Spatial audio playback solutions provide video game players with ways to experience more immersive and engaging video game content. This paper aims to find whether listening systems that are able to more accurately convey spatial information are preferred by video game players, and to what extent this is true for different loudspeaker configurations whilst engaged in video game play. Results do suggest that a listening system with high perceived spatial quality is more preferred.

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This paper presents an experiment comparing player performance in a gamified localisation task between three loudspeaker configurations: stereo, 7.1 surround-sound and an equidistantly spaced octagonal array. The test was designed as a step towards determining whether spatialised game audio can improve player performance in a video game, thus influencing their overall experience. The game required players to find as many sound sources as possible, by using only sonic cues, in a 3D virtual game environment. Results suggest that the task was significantly easier when listening over a 7.1 surround-sound system, based on feedback from 24 participants. 7.1 was also the most preferred of the three listening conditions. The result was not entirely expected in that the octagonal array did not outperform 7.1. It is thought that, for the given stimuli, this may be a repercussion due to the octagonal array sacrificing an optimal front stereo pair, for more consistent imaging all around the listening space.

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