An audio game is a game played on an electronic device such as—but not limited to—a personal computer. A game is a structured activity, usually undertaken for Enjoyment and sometimes also used as an Educational tool Electronics refers to the flow of charge (moving Electrons through Nonmetal conductors (mainly Semiconductors, whereas electrical A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated It is similar to a video game save that the only feedback device is audible rather than visual. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device.

Audio games originally started out as 'blind accessible'-games and were developed mostly by amateurs and blind programmers. An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit study or science without formal training or pay Blindness is the condition of lacking Visual perception due to Physiological or Neurological factors A programmer is someone who writes Computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist But more and more people are showing interest in audio games, ranging from sound artists, game accessibility researchers, mobile game developers and mainstream video gamers. The field of game accessibility deals with the Accessibility of electronic games ( Computer games, Console games, etc A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video Historically the term " gamer " usually referred to someone who played Role-playing games or wargames. Most audio games run on a computer platform, although there are a few audiogames for handhelds and video game consoles. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. Audio games feature the same variety of genres as video games, such as adventure games, racing games, etc. An adventure game is a type of Video game characterized by investigation exploration puzzle-solving, interaction with game characters and a focus on Narrative Many Board games can be said to be racing games such as Snakes and Ladders, Cribbage, or Formula Dé.

Audio game history

The term "electronic game" is commonly understood as a synonym for the narrower concept of the "video game. " This is understandable as both electronic games and video games have developed in parallel and the game market has always had a strong bias toward the visual. The first electronic game, in fact, is often cited to be Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device (1947) a decidedly visual game. Despite the difficulties in creating a visual component to early electronic games imposed by crude graphics, small view-screens, and power consumption, video games remained the primary focus of the early electronic game market.

Arcade and one-off handheld audio games - the early years

The 1978 handheld version of Atari's Touch Me - one of the earliest audio games. Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. Touch Me is an arcade game first released by Atari Inc in 1974, and later as a Handheld game in 1978.

It was not until 1974 that Atari released the first audio game, Touch Me. Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. Touch Me is an arcade game first released by Atari Inc in 1974, and later as a Handheld game in 1978. Housed in an arcade cabinet, Touch Me featured a series of lights which would flash with an acompanying tone. An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or coin-op, is the housing within which an Arcade game 's Hardware resides The player would reproduce the sequence by pressing a corresponding sequence of buttons and then the game would add another light/sound to the end of the growing sequence to continually test the player's eidetic memory in a Pelmanism-style format. Concentration, also known as Memory, Pelmanism, Shinkei-suijaku or simply Pairs, is a Card game in which all of the cards Although the game featured both a visual and an auditory component, the disconnect between the two enabled both the seeing and the visually impaired to equally enjoy the game.

Based on the popularity of Touch Me, in 1978 Milton Bradley released a handheld audio game entitled Simon at Studio 54 in New York City. Milton Bradley ( November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) an American game pioneer was credited by many with launching the Simon is an Electronic game of rhythm and memory skill invented by Ralph H Studio 54 is a New York City Broadway theater and former Discothèque located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan. The City of New York Whereas Touch Me had been in competition with other visual-centric arcade games and consequently remained only a minor success, the allure of a personal electronic game allowed Simon to capture a much greater share of the market. An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in businesses such as Restaurants Pubs Video arcades and Family Entertainment Simon became an immediate success eventually becoming a pop culture symbol of the 1980s.

In the decades following the release of Simon, numerous clones and variations were produced. Simon is an Electronic game of rhythm and memory skill invented by Ralph H In 1996, Milton Bradley and a number of other producers released the handheld Bop It which featured a similar concept of a growing series of commands designed to test eidetic memory. Milton Bradley ( November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) an American game pioneer was credited by many with launching the Bop It is an Electronic game of mental skill first marketed by Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley, Tiger Electronics, and Hasbro in ^[1] Bop It was followed in 1998 by the sequel, Bop It Extreme^[2] which featured extra controls and then a third title, Bop It-Extreme 2 was released in 2002-2003.

TTS software and the PC - the second wave

Colossal Cave Adventure (1976), the earliest of a library initially spanning 8 years of TTS-enabled video games, was first made widely available as an audio game through MacInTalk in 1984. Colossal Cave Adventure (also known as ADVENT, Colossal Cave, or Adventure) (Crowther 1976 Crowther Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. PlainTalk is the collective name for several Speech synthesis ( MacInTalk) and Speech recognition technologies developed by Apple Inc.

Before graphical operating systems like Windows, most home computers used text-based operating systems such as DOS. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. A home computer was a class of Personal computer entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s MS-DOS (short for M icro' s' oft D isk O perating S ystem is an Operating system commercialized by Microsoft. Being text-based meant that they were relatively accessible to visually impaired users, requiring only the additional use of text-to-speech (TTS) software. Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. For the same reason, following the development of TTS software, text-based games such as early text-only works of interactive fiction were also equally accessible to users with or without a visual impairment. Since the availability of such software was not commonly accessible until the inclusion of the MacInTalk program on Apple Computers in 1984, the library of games which became accessible to the vision impaired spanned everything from the earliest text adventure, Colossal Cave Adventure (1976), to the comparatively advanced works of interactive fiction which had developed in the subsequent 8 years. Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. PlainTalk is the collective name for several Speech synthesis ( MacInTalk) and Speech recognition technologies developed by Apple Inc. Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics Although the popularity of this genre has waned in the general market as video-centric games became the dominant form of electronic game, this library is still growing with the freeware development by devoted enthusiasts of new interactive fiction titles each year. Freeware is computer Software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee

Accessibility for the visually impaired began to change, some time prior to the advent of graphical operating systems as computers became powerful enough to support more video-centric games. This created a gap between electronic games for the seeing and games for the blind—a gap that has by now grown substantially. Due to a strong market bias in favor of the seeing, electronic games were primarily developed for this demographic. While seeing gamers could venture into 3D gaming worlds in such video game titles as Myst, Final Fantasy and Doom, blind gamers were relegated to playing more mundane games such as Blackjack, Battleship or Memory. 3D computer graphics (in contrast to 2D computer graphics) are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer Myst is a graphic adventure Video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. Doom (officially cased DOOM) is a 1993 Computer game by Id Software that is a landmark title in the First-person shooter Blackjack (also known as Twenty-one, Vingt-et-un (French for Twenty-one or Pontoon) is the most widely played casino banking The game Battleship is a Guessing game played by two people Although popularized in the United States as a commercial Board game, first published in 1931 by the Concentration, also known as Memory, Pelmanism, Shinkei-suijaku or simply Pairs, is a Card game in which all of the cards

As video games flourished and became increasingly common, however, amateur game designers began to adapt video games for the blind via sound. A "game designer" is a person who designs Video games or one who designs traditional games such as Board games Video Games Designer A video game designer In time audio game programmers began to develop audio-only games, based to a smaller and smaller degree on existing video game ideas and instead focussing on the possibilities of game immersion and feedback with sound. Specifically, 3-dimensional positional audio (binaural recording) has been developed since 2000 and now figures prominently in, for example, such audio games as BBBeat. Binaural recording is a method of Recording audio which uses a special Microphone arrangement intended for replay using headphones BBBeat is an Audio game designed for the visually impaired. As such it has no Video display. To effect this, a sound is played in the left, center, or right channel to indicate an object's position in a virtual gaming environment. Generally, this involves stereo panning of various sound effects, many of which are looped to serve as indicators of hazards or objects with which the user can interact. Volume also plays a major role in 3D audio games primarily to indicate an object's proximity with reference to the user. The pitch of a sound is often varied to convey other information about the object it symbolizes. Voice talent is used to indicate menu items rather than text. These parameters have allowed for the creation of, among other genres, side scrollers, 3D action adventures, shooters, and arcade style games.

Console audio games and the modern era

Most audio games are now developed by several small companies (consisting of only a team of 1 to 4 people). The main audience remains primarily visually impaired users, however the game market at large is gradually taking more notice of audio games as well due to the issue of game accessibility. Blindness is the condition of lacking Visual perception due to Physiological or Neurological factors The field of game accessibility deals with the Accessibility of electronic games ( Computer games, Console games, etc Commercial interest in audio games has steadily grown and as a result artists and students have created a number of experimental freeware PC audio games to explore the possibilities and limitations of this gaming form. The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre" Recently, audio games have also become very interesting for the mobile gaming market since no screen is needed.

WARP's Enemy Zero (1997)

In the field of console-gaming, there has been very little in the way of audio-games. WARP is a now-defunct Video game developer. Founded by Japanese musician Kenji Eno, WARP was composed of five members and was dedicated to creating Enemy Zero (E0 is a Video game for Sega Saturn, developed by the company WARP and directed by WARP founder Kenji Eno. One notable exception has been the innovative incorporation of strong audio elements in several of the games produced by the Japanese video game company, WARP. WARP is a now-defunct Video game developer. Founded by Japanese musician Kenji Eno, WARP was composed of five members and was dedicated to creating WARP (formerly EIM) was founded by musician Kenji Eno and consisted of a five-man team including first-time designer Fumito Ueda. ("Entertainment Imagination and Magnificence") was a Japanese game development company established in 1989 by programmer/musician Kenji is a video Game designer born in Tatsuno, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan in 1970 ^[3] In 1997, WARP developed a game called Real Sound for the Sega Saturn which was later ported to DreamCast in 1999 and renamed Real Sound: Kaze no Regret (Real Sound: Regrets in the Wind, Real Sound: Kaze no Regret^?). The is a 32-bit Video game console that was first released on November 22 1994 in Japan, May 11 1995 in North America The is Sega 's most recent Video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. ^[4] This game featured no visuals at all and was entirely dependent upon sound. Following the release of Real Sound, WARP again made use of a novel employment of audio elements in the Sega Saturn game, Enemy Zero (1997) where the enemies of the game are invisible and can only be detected through auditory clues^[4]. The is a 32-bit Video game console that was first released on November 22 1994 in Japan, May 11 1995 in North America Enemy Zero (E0 is a Video game for Sega Saturn, developed by the company WARP and directed by WARP founder Kenji Eno. Further emphasis on the aural environment derived from the game's inclusion of a soundtrack created by minimalist musicologist, Michael Nyman. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes ^[5] Audio-specific elements used in gameplay have been recognized in WARP's D series (including D (1995) and D2 (2000)^[6], which both incorporate soundtracks created by Eno). D is a series of Video games that follow the events of "digital actress" Laura and were published by now-defunct WARP. is a survival horror/puzzle game released in 1995 by WARP. One of the first games released by the company it featured 3D CGI, and introduced the woman who would is a 1999 Survival horror video game developed WARP and published by Sega in Japan and the United States for Sega Dreamcast.

WARP stopped production of video games in 2000 and changed their name to Superwarp following a number of problems with video game producers, mixed reviews of the games, and markedly mediocre sales^[4]. As a result, WARP games have become quite rare and have gained cult status as they are increasingly sought after. Superwarp's work focussed on network services, DVD products, and online music^[7] until 2005 when the company, still under the direction of Kenji Eno, was renamed From Yellow to Orange (commonly abbreviated as fyto)^[4]. From Yellow to Orange, or fyto, is a Japanese Video game developer. Eno has hinted at E3 2006 that fyto is currently engaged in production of a new video game title to be released for the Nintendo Wii^[8]. The history of the E3 began with its creation in 1995 and has continued through the current expo in 2008 is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Kyoto Japan founded on

Nintendo's 2006 audio game collection, Soundvoyager. is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Kyoto Japan founded on bit Generations is a Computer and video game franchise for the Game Boy Advance, published by Nintendo.

Nintendo, as part of its shift to alternative gameplay forms, has shown recent interest in audio games through its own development teams^[9]. is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Kyoto Japan founded on In July of 2006, Nintendo released a collection of audio games called Soundvoyager as the newest member of its spare Digiluxe series. bit Generations is a Computer and video game franchise for the Game Boy Advance, published by Nintendo. bit Generations is a Computer and video game franchise for the Game Boy Advance, published by Nintendo. The Digiluxe series for Game Boy Advance consists of 7 games (in 2 series) that are characterized by simple yet compelling gameplay, minimal graphics, and the emphasis, in such titles as Soundvoyager and Dotstream, on music. The Game Boy Advance (often shortened to GBA) is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. bit Generations is a Computer and video game franchise for the Game Boy Advance, published by Nintendo. Soundvoyager contains 7 audio games (Sound Slalom, Sound Picker, Sound Drive, Sound Cock, Sound Chase, Sound Catcher, and Sound Cannon)^[10]. A rooster (also called a cock or chanticleer) is a male Chicken ( Gallus gallus) the female being called a Hen. While the Digiluxe series has been available in Japan since July 2006, Nintendo of America have yet to announce whether they will release the series in North America^[11].

TTS-enabling video games

The rise of text-to-speech (TTS) software and steady improvements in the field have allowed full audio-conversion of traditionally video-based games. Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. Such games were intended for use by and marketed to the seeing, however they do not actually rest primarily on the visual aspects of the game and so members of the audio game community have been able to convert them to audio games by using them in conjunction with TTS software. While this was originally only available for strictly text-based games such as text adventures, advances in TTS software have led to increased functionality with a diverse array of software types beyond text-only media allowing other works of interactive fiction as well as various simulator games to be enjoyed in a strictly audio environment.

Examples of such games include:

• Hattrick - (Extralives AB, 1997)^[12]
• OGame - (Gameforge, 2002)^[13]
• Jennifer Government: NationStates - (Max Barry, 2002)^[14]

See also

• Binaural recording
• Dummy head recording
• Holophonics
• Interactive fiction
• List of gaming topics
• Music video game
• Video game genres
• Video game music

References

External links

• Game Accessibility Project, website of the Game Accessibility project
• PCS Accessible Game developers List, a big list of blind accessible games and audiogames
• IGDA Game Accessibility Special Interest Group, working to make mainstream games accessible for all disability groups
• AudioGames.net, community website for audio gamers
• AudioGames resources, audio game resources and articles
• Accessible Gaming Rending Independence Possible (AGRIP), home of Audio Quake - a project designed to make Quake accessible for visually impaired individuals
• The Virtual Barbershop, a demonstration of multiple binaural sound effects. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. (NOTE: This is intended for use with stereo headphones)