Volume 8 Issue 3 Article 17

Investigating The Intersection of Wayfinding and Immersive Experience in Virtual Landscapes

Authors: Suna Korkmaz1 & Ikhwan Kim2
1Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
2Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract: The virtual landscape has been used as a tool to develop the real world; however, this domain itself also has a design value. Taking advantage of the unique affordances of such environments to allow the construction of spatial knowledge, virtual landscape designers need to incorporate wayfinding mechanisms into their designs to help the users’ navigation in the space. However, the wayfinding efficiency of the virtual landscape bonds strongly with the designers’ real-world skills and their transmission to the virtuality. Hence, the spatial features that consider user-space interactions in mental representation are more efficient in designing immersive wayfinding aids. Since the combination of various types of spatial knowledge leads to creating cognitive maps in people’s minds, this paper adopted the cognitive mapping concept and Kevin Lynch’s design approach to provide a framework for understanding players’ spatial knowledge process. The research results were evaluated by understanding the benefits of landmark knowledge to create route information, map usage, and location determination features. Based on the player survey analyses and audio-interview data on selected virtual landscapes in World of Warcraft, the research provides an inclusive representation regarding five main characterizations: experience, abilities, strategies, motivation, and environmental features. With the research findings, virtual landscape designers can produce more inclusive and immersive game environments by focusing on spatial interactions and user experience in commercial and educational-oriented digital games.

Keywords: Digital Games, Virtual Landscape, Spatial Knowledge, Immersive Experience, Wayfinding, Landmark

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Doi: 10.23918/eajse.v8i3p221

Published: January 3, 2023

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