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.