AES Europe 2025

Sound is one of the most powerful tools for accessibility in video games, enabling players with visual impairments or cognitive disabilities to navigate, interact, and fully engage with the game world. This panel will explore how sound engineers can leverage audio design to enhance accessibility, making games more inclusive without compromising artistic intent. Experts from different areas of game development will discuss practical approaches, tools, and case studies that showcase how audio can bridge gaps in accessibility.

Discussion Topics:

• Why is sound crucial for accessibility in video games? Audio cues, spatial sound, and adaptive music can replace or complement visual elements, guiding players with disabilities through complex environments and interactions.
• Designing effective spatial audio for navigation and interaction. Using 3D audio and binaural rendering to provide players with intuitive sound-based navigation, enhancing orientation and gameplay flow for blind or visually impaired users.
• Audio feedback and sonification as key accessibility tools. Implementing detailed auditory feedback for in-game actions, menu navigation, and contextual cues to improve usability and player experience.
• Case studies of games with exemplary accessible audio design. Examining how games like The Last of Us Part II, BROK: The InvestiGator, and other titles have successfully integrated sound-based accessibility features.
• Tools and middleware solutions for accessible sound design (example: InclusivityForge). Showcasing how game engines and plugins such as InclusivityForge can streamline the implementation of accessibility-focused audio solutions.
• Challenges in designing accessible game audio and overcoming them. Addressing common technical and creative challenges when designing inclusive audio experiences, including balancing accessibility with immersive design.
• Future trends in accessibility-driven audio design. Exploring how AI, procedural sound, and new hardware technologies can push the boundaries of accessibility in interactive audio environments.

Panel Guests:

• Dr Joanna Pigulak - accessibility expert in games, researcher specializing in game audio accessibility, assistant professor at the Institute of Film, Media, and Audiovisual Arts at UAM.
• Tomasz Tworek - accessibility consultant, blind gamer, and audio design collaborator specializing in improving audio cues and sonification in video games.
• Dr Tomasz Żernicki - sound engineer, creator of accessibility-focused audio technologies for games, and founder of InclusivityForge.

Target Audience:

• Sound engineers and game audio designers looking to implement accessibility features in their projects.
• Game developers interested in leveraging audio as a tool for accessibility.
• UX designers and researchers focusing on sound-based interaction in gaming.
• Middleware and tool developers aiming to create better solutions for accessible audio design.
• Industry professionals seeking to align with accessibility regulations and best practices.

This panel discussion will explore how sound engineers can enhance game accessibility through innovative audio solutions, providing insights into the latest tools, design techniques, and industry best practices.

Binaural audio is fundamental to delivering immersive spatial sound, but traditional playback has been limited to headphones. Crosstalk Cancellation (CTC) technology overcomes this limitation by enabling accurate binaural reproduction over loudspeakers, allowing for a more natural listening experience. Using a compact loudspeaker array positioned in front of the listener, CTC systems apply beamforming techniques to direct sound precisely to each ear. Combined with listener tracking, this ensures consistent and accurate binaural playback, even as the listener moves. This workshop will provide an in-depth look at the principles behind CTC technology, the role of loudspeaker array beamforming, and a live demonstration of a listener-tracked CTC soundbar.

Immersive audio has become a significant trend in music recording, reproduction, and the audio and entertainment industries. This workshop will explore microphone techniques for immersive sound recording from theoretical, aesthetic, and musical perspectives.

Capturing a music performance and its acoustic features in a specific reverberant field, such as a concert hall, requires specialized microphone techniques for immersive sound. Various microphone techniques have already been proposed for immersive music recording. Achieving a natural timbre, appropriate musical balance, wide frequency range, low distortion, and high signal-to-noise ratio are essential in music recordings for capturing the music performance, including immersive sound recording. The acoustic features of the musical performances can be naturally reproduced by appropriately capturing direct and indirect sounds in the sound field.

The first topic of this workshop will cluster and review microphone techniques based on their fundamental roles. The panelists will also introduce their immersive sound music recording concept, demonstrate their microphone techniques, and provide sound demos.

Immersive audio can expand the adequate listening area if the microphone technique is designed with this goal. This is crucial for popularizing immersive sound reproduction among music lovers. Therefore, the second topic of this workshop will discuss microphone techniques from the perspective of the listening area during reproduction. The panelist will explain his hypothesis that lower correlation values in the vertical direction contribute to the expansion of the listening area.

In immersive sound recording, various microphone techniques have been proposed to reproduce the top layer of the multichannel discrete loudspeaker layout. It is recommended to use directional microphones and position the top and middle layer microphones simultaneously to avoid phase differences that can degrade timbre. However, some reports suggest that separating the top and middle layers can enhance the perception of vertical spaciousness. Experiments conducted by the panelists also suggest that separating these layers and lowering the correlation between them can widen the listening area without altering the central listening position's impression. Comparing microphone types and installation positions in the upper layer is challenging in actual recording situations. Therefore, the panelists will compare listening impressions under various conditions and allow participants to experience these differences using virtual recording techniques (V2MA), which will be discussed as the third topic of this workshop.

Several papers have reviewed microphone techniques, but most have relied on subjective evaluation. The third topic of this workshop will attempt to evaluate microphone techniques from a physical viewpoint. The panel will introduce the Virtual Microphone Array technique (V2MA) to determine how each microphone captures a room's reflection sounds and identify the acoustical features of several microphone arrays used for immersive sound recording. V2MA generates Spatial Room Impulse Responses (SRIR) using a virtual microphone placed in a virtual room with spatial properties of dominant reflections previously sampled in an actual room.

Lectures and demos help us understand the acoustical features and intentions behind microphone techniques, but they are insufficient to grasp their spatial characteristics, especially for immersive sound recording. The panelists will provide 7.0.4ch demos to showcase the spatial features of microphone techniques using V2MA. V2MA generates the acoustic response of a microphone placed virtually in a room, calculated from spatial information of virtual sound sources, such as dominant reflections detected from sound intensities measured in the target room. This workshop will illustrate the spatial characteristics of microphone arrays, allowing us to discuss the types of reflections captured by microphones and discover the differences in spatial features between microphone techniques.

Following each panelist's presentation, a panel discussion will delve into microphone techniques from theoretical, aesthetic, and musical viewpoints. This workshop aims to review issues with microphone techniques for immersive sound and discuss potential solutions to achieve natural spatial reproduction of musical performances for home entertainment.

If you are considering establishing a room for sound, i.e., recording, mixing, editing, listening, or even a room for live music, this is the crash course to attend!
Initially, we’ll walk through the essential considerations for any design of an acoustic space, (almost) no matter the purpose: Appropriate reverberation time, appropriate sound distribution, low background noise, no echoes/flutter echoes, appropriate control of early reflections, (and for stereo/surround/immersive: a degree of room symmetry).
To prevent misunderstandings, we must define the difference between room acoustics and building acoustics. This is a tutorial on room acoustics! Finding the right reverberation time for a project depends on the room's purpose. We’ll look into some relevant standards to find an appropriate target value and pay attention to the importance of the room's frequency balance, especially at low frequencies! We will take the starting point for calculation using Sabine’s equation and discuss the conditions to make it work.
The room's shape, the shape’s effect on room modes, and the distribution of the modes are mentioned (together with the term Schroeder Frequency). The acoustical properties of some conventional building materials and the consequences of choosing one in favor of another for the basic design are discussed. The membrane absorbers (plasterboard, plywood, gypsum board) and their importance in proper room design are presented here. This also involves the definition of absorption coefficients (and how to get them).
From the “raw” room and its properties, we move on to define the acoustic treatment to reach the target value. Again, the treatment often can be cheaper building materials. However, a lot of expensive specialized materials are also available. We’ll try to find a way through the jungle, keeping an eye on the spending. The tools typically are porous absorbers for the smaller rooms. Sometimes, resonance absorbers are used for larger rooms. We don’t want overkill of the high frequencies!
The placement of the sound sources in the room influences the perceived sound. A few basic rules are given. Elements to control the sound field are discussed: Absorption vs. diffusion. Some more uncomplicated principles for DYI diffusers are shown.
During the presentation, various practical solutions are presented. At the end of the tutorial, there will be some time for a minor Q&A.

Extensive studies have been made into achieving generally enjoyable sound colour in headphone listening, but few publications have been written focusing on the demanding requirements of a single audio professional, and what they actually hear.

However, headphones provide fundamentally different listening conditions, compared to our professional, in-room monitoring standards. With headphones, there is even no direct connection between measured frequency response and what a given user hears.

Media professionals from a variety of fields need awareness of such differences, and to take them into account in content production and quality control.

The paper details a recently published method and systematic steps to get to know yourself as a headphone listener. It also summarises new studies of basic listening requirements in headphone monitoring; and it explains why, even if the consumer is listening on headphones, in-room monitoring is generally the better and more relevant common denominator to base production on. The following topics and dimensions are compared across in-room and headphone monitoring: Audio format, listening level, frequency response, auditory envelopment, localisation, speech intelligibility and low frequency sensation.

New, universal headphone monitoring standards are required, before such devices may be used with a reliability and a confidence comparable to in-room monitoring adhering to, for example, ITU-R BS.1116, BS.775 and BS.2051.

Since we've moved from stereo to surround and 3D/immersive productions, many immersive music mixes still sound very much like larger stereo versions. Part of the reason for this is the record company's demands and the argument, that people don't have properly set up systems at home or only listen with headphones. But that's not the way to experience the real adventure, which is to create new, stunning sound and musical experiences. The workshop will not criticize mixes, but try to open the door to the new dimension of music and discuss the pros and cons that producers have to deal with today.

The evolution of 3D audio has significantly influenced the music and film industries, yet its full potential remains untapped. This panel will explore how immersive audio technologies, including Ambisonics, Dolby Atmos, and volumetric sound, shape new frontiers beyond traditional applications. We will focus on three key areas: accessibility in video games, the integration of 3D audio in gaming experiences, and its growing role in the automotive industry. Our panelists will discuss the state of the market, technological limitations, and emerging opportunities where spatial audio enhances user experience, safety, and engagement. This discussion aims to inspire innovation and collaboration among researchers, developers, and industry professionals.

As spatial audio shifts from a premium feature to a mainstream expectation, significant challenges remain in delivering a uniform experience across devices, formats, and playback systems. This panel brings together industry and academic experts to explore the key technologies driving the future of immersive audio for consumers. We’ll discuss the core technological advancements, software, hardware, and ecosystem innovations necessary to enable more seamless and consistent spatial audio experiences. Additionally, we will examine the challenges of delivering perceptually accurate spatial audio across diverse playback environments and identify the most critical areas of focus for industry and academia to accelerate broader consumer adoption of spatial audio.

How can Audio Augmented Reality (AAR) serve as a storytelling medium? Sound designer Matias Harju shares insights from The Reign Union, an experimental interactive AAR story currently exhibited at WHS Union Theatre in Helsinki, Finland.

This workshop addresses the challenges and breakthroughs of creating an immersive, headphone-based 6DoF AAR experience. In The Reign Union, two simultaneous participants experience the same bio-fictional story from different points of audition. Narrative design considerations and approaches are discussed and demonstrated through video clips featuring binaural sound recorded from the experience. References to other AAR experiences around the world are included to provide a broader context. A central theme is how reality anchors the narrative, while virtual sounds reveal new perspectives and interpretations.

The session also briefly examines the development of an in-house 6DoF AAR prototype platform, used for The Reign Union story as well as other narrative research conducted by the author and his team. This has been a journey through various pose tracking, virtual acoustic, and authoring solutions, resulting in a scalable system potentially suited for complex indoor spaces.

Matias, author of the forthcoming book Audio Augmented Reality: Concepts, Technologies, and Narratives (Routledge, June 2025), invites attendees to discuss and discover the possibilities of AAR as a tool for storytelling and artistic expression.

The ECHO Project (Exploring the Cinematic Hemisphere for Orchestra) is a collaborative research initiative that explores 3D microphone array techniques for orchestral recording, involving eight experts in immersive sound recording: Kellogg Boynton, Anthony Caruso, Hyunkook Lee, Morten Lindberg, Simon Ratcliffe, Katarzyna Sochaczewska, Mark Willsher, and Nick Wollage. Building on the 3D-MARCo initiative, this project aims to provide a platform for sound engineers, composers, researchers, and students to experiment with various immersive recording techniques. To this end, an open-access database of high-quality orchestral recordings was created from a recording session at AIR Studios, London, featuring a Oscar-winning composer Volker Bertelmann and the London Contemporary Orchestra.

The ECHO database includes recordings of four pieces, captured using up to 143 microphone capsules per piece. This setup includes seven different microphone arrays designed by the experts, spot microphones, a dummy head, and a higher-order spherical microphone system. The database allows users to not only compare different techniques but also to experiment with mixing different microphones, helping them develop their own techniques. It also serves as a useful resource for research, teaching and learning in immersive audio.

This workshop will present the rationale behind each microphone array used in the project, detail the recording process, discuss the immersive approach to composition and recording methods, and present some of the recordings in 7.1.4.

As immersive audio content becomes more prevalent across streaming and broadcast platforms, creators and engineers face the challenge of making spatial audio accessible to listeners using legacy codecs and traditional playback systems, particularly headphones. With multiple binaural encoding methods available, choosing the right approach for a given project can be complex.

This workshop is designed as an exploration for audio professionals to better understand the strengths and applications of various binaural encoding systems. By comparing different techniques and their effectiveness in real-world scenarios, attendees will gain insights into how binaural processing can serve as a bridge between legacy and modern formats, preserving spatial cues while maintaining compatibility with existing distribution channels.

As the first in a series of workshops, this session will help define key areas for real-world testing between this convention and the next. Attendee insights and discussions will directly influence which encoding methods are explored further, ensuring that the most effective solutions are identified for different content types and delivery platforms.

Participants will gain an understanding of processing methods, and implementation strategies for various distribution platforms. By integrating these approaches, content creators can enhance accessibility and ensure that immersive audio reaches a wider audience, possibly encouraging consumers to explore how to enjoy immersive content using a variety of playback systems.

Join a panel of professionals from a variety of fields in the industry as we discuss topics including how to enter the audio industry, how they each got started in their own careers and the path their careers took, and give advice geared towards students and recent graduates. Bring your questions for the panelists – most of this workshop will be focused the information YOU want to hear!

*Introduction
With the growing market of immersive audio, both new and exciting production possibilities are emerging, alongside the resurfacing of existing surround sound production techniques. As audio production continues to evolve, understanding the impact of temporal properties on spatial perception becomes increasingly critical. One of the most effective ways to create a sense of space and depth, as well as to enhance listener envelopment, is through precise manipulation of temporal characteristics of sound.

*Temporal Adjustments in Audio Production
In stereophonic recording techniques, spatialization is often achieved by carefully controlling both each microphone’s distance from the sound source and the distance between microphones, in conjunction with leveraging variations in microphone sensitivity through polar patterns and directional rejection.
These distance-based variations introduce time delays, which are fundamental to spatial localization and depth perception. Similarly, in post-production workflows, delaying and applying differentiated effects to signals serve as powerful tools for enhancing immersion and spatiality. The controlled use of delay, reflections, and micro-temporal variations plays a significant role in shaping perceived auditory space. These techniques are widely used in both as mixing approaches with music and also sound design where artificially introducing delays helps simulate the propagation of sound in physical spaces, creating a more authentic and immersive auditory experience.

*Psychoacoustic Phenomena and Spatial Perception
Closely delayed or slightly altered signals give rise to psychoacoustic effects that influence spatial perception rather than purely temporal perception.
For instance, the number, spectral characteristics, and temporal distribution of reflections can lead a listener to perceive an auditory environment akin to a concert hall, even in the absence of an actual reverberant space.
The well-known Haas effect (precedence effect) provides insights into how human perception prioritizes the first-arriving sound over subsequent delayed versions, influencing localization and clarity. Additionally, the concepts of Temporal Integration Window (auditory signal fusion) describe how multiple signals originating from the same source are perceptually fused into a single event, affecting spatial coherence and envelopment.

*Workshop and Study Overview
This workshop presents and exemplifies findings from an ongoing semester-long study, which is currently being prepared as a submission to the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. The study investigates whether sensation, timbral perception, and temporal integration windows are influenced when the delayed signal's spatial position is altered. By showcasing how spatial modifications of delayed signals affect auditory perception, the workshop aims to contribute insights to the field of immersive audio production.

*Conclusion
This research underscores the importance of temporal manipulation in immersive audio, bridging psychoacoustics with production techniques. By examining spatial perception through the lens of delay-based processing, the study offers new perspectives on designing more effective immersive sound experiences. The workshop will provide participants with theoretical insights and practical examples, encouraging further exploration of the intersection between temporal properties and spatial audio design.