Exploring the Role of Sound Design in Serious Games: Impact on User Experience and Learning Outcomes

Zijing Cao, António Sá Pinto, Gilberto Bernardes

2025

Abstract

Sound design plays an important role in serious games, influencing user experience and learning outcomes. However, deriving general principles and best practices remains challenging, as most literature relies on case-based studies in different application domains. Through a systematic review of the literature, 21 studies were analyzed to address two key questions: 1) what types of serious games and application domains incorporate sound design? and 2) what sound design strategies are implemented to enhance user experience and learning outcomes? The findings show that serious games have mainly focused on education, healthcare, and training, using sound to enhance motivation (50%), cognition (32%), and knowledge acquisition (18%). Furthermore, sound design strategies fulfill distinct roles: sound effects enhance feedback and engagement, background music influences motivation and cognitive processing, ambient sounds support navigation and emotional regulation, and dialogue facilitates knowledge acquisition. The findings highlight the need for further research to establish standardized sound design principles to optimize user experience and learning outcomes in serious games.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Cao Z., Pinto A. and Bernardes G. (2025). Exploring the Role of Sound Design in Serious Games: Impact on User Experience and Learning Outcomes. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSME; ISBN 978-989-758-746-7, SciTePress, pages 692-700. DOI: 10.5220/0013504400003932

in Bibtex Style

@conference{csme25,
author={Zijing Cao and António Pinto and Gilberto Bernardes},
title={Exploring the Role of Sound Design in Serious Games: Impact on User Experience and Learning Outcomes},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSME},
year={2025},
pages={692-700},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013504400003932},
isbn={978-989-758-746-7},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSME
TI - Exploring the Role of Sound Design in Serious Games: Impact on User Experience and Learning Outcomes
SN - 978-989-758-746-7
AU - Cao Z.
AU - Pinto A.
AU - Bernardes G.
PY - 2025
SP - 692
EP - 700
DO - 10.5220/0013504400003932
PB - SciTePress