Programming Interactivity

Chapter 7. Sound and Audio

Our primary experience of computing and of computers is through the screen. The feedback to the user and the input of the user are both most often communicated visually. This isn’t, however, how our experience of the world works, or how our cognitive and perceptual facilities function. One of our most finely turned and emotionally evocative senses, our hearing, is often relegated to a lesser role or is ignored altogether in interactive design. In some scenarios, sound isn’t a viable method of input or feedback. We don’t want to have to talk to a computer or have it making noise in a quiet office. In other situations, neglecting the possibility of aural interaction with a user is a great loss to both an art piece or a product. Video game designers have put great effort and attention into their sound engines and the quality of the sounds in their games. Architects and interior designers, stage designers, sociologists, and of course musicians and sound artists all understand how our experience of the world is shaped by sound. Sound isn’t always vital to a particular task, but it’s an essential component of a rich and complete experience. You don’t need to hear anything to enter your credit card number into a form, but a well-crafted, logical, and sensible use of sound in an application helps you perceive the world.

When sound is married effectively with a visual element, both elements are strengthened. Imagine a ball hitting a wall with and then again without ...