Thursday, September 11, 2008

Week 6 Audio Arts - Interaction Design - Age of Mythology


The menu includes options related to which ancient God you choose to base your civilization around, what kind of enemy you will face, and the layout of the map that the game is set in. Actual gameplay involves controlling the numerous buildings and personnel of your empire. The game is created by Ensemble Studios and marketed primarily to children.

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Sampling technology is used to trigger sounds as the user interacts with the controls.

Some of the sound effects are directly related to the user's actions while others are designed to alert the player to issues such as an enemy attack. Glyphs are used to identify different units as they are selected.

In the menu screen, sounds are used to indicate mouse over as well as various selections. A paper rustle indicates scrolling through the available Gods which applies the ancient, mystical aesthetic of the game to a practical interface sound. Other sounds such as the divine thunder for final selections follow a similar theme. This is an example of form meeting function.

The interaction design is similar to other types of sound design in that it uses sounds in a symbolic way to convey information while fitting with the aesthetic of the product.


Reference: Christian Haines. "Week 6 Audio Arts - Interaction design." Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 3 September 2008.

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