Gaming headphones. Sound for gamers. Sound illusions

WCE provides the player with everything needed for games and training (computer with monitor, gloves, headphones (large, small, with and without microphone), table, chair. A player can bring their own second set of headphones in the form of sponsor advertising or image, and put them on neck, unplugged. ( World Championship Event )

I am not on friendly terms with earphones. That is, I stick in my ears what's necessary. When I started to play, the main problem was a mouse with a ball, a mouse with a very clogged ball, because it was played mainly in clubs. After some time, everyone started dragging their mice with them. (Who controlled the game with a finger and pulled the ball off?) A little later, they were their own headphones. For headphones, I had one requirement - that 2 ears work. Then came the second wish. To cord was longer than one and a half meters. (This is after sitting on a leash at the far-standing system unit.)
')
Recently we gave a real gaming headset HyperX Cloud to the test. The first thing I ~~sat down to play at LoL~~ was listening to “No time for caution” from “Interstellar”. What immediately pleased - a long wire (with volume control) in a very strong braid (the cat gnawed, gnawed, did not gnaw through), strict Zen design, sound insulation . All the most frequent-breaking places are made of metal.

I did not want to write another review with a bunch of photos and sighs from the quality of the wrapper (especially since I already have one on Habré), but I wanted to share my experience and something that turns ideas about sounds in games. Therefore, I began to recall what was interesting with the sound in the games I played (Starcraft, Quake2, League of Legends, Limbo, etc.). And also I had a lot of questions for igrodelyam and to the players and invite them to share their experiences.

What next will be discussed:

Crites are moments in the game when sound was crucial information (and not just a nice addition), which gives an advantage. I will share my findings and hope that game developers will tell you how they develop such moments.

Example from Virtua Fighter 3

"Another example. In the game Virtua Fighter 3, if Jeffrey uses his “main counter” on the lower kick (“major counter” low kick) against the opponent (meaning that he interrupts the opponent's reception), then after that he can make a guaranteed throw. If the bottom kick misses the attacking opponent, then Jeffrey cannot make a guaranteed shot. When I first asked other players how they knew they could make a throw, they told me: “Just listen to the sound of the counterattack. When you hear it, you can enter a throw command. ” At first I thought they were joking. It seemed too difficult to break through the chaos of battle and hear this particular sound. But in the end, when I pressed the button for the lower blow, everything around me stopped in anticipation of this sound. When I heard him, I was so ready for him that it seemed to me ridiculously simple to have time to enter the cast team. ”
Source: “Playing to Win”, David Sirlin, member of the USA Street Fighter team

Criteria - based on what to choose gaming headphones. On Habré on this subject there are several articles with discussions ( 1 , 2 , 3 ). I invite readers to share their arguments and look at the results of the habro.

Example from habrazhitel

I have been working with sound (and, accordingly, with headphones) for more than 10 years. Basically - with studio headphones, professional, but sometimes you have to deal with consumer goods like the one discussed in this article. And I know perfectly well that the most “dangerous”, the most fragile place in any headphones is the mechanism for attaching the phones themselves to the arcs. In the second place in terms of frequency of breakdowns are the arcs themselves, in the third place is the wire. And I have seen many, many times how professional, studio or DJ headphones have broken, which are many times larger than these Soundblaster, and the mounting mechanism in professional headphones is much more reliable and has been developed taking into account the "difficult" conditions of use. And yet - break. Break with professionals who buy these headphones for their hard-earned money and who handle these headphones very carefully. Here, the mechanism is clearly weak, such a construction would not withstand what the army fun you mentioned, but even a year of ordinary use by the ordinary user. And even if they are attached “in a human way” - this is just such a marketing name. “Humanly” is not a characteristic and not a guarantee of reliability, it is just the first impression of a marketing-beautiful plastic. I can calmly say to you that at least one third of the sold headphones will not live a year. With the most usual exploitation, not from the Vandals, not in the army - from the most simple, "ordinary" users.

habrahabr.ru/post/207806/#comment_7172786

About HyperX Cloud

TTX

Headset

Sensor type: dynamic, Ø 53mm
Operating principle: closed
Frequency response: 15–25000 Hz
Nominal impedance: 60 ohms per system
Nominal sound pressure level: 98 ± 3dB
Nonlinear distortion factor: <2%
Maximum power: 150mW
Headphone Type: Full Size
Suppression of ambient noise: approx. 20 dBa
Headband pressure: 5H
Weight with microphone and cable: 350g
Cable length and type: 1m + 2m extension cable for iPhone (10cm)
Connector: mini plug (3.5 mm)

Microphone

Sensor type: electret capacitor (reverse type)
Principle of operation: pressure gradient
Pattern: cardioid
Power sources: AB power
Voltage: 2V
Current consumption: max. 0.5 mA
Nominal impedance: ≤2.2 kΩ
Idle voltage at f = 1 kHz: 20 mV / Pa
Frequency response: 100–12000 Hz
Nonlinear distortion: 2% at f = 1 kHz
Max. sound pressure level: 105dB SPL (CED ≤ 1.0% at 1 kHz)
Microphone output: -39 ± 3dB
Microphone length: 150mm (including stand)
The diameter of the membrane: Ø6 * 5 mm
Connector: mini plug (3.5mm)

Equipment

Meter cable with remote control, two-meter extension cable, adapter with 3.5 mm plug for mobile devices, and also a microphone, carrying case with additional pockets and even an adapter for the audio system in airplanes and interchangeable velor ear cushions (for warm year and heated rooms).

I extended three matches in LoL in a row (~ 2 hours), and then I want to rest my ears.

External sounds cease to exist (4 missed incoming calls), soundproofing norms.

Convenient carrying case. I threw it into the backpack next to the laptop and went to the hackspace, the wires do not crawl away and do not begin to make friends with the wires from the laptop.

From the description on the site I learned that the warranty is 2 years and free technical support ... Yes, I change laptops more often. There was the idea of headphones-as-service. Bought and not soared. Because the headphones themselves do not need me, but I need (not drills, no holes, not sound) advantages in the game .

If something can break, it breaks in the first month. And then 2 years of immortality code.

Crites

When flying on a paraglider, the instructor determined the wind speed by the nature of the whistle lines, the drivers remove a lot of information from the sound of the engine, even the computers are hacked by the sound . Is there something similar for gamers?

Games

Quake

Location The sounds of surfaces, stairs, water, elevators, the sound of the taken nishtyak - give the location. Therefore, it makes sense to abandon nishtyak or a little bypass the puddle. Constant jumps in Quake 2 on level ground helped to mask those places where jumps are necessary.
Weapon In the first, it is infa how many people and how to fight. The sound helps to count shots / rewind from the Railgun. There was a sense of bullet from the automatics and then suddenly pull out a rocket launcher. With the sound of a Quad - to press somewhere (or vice versa, to trap and take away)
Disguise / traps . With the growth of skill, I began to understand what the enemy is hearing now, and to give out that sound info that is beneficial to me. For example, simulate a swim for Railgun on q2dm1 or fake elevator rides.

League of Legends

The dragon . When the enemy team brings down the dragon, he squeals at the last breath. This is a signal to either finish off slightly roasted carcasses of enemies, or to bring down if he himself turned out to be half dead, nearby. We also keep score of the killed dragons of the enemy team.
Ulta . As soon as I hear the roar of Zion, it's time to hide around the corner or prepare a jump / seit.
Tower. When there is a kneading under the tower, a fraction of a second before the tower lets out a light in you, it peaks. With good hearing and skill, you can have time to jump out or turn on the shield.

Neverhood
Sound like a puzzle

Limbo
When only two eyes are visible in the darkness and it is necessary to dodge aurally from the circular

Blind Survivor
The game is on behalf of the blind. All actions are only by ear. To make it easier to go through the game - better to blindfold.

Starcraft
This sound still includes a reflex to drive all units under the turret and save SCV

And this one is to look for a red dot on the screen and take the entire fleet away.

Movie

Jesse Shell writes:

The first cartoon with Mickey

In quizzes you can often see the question: “What was the first cartoon with Mickey Mouse?” And most of us know the answer: “Steamboat Willie” (eng. - Steamboat Willi). But it turns out that most of us are wrong. “Willie Steamer” was preceded by another cartoon with Mickey Mouse called “Crazy Plane” (eng. - Plane Crazy), released six months earlier. What was so special about “Willie Steamer” that we remembered it as the first appearance of Mickey on the screens? Technology. In particular, “Parakhodik Willie” was the first cartoon in which the synchronous voice was used. And the sound was not a decoration - the whole cartoon was created around a synchronized sound series. In the plot of “Steamboat Willie”, Mickey and Minnie play on different pets as if they were musical instruments. It was cute, clever and fascinating, but without synchronized voice acting there would be no point. This technology has become fundamental to the kind of experience that created this cartoon. Later, “Mad Plane” also received a synchronous voice acting, but here it was rather a decoration: the sound of roaring aircraft engines could not greatly change the fundamental experience of this cartoon.

We also seem to have a contender for the coolness of sound in the movie:

(Could not resist, just sounds cool)

Interstellar

Interstellar 2014 Dr. Mann Docking Scene IMAX BluRay 1080p

"20 feet out!"
"I need 3 degrees starboard, Cooper"
"10 feet out!"
"Cooper, we are ... lined up!"
"Initiating spin!"

How this sound was created

Firefly

Sound illusions

Has anyone used this in games?

Matchbox
If the headphones and eyes closed, then the wow effect is guaranteed. Tested on girls.

still

Virtual Hair Salon
Illusion, called “virtual barbershop” by specialists, is a phenomenon of a binaural effect, and is in the ability of humans and animals to determine which side of them the sound source is located due to the presence of two ears that function as sound receivers (a source located in front of or back, determined poorly and inaccurately).

"Falling" bells
The sound illusion, called “falling” bells, is that the sounds of the bells heard in the recording “fall” with decreasing pitch.

Hidden steps
For the first time, this illusion was discovered by psychology professor Diana Deutsch, who showed how the brain groups together standing notes together. In the demonstration, two melodies are played - one increasing in tone, the other decreasing, and the notes are different for two ears - for example, the right ear hears the first note of the first melody, then the second note of the second melody, and so on. Most listeners group high and low notes together, and it turns out that one ear hears first a decreasing and then an increasing sequence, and the second, on the contrary, an increasing sequence and then a decreasing one. Our brain collects from porridge a more or less beautiful melody, which we “present” to us. In addition, if you are right-handed, then first you will hear a rising tone from the right, and a decreasing tone in the left, and vice versa if left-handed.

Increasing sequence
This illusion was discovered by the French composer Jean-Claude Risset. The pairs of notes follow one by one, creating the illusion of elevation, as if on the piano you press the keys from left to right ... In fact, the tone does not rise, and if you immediately press the PLAY button again after the melody ends, the melody will continue, and so on to infinity. But the tone cannot rise to infinity, unlike the illusion that our brain creates.

Phantom words
This illusion was first demonstrated by Diane Deutsch at the University of California, San Diego. Recording features overlapping sequences of repeating words or phrases located in different regions of the stereo space. When you listen to it you will be able to distinguish individual phrases. However, in reality, no phrases exist. It's just that your brain is trying to transform this meaningless noise into something understandable. Usually there are those words and phrases that are related to what is on your mind.