The significance of the world map in video games for the interpretation of spatial situations using the example of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This article examines the significance of the world map in video games for the interpretation of spatial situations. An example is the popular role-playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Nowadays, most video games are characterized by the presence of a spatial aspect. The game world map is the most important navigational element of the game that the gamer can use. To this end, the authors decided to test the importance of the game world map in the context of analyzing different examples of spatial situations that appear in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by the respondents. Eye movement tracking was chosen as the research method. The analysis was conducted using statistical tests. Both gamers and non-gamers of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, gamers and non-gamers in general, and people who identified themselves as women or men participated in the survey. Each subject was shown 5 movies (1 introductory movie, 4 movies in the main part of the study) from the gameplay of the game, in which the game world map was opened. After each video, a question was asked about both the gameplay and the game world map. It was found that familiarity with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, frequency of playing video games and gender influenced the correctness and time of answering the questions asked. In addition, it was found that the game world map and gameplay segments do not cognitively burden the users. Differences in visual strategy were observed between the groups of test subjects. The authors emphasized the importance of conducting further research on video games in relation to the analysis of spatial situations.

本研究探讨了电子游戏中的世界地图对于空间情境解读的重要意义，并以热门角色扮演游戏《巫师3：狂猎（The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt）》作为研究案例。当下，绝大多数电子游戏均具备空间维度属性，而游戏内世界地图是玩家可使用的核心导航元素。为此，研究者们以受访者所分析的《巫师3：狂猎》中各类空间情境案例为研究场景，检验游戏内世界地图的重要性。本研究选取眼动追踪（Eye Movement Tracking）技术作为研究方法，数据分析环节采用统计学检验完成。本次调研招募的参与者涵盖多类群体：《巫师3：狂猎》玩家与非玩家、普通电子游戏玩家与非玩家，以及自认为女性或男性的受试者。每位受试者均会观看5段取自该游戏游玩过程的视频，其中1段为开场视频、4段为主实验环节视频，所有视频均展示了处于打开状态的游戏内世界地图。每段视频播放结束后，受试者需回答关于游戏玩法与游戏内世界地图的相关问题。研究结果显示：对《巫师3：狂猎》的熟悉程度、电子游戏游玩频率与受访者性别，均会对问题作答的正确率与作答时长产生显著影响。此外，研究还发现游戏内世界地图与游戏玩法片段不会为使用者带来认知负荷，且不同受试群体间的视觉策略存在明显差异。最后，研究者们强调，未来有必要针对空间情境分析展开更多电子游戏相关的深入研究。