3D sound spatialization with game engines: the virtual acoustics performance of a game engine and a middleware for interactive audio design

This study analyses one of the most popular game engines and an audio middleware to reproduce sound according to sound propagation physics. The analysis focuses on the transmission path between the sound source and the receiver. Even if there are several ready-to-use real-time auralization platforms and software, game engines' use with this aim is a recent study area for acousticians. However, audio design needs with game engines and the limits of their basic releases require additional tools (plugins and middleware) to improve both the quality and realism of sound in virtual environments. The paper discusses the use of Unreal Engine 4 and Wwise's 3D audio production methods in a set of different test environments. It assesses their performance in regard to a commercial geometrical acoustics software. The results show that the investigated version of the game engine and its sound assets are insufficient to simulate real-world cases and that significant improvements can be achieved with use of the middleware.