Investigating the Role of Customized Interaural Time Differences on First-Person Shooter Gaming Performance

Abstract

Binaural listening with personalized Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) is known to enhance a listeners auditory localization in virtual environments, including gaming. However, the methods for achieving personalized HRTFs are often inaccessible for average game players due to measurement complexity and cost. This study explores a simplified approach to improving game performance, particularly in First-Person Shooter (FPS) games by optimizing Interaural Time Difference (ITD). Recognizing that horizontal localization is particularly important for identifying opponent positions in FPS games, this study hypothesizes that optimizing ITD alone may be sufficient for better game performances, potentially alleviating the need for full HRTF personalization. To test this hypothesis, a simplified FPS game environment was developed in Unity. Participants performed tasks to detect sound positions under three HRTF conditions: MIT-KEMAR, Steam Audios default HRTF, and the proposed ITD optimization method. The results indicated that our proposed method significantly reduced players response times compared to other HRTF conditions. These findings allow players to improve their gaming performance within FPS games through simplified HRTF optimization, broadening accessibility to optimized HRTFs for a wider range of game users.