Jorgensen, K. (2008). Left in the dark: playing computer games with the sound turned off. In K. Collins (Ed.), From Pac-Man to
Pop Music: Interactive Audio in Games and New Media (pp. 163-176):Ashgate.
Kalyuga, S. (2010). Narration orVisual Text: When does Modality Effect Apply. Paper presented at the World Conference on
E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare and Higher Education (ELEARN), Chesapeake,VA.
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. (2000).A Coherence Effect in Multimedia Learning :The Case for Minimizing Irrelevant Sounds in the
Design of Multimedia Instructional Messages. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(1).
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological Research Methods: Sage Publications
Robinson, Faith,A. (1994).An existential-phenomenological investigation of the experience of the experience of self-cutting in
subjects with multiple personality disorder. (Ph.D.), California Institute of Integral Studies.
Toprac, P., Meguid,A. (2011). Causing fear, suspense, and anxiety using sound design in computer games. In M. Grimshaw (Ed.),
Game sound technology and player interaction: Concepts and developments (pp. 176-191). University of Bolton, UK:
Information Science Reference.

23. fin.
jarosenblum@gmail.com
http://slidesha.re/13PPdZE