Educational Computer Game Supporting Skills Development in Timbre Solfege
Abstract
This paper presents Sound Jobs, an educational computer game designed to develop timbre solfege skills for sound engineers and audio professionals. Unlike existing ear-training tools that operate as standalone applications or web-based services, Sound Jobs integrates listening exercises within an engaging game narrative set in the 1970s hacking culture. The system was developed using the Unity game engine integrated with FMOD Studio middleware, enabling precise control over audio signal processing parameters essential for timbre discrimination tasks. The game offers three modes (Jobs, Training, and Testing) with exercises covering equalization recognition, dynamic range discrimination, distortion detection, reverb characterization, and delay identification. Evaluation through user surveys with Music in Multimedia students and professional audio engineers revealed positive reception, with participants particularly appreciating the gamification approach and the progressive difficulty system. Based on feedback, a second version was developed incorporating game save functionality and interface improvements. The tool is currently employed in timbre solfege instruction at the University of Silesia. Future development plans include expanding the sound material library and establishing a public repository for broader accessibility.
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