Evaluation of Car Engine Sound Design Methods in Video Games

Abstract: Realistic interactions with sound objects in video games are a contributing factor to the overall immersion. Car engine sound design is an area where the auditory feedback from driving would have an impact on that immersion. For this study, three methods for designing car engine sounds are evaluated. A traditional method in the game sound industry is to use several sampled audio recordings for the reproduction of engine sounds, which is in this study represented as a sample-based model. The sample-based model is evaluated together with a model using granular synthesis in an in-game scenario. A less common method is to use physical modeling, which is in this study evaluated together with the other two models in a listening test. Results show the granular synthesis model to be the most realistic, and the physical model to be the least preferred.