Educational Audio Gamification: Theory and Practice

Emmanouel Rovithis1, Andreas Floros1 and Lily Kotsira2

1Ionian University, Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Corfu, Greece
2Hellenic-American Educational Foundation, Athens, Greece

emrovithis@gmail.com
floros@ionio.gr
kotsiralilly@yahoo.com

Abstract: Electronic computer games used for educational purposes currently constitute an essential component of the
learning process. By combining entertaining elements with interactive technologies to deliver the respective curricula they
can enhance the development of various skills, as well as serve as platforms for the application of modern educational
theories. Audio Games (AG) are a particular genre of electronic games, in which all information is conveyed mainly or
exclusively through sound. Thus, players need to employ their sense of hearing to understand and accomplish the necessary
tasks, a process that promotes their concentration, memory, fantasy, emotion, perception, data management and
cooperation. Even though research findings have shown that both game and audio interaction have positive effects on the
user, there has been no systematic approach in designing educational AG and implementing them in the learning process. In
this paper the authors attempt to establish the theoretical frame for the design of educational AG by arguing that their
features comply with the goals of music education, as these are formulated in the official Program of Music Studies by the
Greek Ministry of Education, and in the Primary Years Program on learning Arts by the International Baccalaureate
Institution, on local and global level respectively. In that context, three different audio gamification approaches developed
by the authors are discussed as suggestions for incorporation into formal education. The first one aims at raising users’
awareness about the harmful impact of noize on the acoustic environment, the second one introduces players to concepts
and techniques of electronic music composition, whereas the third one informs them about the layers of Earth’s atmosphere.
All three approaches employ similar mechanics, but each one addresses a different topic: acoustics, music, and even non-
music respectively, suggesting that the application of educational AG can extend to a variety of subject matters.

Keywords: educational audio games, gamification, music education, audio interaction, audio games, educational games

1. Introduction
Electronic computer games are being used for educational purposes for almost half a century now and have
from the start exhibited positive results in both generally developing students’ skills and specifically improving
their knowledge on targeted curricula. Early research has consistently shown that educational computer games
have considerable success in raising players’ self-esteem, improving their hand-eye co-ordination and reducing
their reaction time. After examining many of their features, such as interactivity elements, performance
measurement capabilities, diversity and novelty, the author argues that they make the genre a suitable medium
for addressing a specific problem or teaching a certain skill. (Griffiths, 2002) In another paper reviewing multiple
studies over a period of 28 years to compare the instructional effectiveness of games to conventional classrom
instruction, educational computer games are reported very effective in improving students’ ability to solve
mathematics, physics and biology problems, while exciting their interest and enhancing the absorption and
retention of knowledge. (Randel et al, 1992)

Since then, utilizing technological advances in audiovisual effects, interactivity, connectivity and processing
speeds have made educational computer games into valid platforms for the application of modern learning
theories, including Problem Based Learning, Constructivism, Experiential Learning and the Flow Theory. Students
are no longer passive, but active participants in the learning process; they are required to cope with challenges,
explore their environment to correlate new with previous knowledge, which makes it easier to be integrated
into their cognitive structures, observe and analyze the results of their actions to draw further conclusions, as
well as immerse into a timeless experience, which will enhance their perceptual receptiveness. (Stapleton, 2004;
Kiili, 2005; Kafai, 2006; Sancho et al, 2009) Furthermore, playing computer games enhances decision-making,
short and long-term memory, and analytical thought, while reducing negativity and promoting collaboration
among the team members. (Susi, Johannesson and Backlund, 2007)

On the other hand, Audio Games (AG) constitute a particular genre of electronic games, in which all information
is conveyed mainly or even exclusively through sound. Players need to concentrate on their sense of hearing to
interact with the game-system, including navigating through the game’s space, understanding and executing the
required gameplay actions, and interpreting the respective feedback. Due to the lack of visual stimuli the genre

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has traditionally been addressed to players with visual impairment. Recently, however, there has been a rising
interest in targeting the broader public, a trend mostly accounted for by the development of mobile
technologies, which take advantage of AG’ inherent feature that actions are not restricted within the dimensions
of a screen, but can take place in a 360 degree acoustic field around the user.

As a sub-genre of electronic games, AG have inherited many of the aforementioned educational properties of
game interaction, yet it is audio interaction that lies at the core of their mechanics. It will be shown that to the
extent that it has been documented in current literature, the educational potential of this sound-driven medium
seems quite promising. Nevertheless, there has been no systematic approach in designing educational AG and
implementing them in the learning process. This paper aims at establishing a strong theoretical framework for
the use of AG in formal education. To do so, the educational aspects of AG will be investigated from two
perspectives: a) the effects of audio interaction on the user, and b) the standards to be met in terms of officially-
stated educational goals. Then, three different audio gamification approaches developed by the authors will be
presented; they serve as suggestions for the incorporation of specially designed AG into formal education.

2. Educational aspects of audio interaction

To answer whether audio interaction can enhance the learning process, the research was based on the axis,
whose one end examines the systematic use of sound in educational computer applications and the other the
impact of interacting with sound in an AG environment.

In terms of closed-loop sonic interactions that require users to actively employ an interface through auditory
feedback one research suggests that there is a great potential to help users become more proficient at fine
movements and the complicated manipulation of tools. (Franinovic and Serafin, 2013) Sonic stimuli may be
arbitrary or causal ; in both cases the richness of the sonic information has the potential to promote the
exploration of complex patterns and let users decode how their actions modulate the sound. In that context
M.J.Bishop and her associates argue that sound should be incorporated into learning environments not only for
literal information conveyance, but to help learners process the material under study more deeply. (Bishop,
Amankwatia and Cates, 2008) A multitude of researches is provided supporting that sounds can gain learners’
attention and retain it over time, while reducing the distraction of competing stimuli. Furthermore, learners are
facilitated to organize complex data in detail, as well as intercorrelate new pieces of information with older ones.
This can be applied on many subject areas, such as sports, medicine, engineering and art. As far as music
education is concerned, it has been suggested that interactive learning environments realized through computer
technology can make music composition possible for learners without any training prerequisites by providing
them with tools for experimentation within the familiarity of a modern culture medium, and adjusting to their
special needs in real-time. (Wishart, 1992 ; Seddon, 2007) Thus, interacting with sonic stimuli ranging from
musically primitive events to high-level structures can turn musical games into platforms, on which all users,
regardless of musical background, will be introduced to acoustic and musical concepts and guided to experiment
and realize their ideas. (Berndt, 2011)

Another approach focuses on the emotional content conveyed through sound. After examining different audio
modes of operation, such as recalling tonal or rhythmic patterns, tracking the position of sounds in the acoustic
field, synchronizing to periodic events, and identifying tonal qualities, the authors suggest that AG are often
designed in a too-visual way of thinking overlooking the fact that sound carries with it more emotional content
than any other part of the game. (Parker and Heerema, 2008) They argue that aural stimuli trigger feelings and
memories in ways not possible by visual observation. In that context, other testings suggest that playing AG
could assist in boosting memory and increasing the ability to concentrate. (Targett & Fernström, 2003) Thus,
entertaining computer games that use only non-speech aural feedback show potential for both skills acquisition
and therapeutic applications. Excluding the sense of seeing causes more freedom for interpretation. A computer
gaming system based on audio rather than graphics will make the experience less dictatorial and create the
conditions for players’ fantasy to develop. (Liljedahl & Papworth, 2008) This inherent feature of audio interaction
to exclude other distractions and focus on sound acts upon not only the conceptual, but also the physical level,
in that players gain an increased degree of spatial freedom, as looking into a screen is no longer necessary. Thus,
gameplays allowing a 360° field of interaction around the player result in an increased level of immersion. (Röber
& Masuch, 2005) By finding the balance between functionality and aesthetics, as well as instruction and
dramaturgy, AG can become immersive interactive environments in compliance with both modern educational
theories, which require immersion to enhance the delivery of the curriculum, and state-of-the-art technologies,

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such as mobile and wearable devices or even virtual and augmented reality settings, which rely on immersion
to efficiently convey the intended content.

At this point it would be useful to draw some intermediate conclusions. First, there has been no systematic
approach in designing educational AG and implementing them in the learning process. A categorization of the
few directions, in which AG and audio interactive systems have been linked to the learning process, has been
formulated by the authors in (Rovithis and Floros, 2018). Second, there is a strong suggestion by many
researchers that such systems, which would exploit the benefits of audio interaction, be designed and tested on
their educational efficiency. Third, research findings support this notion; they have shown that both game and
audio interaction in computer applications in general and in AG specifically, have a positive impact on the user.
But is this impact in compliance with the actual learning needs of modern education? To further elaborate upon
this question one has to delve into the officially formulated goals of valid educational systems and institutions.

3. Convergence of AG features and official educational goals

Two sources were investigated, from which clearly defined learning objectives were derived and juxtaposed with
the characteristics of game and audio interaction, as the latter were discussed in the previous sections. The first
source is the Program of Music Studies formulated by the Greek Ministry of Education and issued online in its
official guide. (Pedagogical Institute, 2018) This source reflects the current situation in Greece by stating explicit
directives on teaching and learning music. The second source is the Primary Years Program on learning Arts
formulated by the International Baccalaureate Institution and issued on its website. (International
Baccalaureate, 2018) This source aims at expanding the research material out of Greece’s borders onto global
level as a first holistic approach in suggesting that AG be incorporated into formal education based on their
compliance with global standards.

3.1 Goals of music education by the Greek Ministry of Education

The official guide of the Greek Ministry is organized in three sections, each one defining the desired goals of
music education on cross-curricular, primary and secondary level respectively. A detailed frame is given for each
section including sub-level, cognitive content, goals in terms of knowledge, dexterities, stance and values,
elements from the respective curriculum, and suggested activities. It is designed to develop spirally, from known
and simple concepts to unknown and complicated ones, adapting to the students’ kinetic, perceptive, expressive
and communicative skills.

In the scope of this paper, all sections were examined, in order to extract the educational goals defined. The
results were juxtaposed with the research findings in literature regarding the effects of game and audio
interaction. It was found that at a large extent they agree with each other. For many of the learning objectives
stated by the Greek Ministry there is a research finding showing that the respective skill is enhanced through AG
interaction. More specifically:

According to the greek official Program of Music Studies, students are to

Acquire a positive stance and love towards music
Develop their acoustic ability
Observe and discuss about how sounds are produced
Identify sounds of the natural and urban environment
Identify and organize simple sonic properties, including amplitude, pitch, timbre, duration, melody, rhythm
and structure
Combine sounds into simple compositions
Perform simpe rhythmic and melodic progressions
Perform on rhythmic and melodic instruments
Concentrate on and internalize sounds
Memorize patterns to develop their acoustic memory
Explore, select and organize acoustic sources

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Experiment and improvise creatively

Design sounds to implement them in complex structures
Elaborate music composition techniques
Correlate music and sound with other arts and cognitive subjects
Cooperate and communicate with responsbility and discipline
Develop their self-esteem

3.2 Goals of music education by the International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an educational program followed by almost 5000 schools in over 150
countries around the world. It is organised in 4 parts covering the range from primary to career-related years (3
- 19 years old). It was founded on the principle that people need an education that crosses disciplinary, cultural,
national and geographical boundaries. More than one million students are taught the IB program, a curriculum
that encourages them to consider not only local, but also global contexts, think critically and challenge
assumptions, incorporate practices from a global research and school community, and develop multilingual
skills. Currently, 16 schools in Greece offer one or more IB programmes.

In the scope of this paper, the IB Primary Years Program (PYP) about learning Arts in general and particularly
Music was examined, in order to extract the underlying educational goals. To IB, arts constitute a powerful mode
of communication towards constructing one’s self and understanding the world around them. The results of this
investigation were juxtaposed with the effects of AG interaction. It was again found that the two juxtaposed
parts strongly coincide. More specifically:

According to the IB program of learning Arts, IB students strive to:

Develop their natural curiosity and become stimulated for challenges
Understand that arts communicate feelings, ideas and experiences
Consider works of art from different perspectives
Explore new roles, ideas, strategies and artistic presentations
Critically interpret works of art
Articulate their thought through a variety of new media and technologies
Engage their imagination for creative exploration
Develop their conceptual understanding
Develop their listening skills
Describe differences in music
Synchronize with rhythm
Classify and analyze sounds
Play musical instruments
Create simple compositions
Participate in collaborative live performances

3.3 Overview of the results

Table 1 summarizes the findings by presenting the matching learning objectives of the Greek Ministry of
Education and the International Baccalaureate with the respective AG features:
Table 1: Summary
Educational Goals – Educational Goals – Features of
Greek Ministry of Education International Baccalaureate AG Interaction
Positive stance towards music Stimulation for challenges, Exciting players’ interest,
Development of curiosity Motivating towards knowledge,

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Educational Goals – Educational Goals – Features of

Greek Ministry of Education
Development of self-esteem
Experimentation, Creative
improvisation, Combination of
sounds into simple compositions,
Elaboration of techniques
Development of acoustic ability,
Identification of sounds,
Identification of sonic properties,
Observation of sound production
Concentration,
Internalization of sounds
Cooperation,
Communication
Correlation of music and sound with
other arts and subjects
Sound design into complex
structures,
Organization of acoustic sources
Pattern memorization,
Development of acoustic memory
Performance of rhythmic and
melodic progressions on respective
musical instruments
International Baccalaureate
Creation of simple compositions,
Exploration of artistic ideas and
strategies
Development of listening skills,
Ability to discern musical differences
Participation in collaborative
performances
Consideration of art from different
perspectives
Classification and analysis of sounds
Playing musical instruments,
Synchronization with rhythm
Engagement of imagination for
creative exploration,
Development of conceptual
understanding,
Critical interpretation of artistic works
Articulation of thought through new
media and technologies
Understanding that arts communicate
feelings, ideas and experiences
AG Interaction
Applying modern learning theories
Raising players’ self-esteem,
Reducing negativity
Guiding players to experiment and
realize their musical ideas,
Creating platform for music
composition and improvisation
Introducing players to musical
concepts without prerequisites,
Guiding players to identify sonic
properties,
Employing mechanics that target
specific musical skills
Focusing on the sense of hearing,
Excluding distractions,
Gaining players’ attention and
retaining it over time,
Increasing concentration,
Enhancing immersion
Promoting collaboration among team
members
Sonifying non-musical data
Facilitating the exploration of compex
patterns,
Enhancing analytical thought,
Managing complex sets of data
Enhancing memory
Enhancing dexterity at fine
movements and manipulation of
complex tools
Improving hand-eye coordination
Allowing freedom for interpretation,
Releasing fantasy
Employing a familiar technological
medium of modern culture
Carrying emotional content

4. Audio gamification approaches

In this section three different audio gamification approaches are presented and discussed, each with a slightly
different educational scope. The first one, “Noize Games”, aims at raising awareness about a specific matter
through a one-time gaming experience. The second one, “Kronos” sets off to educate on a complicated field, as
well as to provide an environment for creative practice on that delivered information through a series of gaming
sessions. The third one, “AstroSonic” is a work-in-progress that attempts to communicate scientific information.
The differentiated specifications of those projects suggest that, when designed accordingly, AG can cover a wide
range of educational scopes.

All three games employ partially the same mechanics. This limited similarity implies that the same gameplay,
including the game’s goal, the appropriate actions and the rules evaluating those actions towards that goal, can
be adjusted through sound design to express different content in terms of dramaturgy and narration. An
important factor, in which the games differ though is the subject matter. The curriculum to be delivered can
impose considerable differences in content and approach. “Noize Games” deals with acoustics, which is the
nearest subject to audio interaction in terms of directly perceiving and interpreting sound. “Kronos” is based on

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the curriculum of electronic music composition: partially audio engineering and partially music. “AstroSonic”
expands the traditional acoustic and musical AG thematology to scientific, non-audio data from the subject of
astronomy. Thus, as far as the curriculum is concerned, these three different approaches suggest that
educational AG can address a variety of subject matters.

In terms of sound design the following sonification techniques were used: a) auditory icons, which are sounds
with a clear, realistic reference to the process they describe. (Gaver, 1986) For example, the sound of a
document sent to the computer’s recycle bin creates a clear reference to that real-world process, b) earcons,
which are arbitrary auditory icons acting on a symbolic level that the user must decode, in order to perceive the
intended message. (Blattner, Sumikawa and Greenberg, 1989; Mc Gookin and Brooster, 2011) For example, a
melody playing, when starting up the computer, is an earcon, c) parameter mapping sonification, which takes
place when assigning different qualities of the represented information to respective properties of a sonic event.
(Grond and Berger, 2011) For example, a chart with two different functions can be sonified by assigning one
function to the sound’s timbre and the other to its pitch, and d) spatialized sound, which occurs, when placing
sounds to specific coordinates in the acoustic field. (Röber and Masuch, 2004) Thus, listeners can perceive the
position and movement of the sounds, as well as of themselves, in the game space. For example, a sound gives
the impression of coming near, when becoming louder, and drifting away, when becoming quieter.

The following gamification approaches are discussed in terms of educational scope, gameplay mechanics and
sound design:

4.1 Noize Games

The “Noize Games” (2014) was developed in collaboration with the Department of Audio & Visual Arts of the
Ionian University and the Hellenic Institute of Acoustics and was presented to primary and secondary education
pupils in Corfu, Greece, within the context of the International Noize Awareness Day 2014. Its aim was to a)
inform about the nature of noize as an acoustic phenomenon, and b) raise awareness about the harmful impact
of noize on the acoustic ecology. Two AG were designed, one for each of these educational scopes: “Match
Noize” and “Escape Noize” respectively.

“Match Noize” mainly deals with introducing players to the broad range of sounds that can be characterized as
noize. After playing the game, players should be able to discern noizy sounds in their environment, as well as
have acquired a clear understanding of the specific features that account for this particular sonic property.
Therefore, the game’s gameplay must create the necessary conditions for carefully concentrating on each
separate sound and playing it back repeatedly. Essentially, what was needed was the gamification of a drill
exercise, aiming to excite students’interest more than if they were simply identifying timbres. Furthermore, all
different contexts, in which noizy sounds may appear, should be demonstrated. In that way, players will become
aware of the abundance of noize in everyday life, and ultimately its strong correlation to the human experience.

The gameplay mechanic that was chosen is an aural interpretation of the classic memory cards game, in which
players flip cards two by two from a given set trying to match them in pairs in terms of their similarity. In “Match
Noize” the available cards disclose auditory icons. Thus, players need to flip the cards and listen carefully to the
respective sounds, in order to link them in pairs. In terms of noizy features, the following categories were
included: a) timbre, for example air humming, b) distortion, for example buzzing lights, and c) overload, for
example too many phones ringing simultaneously. In terms of different contexts, in which noizy sounds can be
found, the following environments were selected: a) domestic, for example the buzz of the refrigerator, b) urban,
for example horns tooting in a traffic jam, and c) natural, for example waves clashing on the shore.

The second game, “Escape Noize”, aims at raising the awareness of the harmful impact of noize on the acoustic
environment. In this case, a more emotional approach was followed. The core idea was to make players feel
anxious and put them in a situation, from which they would want to escape. Thus, stressing soundscapes were
designed by putting layers of noize on top of each other. Again, those soundscapes ought to reflect the
aforementioned idea of different contexts –domestic, urban, natural–, only this time they are to be dominated
by noize. Each soundscape is comprised of four noizy layers ranging from outmost intense ones, which cause
discomfort, to quite subtle ones, which people usually have become accustomed to. For instance, a domestic
soundscape is comprised of the following noizy layers: a) white noize of TV, b) buzzing noize from speakers, c)
hissing noize from pc, and d) hissing noize from air conditioner. It is exactly that essence that had to be grasped:

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the relief, when the loud TV is switched off and one can finally relax or when the pc is switched off and one
becomes suddenly aware of silence.

To create the experience of escaping noize an audio interpretation of the point-and-click escape game
mechanics was designed. Traditionally in escape games, players scan the screen with the mouse cursor for
objects to interact with and ultimately find their way out. In “Escape Noize”, players need to deactivate all noize
layers one by one to achieve silence and defeat the harmful impact of noize. To do so, they need to look for
specific points on the screen, where the layers become silenced. Once they have deactivated all layers one by
one, they are free.

4.2 Kronos
“Kronos” (2015) is the prototype of the author’s thesis that an audio game, an educational tool and a music
instrument can be combined into one interactive platform. (Rovithis, 2015) The game follows the structure of
role-playing games, in which players accomplish various tasks, in order to evolve, i.e. gain and develop specific
abilities. They are also provided with an increased degree of freedom regarding the choices they can make ; from
critical ones, for example their role within a group, to simple ones, like the way, in which they will explore the
game’s environment. Thus, they are responsible for their in-game hero’s behavior, including the acquisition of
attributes and how these will be customized. In “Kronos”, the tasks to be accomplished are audio interaction
challenges, ‘audio mini-games’, that exercise different musical skills, and, when successfully completed, reward
with relevant sound production modules. In that way, the in-game hero to be created and developed is itself a
musical instrument, a sound design and performance system, which can be modularly constructed and expanded
by following the games’ narration and participating in the game’s action. Depending on the path the players
follow, they choose to focus on specific parts of the curriculum and gain the respective modules, which will
facilitate the customization of their instrument and the specialization on targeted concepts and techniques of
electroacoustic synthesis.

To achieve the necessary immersion into the game-world for maximizing the learning process, a system of
correlations between the storyline and the curriculum ought to be created. The more connections are designed
between agents of the game’s plot and action with the involved musical elements, the better chances players
have to perceive the game world as a fictional, yet solid, detailled and, ultimately, convincing structure that can
turn the learning process into a serious, but also fun gaming experience. This mapping between narrative and
sound took place on the symbolic level and was critical for the game to fulfill its triple role. The main sonification
technique used was parameter mapping on a multitude of earcons, auditory icons, as well as gameplay features.
Let’s name all those agents “sonic symbolisms” and clarify the process through the following example:

All Human avatars – players may also become Ghosts or Spirits – have a body. The sonic symbolism for the body
is a 1-second long buffer on the ground that it is a sound source, which, unlike noize or oscillators, is not created
within the internal mechanisms of the computer, but only played back, after inserted. Players, who choose to
become Humans, can upload any sound that was designed, recorded or in any way captured as an audio file in
the outside, “mortal world” into their buffer as their body. Let’s now suppose that this Human needs to go to
the lake and fetch some water. First things first: one needs to be able to move. The sonic symbolism for moving
is that a piece of the body, thus a part of the buffer, is played back at a randomly variable speed. Finding the
lake means pointing the cursor at a certain direction, while moving, until the sound of the lake becomes loud
and clear. Once there, this Human would have to use the mouse again, this time without moving, to find the
right spot, on which the sound of running water appears. Once collected, the water belongs to the Human, who
can now modify its spectral properties at will with the use of filters; thus the sonic symbolism for ownership is
filtering.

Through this example it becomes clear that the notion of sonic symbolism may refer to auditory icons (the actual
sound of water as itself), earcons (speed-altered samples as steps), processes (spectral filtering as ownership),
and concepts (buffer as body). It is also demonstrated, how players can be introduced to such music/audio
concepts, while participating in a game, whose narrative refers to a different, non-musical context. To broaden
the targeted curriculum “Kronos” includes challenges implementing a wide range of audio interaction
mechanics. In total, players need to identify sonic properties, including timbre and pitch, describe the tonal
progression of a melody, mimic rhythmic patterns, explore soundscapes, search for dis/appearing sounds, and
aim at sonic objects through ear-hand synchronization.

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4.3 AstroSonic
“AstroSonic” (2018 – ongoing) is a work-in-progress that applies audio game mechanics on information relevant
to the subject of astronomy. From a research point of view, it can serve as testing grounds to investigate the
extent, in which interaction with sound in an AG environment can deliver not music-related, but scientific
curricula. At the moment it consists of only one stage, in which players guide their rocket spaceship into low-
Earth’s orbit. It is the authors’ intention to expand the game through more stages, in which players will collect
space debris, build bases on the Moon and Mars, and mine asteroids. In the scope of this paper, a brief overview
of “AstroSonic” is presented. As in the previous two audio games, the design process evolved around two axes:
a) sound design, i.e. the sonification of targeted pieces of information, and b) mechanics design, i.e. the
interconnection of those elements through gameplay rules. In that context, sound ought to carry as many
aspects of the scientific curriculum as possible.

To travel to low-Earth orbit players must cross the four layers of Earth’s atmosphere: Troposphere, Stratosphere,
Mesosphere and Thermosphere. In terms of sound design, the layers were assigned to four earcons respectively:
filtered noize-based spectra. The lowest layer was assigned to the spectrum with the lowest pitch, whereas the
highest layer is represented by the highest-pitch spectrum. To provide more information about the layers,
additional earcons and auditory icons were used. For example, when players are crossing through the
Troposphere, where airflights are frequent, there is a big chance to listen to the auditory icon of an airplane,
whereas in the Stratosphere, one might come across the earcon of the ozone layer.

In terms of gameplay design, the aforementioned one-click audio escape mechanic was used, in which sounds
are deactivated, when clicking on specific points on the screen. Players control a rocket spaceship and, as it takes
off and rises towards space, they have to find a way to guide it through the layers of the atmosphere by selecting
the correct spots and thinning the rich noizy spectrum. When a layer is completely silenced, they move on to
the next one, which is also comprised of more mini-layers, but as a whole occupies a different frequency range
and is therefore quite discernible from the others. The mini-layers of each atmospheric layer amount to the
number of steps, in which the layer becomes thinner and silenced, and are essentially proportionate to the
actual size of each layer. Another twist in the mechanic, apart from the existence of mini-layers, is that a
deactivated step/layer will be re-activated, if the player takes too long to successfully deactivate the next ones,
implying that the spaceship lost height.

5. Conclusions
This paper has discussed the educational aspects of AG in terms of game and audio interaction within a computer
game environment. Then it has juxtaposed those features with officially formulated educational goals on a
national (Greece) and global scale. It was found that many of the official learning objectives coincide with the
inherent features, as well as with the beneficial impact of audio interaction. Thus, the conclusion can be drawn,
at least on a theoretical level, that AG can be valid means to deliver curricula related but not restricted to
acoustics and music, and should therefore be incorporated into formal education. Three such AG developed by
the authors were discussed. Their subject matters extend from the field of acoustics and electronic music to the
non-musical scientific field of astronomy. Sonification techniques and audio gameplay mechanics in compliance
with the aforementioned learning objectives were employed for their development. In the near future, those
prototypes should be tested and their educational efficiency measured, in order to investigate, whether the
suggested theoretical frame can be empirically verified.

At this point two things should be mentioned. First, this research was based on current literature. Apart from
that, there is great potential to realize innovative mechanisms of audio interaction, which will further support
the AG educational aspects. For example, IB suggests that the students create their own basic musical
instruments. Even though some AG offer music creation capabilities, there is no documented example of an AG
that guides players to construct such an interactive tool that can be characterized as a musical instrument. But
this is exactly the innovation of “Kronos”: the fact that players construct a modular music production and
performance engine, while participating in the narration of a game. This shows that AG designers are not
restricted but only by their fantasy, in order to creatively transcend borders into uncharted territory.

Second, AG should be used as means to complement the learning process and not to overshadow the traditional
role of the tutor. According to the Greek Ministry the official specifications of Music Education are intentionally
less descriptive than in other subjects, so that teachers plan the lesson in their own way according to the special

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needs of the learning group. Music is to be taught through a series of activities that will excite and motivate
students; in that context, AG can play a vital role.

References
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