Proceedings of the 6th Audio Mostly Conference: a Conference on Interaction with Sound
Authors
Abstract
The Audio Mostly Conference has since its start in 2006 become a venue for researchers, technicians and artists exploring audio in interactive and other computer-based environments. The conference themes varied over the years, from the first focus on "Sound in Games" over to "Interaction with Sound", "Sound and Motion", "Sound and Emotion", "Sound and Design", to this year's (2011) theme "Sound and Context".Through its editions, the Audio Mostly Conference series fostered the thoughtfulness for the unexploited potential of audio in computer-based environments and across many contexts. It aimed to help open up this area of thinking by bringing together game designers, audio experts, content creators, and technology and behavioural researchers. Through this forum, varied experts can discuss developments and new potentials for audio in many areas such as entertainment, health and fitness, education, industrial training, serious gaming, etc. This is also a venue to present sonic solutions to development and design challenges in low resolution scenarios or environments where screens are unavailable.
The theme for the sixth Audio Mostly Conference covers ways in which sound and music can be utilized as a way to create context, in physical and virtual environments, and especially as a way to enhance the experience in interactive applications. Sound is both an expression of an environment and a drive for change in that context. The perception of sound as a context carrier emphasizes the interest in exploring the interpretative value of sound and the way it can affect users in context. By realizing the contextualizing potential of sound, researchers and designers can enhance users' experiences and provide richer sense making contexts. Appreciating sound woven into contexts can also foster holistic approaches that benefit overall design coherence.