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，而游戏世界地图是玩家可使用的核心导航元素。为此，研究者们决定通过受试对象对《巫师3：狂猎》中各类空间情境案例的分析，验证游戏世界地图的重要性。本研究选用眼动追踪作为研究方法，数据分析采用统计检验手段完成。本次调研的参与者涵盖《巫师3：狂猎》玩家与非玩家、普通游戏玩家与非游戏玩家，以及自我认定为女性或男性的受试者。每名受试者均观看了5段游戏实机录像（1段开场录像、4段主研究阶段录像），录像内容均包含开启游戏世界地图的场景。每段录像播放完毕后，受试者需回答关于游戏玩法与游戏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试者性别，均会影响问题回答的正确率与作答时长。此外，研究还发现游戏世界地图与游戏玩法片段不会为使用者带来认知负担。不同受试群体的视觉关注策略存在显著差异。研究者强调，未来有必要针对电子游戏中的空间情境分析开展更多相关研究。