Audio User Testing

Overview

Various testing methods were employed to ensure all audio was of a high quality and relevant to the game. We primarily focused on firstly phyiscally testing implementation through playing the game and ensuring all sounds played correctly. We then conducted user testing on participants of varying backgrounds and prior exposure to similar games. This was to to ensure the sound effects and music were accurate and relevant to the themes and aesthetics of the game.

A process for user testing was created to assist with these tests:

1. Give overview of the game: "Atlantis Sinks is a base building and tower defence game where you must save Atlantis from sinking, defending it against enemies at night and improving it during the day. The game has a pixel art style and is from an isometric perspective."
2. Give overview of the testing session: "I will play you various sounds and songs from the game. After, I will ask you to give me feedback."
3. Play sounds and music

Questions:

1. "Do you think the audio fit with the aesthetic of the game?"
2. "Are the sound choices relevant for the genre and gameplay?"
3. "Should any sounds be added, or should existing ones be changed or altered?"

Sprint 1

Implementation Testing

The following video was created to test the implementation of sounds for the first sprint:

In addition to this, JUnit Testing was also already implemented into the code, which helped us verify that the sounds being loaded correctly.

User Testing

Results / Feedback

User 1

1. I think at the moment all the sound effects fit with the game, but the music could be changed to better fit the time period and relate to the water setting more.
2. Yes, the music is calming for base building and the sound effects are relevant.
3. I feel like more variations of existing sound effects would improve immersion and variety a lot, such as a different footstep each time you walk.

User 2

1. The audio could be made 8-bit to match the pixel art theme.
2. Mostly, the bow drawing sound doesn't sound like how it should I think.
3. More music should be added or existing songs should be extended, there isn't many and they are all pretty short.

Analysis

Clearly, user testing was very useful in gaining insights into the audio and informed us on what we need to improve. Based on user feedback, we should add more music files and extend current ones, as well making them fit with the time period and setting better. Furthermore, the sounds could be made 8-bit to match the pixel art style of the game, and the bow drawing sound should be altered. However, we also gained some positive feedback, which reassures us we are on the right track. These changes should be considered for the next sprint.

Sprint 2

Implementation Testing

The following video was created to test the implementation of sounds for the first sprint: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eNatC3OSL9pyg-rMV0PVzs0AXeFa0lls/view?usp=sharing

User Testing

For this sprint, we created an online questionnaire about shopping-related sound effects, and sent the sound effects and questionnaire to each team. This is the link to the questionnaire: https://forms.gle/nLHGShL8aQQpQj6k8.

Results / Feedback

Analysis

These results from user testing were useful in helping us determine what we should change, improve and work on in the next sprints.

For the first question, 5 users said the sounds fully fit the game, with 4 saying they mostly do, 2 neutral and 2 saying they mostly don't. Overall, this is a positive outcome, as the vast majority of partipants stated the sounds at least mostly fit the game. However, work will still be done in the coming sprints to ensure all sound work together and fit the gameplay and aesthetic of the game.

The next question asked users what role they thought audio would play in the game, and allowed participants to select multiple options. This was to get an idea of what we should focus on when creating audio for the game. The majority of users, 8, said the music should unify the themes. 7 users also said it should also enhance immersion and aesthetic continuinity, with 5 users stating it should make players feel different emotions. Clearly, our main focus should be on unifying themes within the game, however as the responses were relatively even, we should focus on all options.

The next question simply asked if the sound length was appropriate or not for each sound. Tha majority of users, 9 or 70% of users said yes, whie 4 users of 30% said no. Evidently, the majority of users found the length to be appropiate. This infers that we should not focus on changing the length of the sounds.

The final question asked participants to give written feedback, which is where the majority of our insights came from. Some users had no extra feedback and simply stated they liked the sounds, However, multiple users stated they liked the shop music and it should be the main game music. This will be looked into in the coming sprints, as if users prefer this playing during the day and think it fits better, then we should definitely change it. Many users also stated the music for success felt out of place, as it sounds too futuritstic and didn't fit with the medieval context of the game. This sound should therefore be replaced with something less modern or altered to fit the game better. Another piece of feedback we recieved was that users didn't like the failed purchase sound as they thought it didn't fit the game, and also that it could be shorter. This will also be addressed in the next sprint by changing this sound to something more appropriate for the game, and ensuring it doesn't have long periods of silence in it.