---
key: mechanic/voice-audio--family-16
type: mechanic
id: voice-audio--family-16
lang: en
title: Selective attention and stream separation
summary: >-
  The player picks out a relevant stream among competing sounds, such as a
  threat, speech or task cue, to choose the next action.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/voice-audio--family-16/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/voice-audio--family-16.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/voice-audio--family-16.md
aliases:
  - Selective auditory attention
tags:
  - Voice and sound
  - Hearing as perception
sourceIds:
  - source-52301c3226d81f2b
sources:
  - id: source-52301c3226d81f2b
    title: Blind Drive
    url: 'https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blind-drive/id964294239?uo=4'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: voice-audio
    id: family-16
    title: Voice and sound
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/voice-audio/#family-16'
    categoryIds:
      - hearing
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Selective auditory attention
    description: >-
      The player picks out a relevant stream among competing sounds, such as a
      threat, speech or task cue, to choose the next action.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/sensor-blind-drive-3.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Blind Drive
      sourceUrl: 'https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blind-drive/id964294239?uo=4'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource114/v4/49/64/a2/4964a27a-e780-a9da-8191-19c8a4ba92f9/9636f08b-efd0-4ea7-b5e6-2b0cbb80d34c_3.jpg/1440x1080bb.jpg
      credit: Giori Politi
      rights: >-
        © Giori Politi. Developer-distributed App Store screenshot. All rights
        reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: >-
        Blind Drive: a limited display, with key threats communicated through
        sound
      alt: >-
        Blind Drive: a limited display, with key threats communicated through
        sound
      markers:
        - x: 49
          'y': 58
          label: The road situation must be reconstructed through sound
    tips:
      - Keep critical cues intelligible and let stream levels be adjusted.
    examples:
      - title: Blind Drive
        url: 'https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blind-drive/id964294239?uo=4'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked
  sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/voice-audio
---
# Selective attention and stream separation

id: voice-audio--family-16
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/voice-audio--family-16
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/voice-audio--family-16/

The player picks out a relevant stream among competing sounds, such as a threat, speech or task cue, to choose the next action.

## At a glance

![Blind Drive: a limited display, with key threats communicated through sound](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/sensor-blind-drive-3.webp)

[Blind Drive](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blind-drive/id964294239?uo=4) · © Giori Politi. Developer-distributed App Store screenshot. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. The road situation must be reconstructed through sound

- Keep critical cues intelligible and let stream levels be adjusted.

- [Blind Drive](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blind-drive/id964294239?uo=4)

## How it works

Select the important sound stream among competing sources.

## Variants

### Focus

<a id="family-16-branch-1"></a>

- Follow one voice among several speakers. <a id="family-16-branch-1-variant-1"></a>
- Extract a target sound from background noise. <a id="family-16-branch-1-variant-2"></a>
- Follow one instrument within music. <a id="family-16-branch-1-variant-3"></a>
- Hear a rare event in a long repeating stream. <a id="family-16-branch-1-variant-4"></a>

### Attention switching

<a id="family-16-branch-2"></a>

- Switch channels, rooms or radio frequencies. <a id="family-16-branch-2-variant-1"></a>
- Listen to reconnaissance while responding to nearby threats. <a id="family-16-branch-2-variant-2"></a>
- Choose whose report to process first. <a id="family-16-branch-2-variant-3"></a>
- Notice background changes while doing another task. <a id="family-16-branch-2-variant-4"></a>

### Comparing streams

<a id="family-16-branch-3"></a>

- Compare two simultaneous sequences. <a id="family-16-branch-3-variant-1"></a>
- Find inconsistency between speech and surrounding events. <a id="family-16-branch-3-variant-2"></a>
- Identify a source masking a useful signal. <a id="family-16-branch-3-variant-3"></a>
- Divide listening to multiple streams among participants. <a id="family-16-branch-3-variant-4"></a>

## Context and limits

A working design-space map: 27 families, 81 branches and 324 variants. Voice control, audio-based play and communication can combine or exist separately. Released-game examples support particular techniques; supplementary combinations are design proposals.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.

- [Blind Drive](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blind-drive/id964294239?uo=4) (id: source-52301c3226d81f2b)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors