research-article

The Effects of a Soundtrack on Board Game Player Experience

Authors:

Alena Denisova,

Rebecca FiebrinkAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '22: Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Article No.: 192, Pages 1 - 13

https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3502110

Published: 29 April 2022 Publication History

Abstract

Board gaming is a popular hobby that increasingly features the inclusion of technology, yet little research has sought to understand how board game player experience is impacted by digital augmentation or to inform the design of new technology-enhanced games. We present a mixed-methods study exploring how the presence of music and sound effects impacts the player experience of a board game. We found that the soundtrack increased the enjoyment and tension experienced by players during game play. We also found that a soundtrack provided atmosphere surrounding the gaming experience, though players did not necessarily experience this as enhancing the world-building capabilities of the game. We discuss how our findings can inform the design of new games and soundtracks as well as future research into board game player experience.

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Cited By

Farkas THughes NFiebrink R(2024)How Boardgame Players Imagine Interacting With TechnologyProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36770788:CHI PLAY(1-24)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677078
Sparrow LRogerson M(2023)Lessons from Homebrewed Hybridity: Designing Hybrid Digital Boardgames for Distanced PlayProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36110227:CHI PLAY(45-72)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3611022
Liapis ADenisova A(2023)The Challenge of Evaluating Player Experience in Tabletop Role-Playing GamesProceedings of the 18th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games10.1145/3582437.3582457(1-10)Online publication date: 12-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3582437.3582457
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

The Effects of a Soundtrack on Board Game Player Experience
1. Applied computing
  1. Computers in other domains
    1. Personal computers and PC applications
      1. Computer games
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Empirical studies in HCI
    2. HCI design and evaluation methods
      1. User studies

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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI '22: Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

April 2022

10459 pages

ISBN:9781450391573

DOI:10.1145/3491102

Editors:
Simone Barbosa
PUC-Rio, Brazil
,
Cliff Lampe
University of Michigan, USA
,
Caroline Appert
Université Paris-Saclay, France
,
David A. Shamma
Toyota Research Institute, USA
,
Steven Drucker
Microsoft Research, USA
,
Julie Williamson
University of Glasgow, UK
,
Koji Yatani
University of Tokyo, Japan

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Published: 29 April 2022

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Cited By

Farkas THughes NFiebrink R(2024)How Boardgame Players Imagine Interacting With TechnologyProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36770788:CHI PLAY(1-24)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677078
Sparrow LRogerson M(2023)Lessons from Homebrewed Hybridity: Designing Hybrid Digital Boardgames for Distanced PlayProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36110227:CHI PLAY(45-72)Online publication date: 4-Oct-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3611022
Liapis ADenisova A(2023)The Challenge of Evaluating Player Experience in Tabletop Role-Playing GamesProceedings of the 18th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games10.1145/3582437.3582457(1-10)Online publication date: 12-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3582437.3582457
Rogerson MSparrow LFreeman S(2022)The SMeFT Decks: A Card-Based Ideation Tool for Designing Hybrid Digital Boardgames for Distanced PlayProceedings of the 34th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3572921.3572933(298-309)Online publication date: 29-Nov-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3572921.3572933

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