mouseover and click sounds

[cliffski]

Do you think it is 'essential' that every GUI object has mouseover and click/release sounds?
In the day job, I actually get a bug report saying "button x has no mouseover sound". It's become so much an assumption that I was wondering if I was the only person left who finds these things irritating. They remind me of the 'pads' used in star trek, where a simple task like sending an email goes "beep chirp buzz beep deep-boop zap click". If I was a starfleet officer I'd have gone insane years ago.
Do these sounds annoy you? and more to the point, do you think gamers expect them and benefit from them?

[papillon]

I'm not a big fan of mouseover sounds just because the noises usually chosen are often annoying. I definitely wouldn't want a noise on every button - maybe for a special occasion or something that needed extra attention for it.

Click noises, though, I find oddly reassuring even though they're often pointless (unless you're playing an adventure-type game where you really need the extra proof that the switch has been flipped, because there may not be an immediate visual effect while you explore the strange machine.)

[dntoll]

I find them annoying... Most games could do without them... and I agree that click noises have a function... but they should also be nondisturbing...

[BinaryMoon]

I think clicks when you perform an action (click a button) is fine, but on mouseover... that's just silly!

[Savant]

Mouse over sounds are another cue that something is clickable. I think it's a smart thing to do.

[Nikster]

I like to hear some subtle low volumed low toned beeps when buttons highlight, but nothing in your face, or clicks.. as for actually clicking items I agree with everyone else.

[DGuy]

My first though is no. If the buttons are part of the normal UI, then skip the mouse-over sound. Have the button visually highlight in some way, of course, and give a nice "click" sound when pressed, but no mouse-over sound.

But it would also depend on the type of application and the amount of button usage. If the program has a complex UI, then having something beep and boop each time the mouse is moved would become annoying. OTOH, if the app had a very simple interface or was geared towards young children, then having mouse-over sound might (or in the case of a young audience, probably) be Ok.

[svero]

I use them most of the time... but I do try to make them very subtle and non intrusive. I think they're more important in interfaces where the interface is a little stylish and the buttons dont always look like clear buttons but rather blend into the interface a little. (Like imagine a farm game where you click on a barn door to start the game, and a pitchfork to tweak the settings.. that kind of thing)

[revve]

I really find mouseover sounds irritating, and unless your game emulates an ATM. The button click sounds should be soft and subtle. Rather use some sort of visual highlighting.

[Hiro_Antagonist]

I really find mouseover sounds irritating, and unless your game emulates an ATM. The button click sounds should be soft and subtle. Rather use some sort of visual highlighting.
I completely agree on all counts.

-Hiro_Antagonist

[Savant]

The visual highlighting is a given - without that, your user interface will be inherently hard to use. The audio cue is extra information on top of that.