Sonic perceptual crossings: a tic-tac-toe audio game

The development of audio-only computer games imposes a number of challenges for the sound designer, as well as for the human machine interface design approach. Modern sonification methods can be used for effective data and game-environment or conditions representation through sound, including earcons and auditory icons. In this work we take advantage of earcons fundamental characteristics, such as spatialization usually employed for concurrent/parallel reproduction, in order to implement a tic-tac-toe audio game prototype. The proposed sonic design is transparently integrated with a novel user control/interaction mechanism that can be easily implemented in state-of-the-art mobile devices incorporating movement sensors (i.e. accelerometers and gyroscope). The overall prototype design efficiency is assessed in terms of the employed sonification accuracy, while the playability achieved through the integration of the sonic design and the employed auditory user interface is assessed in real game-play conditions.