Creating immersive and aesthetic auditory spaces in virtual reality

Abstract

Creating immersive and aesthetic auditory spaces in virtual reality primarily focuses on enhancing the quality of an interactive experience for the user by utilizing a sophisticated combination of advanced immersive audio techniques and tools. While emerging Virtual Reality (VR) audio design and development best practices are documented herein, specific real world examples are also presented which demonstrate the need for experimentation and real qualitative user testing while respecting the established knowledge base for immersive audio design. In this paper, we discuss specific immersive and aesthetic auditory design techniques as applied to create full-motion, multi-participant virtual reality game experiences for live commercial Location Based Entertainment (LBE) installations. We introduce fundamental design considerations and emerging best practices used in spatially responsive virtual reality audio design and implementation, and complement these with the practical examples that embraced the complexities of immersive and aesthetic audio design in virtual reality.