Keeping your ears on the virtual ground: Expert insights on virtual reality audio techniques and challenges
Jacob Hedges, Robert Sazdov, Andrew Johnston · 2024
Virtual reality (VR) audio practitioners navigate interdisciplinary spatial design decisions alongside complex interactive audio systems, resulting in novel solutions to creating immersive experiences in VR environments. Previous work has attempted to uncover these unique practitioner challenges through case studies, however direct insights from a range of VR audio professionals may provide a new understanding of how these challenges are being solved. This study employs semi-structured interviews with twelve participants identified as leading practitioners in the field to reveal several key findings on VR audio creative practice, with a focus on Head Mounted Display (HMD) content. The results aim to serve as a valuable resource for audio professionals and researchers to understand the current challenges faced by leading experts in the field. Key findings highlight the necessity for flexible design approaches due to the diverse range of VR applications, the importance of strategic audio placement and scale for immersion, and the need for highly dynamic sound object behavior to create realistic soundscapes. The difficulty of mixing audio in VR and the limitations of current tools emphasize the need for integrated and comprehensive solutions, as well as efficient auralization tools for enhancing the quality and immersive potential of VR audio production.