Studies of the effectiveness of multimedia cartography products may include mini-map design for navigation. In this study, we have touched upon designing gameplay to indicate the impact of the mini-map on the time effectiveness of a player that can walk or teleport himself/herself along marked out points in virtual topographic space. The eye-tracking examination of gamers’ effectiveness in a non-complex game of collecting coins in a reconstructed stronghold on the holm provided us with a new perspective on the role of mini-maps. The more time gamers took to examine the mini-map, the more time they needed to finish the game, thus decreasing their effectiveness. The teleporting gamers had significantly higher time effectiveness than walking gamers, however, the data obtained showed only a minor difference between the proportions of the mini-map examination time to the total game time for walking and teleportation.

Given the rising availability of alternative ways of spatial data mapping, there is a growing need to study their usability. An important aspect here is the diversity of the cartographic visualizations that are used to draw conclusions about the usability of various mapping techniques. In our study we evaluated the usability of six various mapping techniques used in presenting spatial accessibility, taking into consideration four components: effectiveness and efficiency (objective criteria) and graphical attractiveness and user-perceived effectiveness (subjective criteria). Using Internet questionnaires, we conducted a graphical perception experiment with respondents performing tasks on a hypothetical monocentric road network model displayed using mapping techniques of spatial accessibility, differing in the applied parameters of graphical and non-graphical factors influencing effectiveness and efficiency. The results showed that non-graphical factors had a greater influence than the graphical factors. In total usability comparison the three-dimensional (3D) point technique was ranked the highest, while the worst result was achieved by the 3D area technique. The proposed graphical form of study results made it possible to compare the influence of various effectiveness factors, to analyze mapping techniques in terms of considered criteria and finally to present their total usability using a chart inspired by Uhorczak’s typogram.

On the basis of initial studies devoted to a better understanding of how the public user (a pedestrian in the city) perceives cartographic symbols in the mobile augmented reality system, we present an attempt to determine the threshold values of differentiation for three visual variables. The variables of size, transparency, and focus were implemented into image point symbols representing five types of objects. The set of symbols was designed in accordance with the rules of cartographic design taking into consideration an analysis of 19 professional tourist works. The symbols were presented on the screen of a mobile device in a system imitating the augmented reality system against four different backgrounds: white, a wall, and two typical urban landscapes. The results of an internet survey conducted using a tablet at four locations in Poznan (Poland) allowed us to determine the following: threshold differentiation values for the analysed variables, indication of the dependence on the type of background displayed on the mobile device in augmented reality, and the advantage of using a combination of visual variables.

In this study, we have touched upon a problem in evaluating the method of immersion in specific historico-geographical virtual space constructed on the basis of traditional cartographic and graphic materials. We have obtained opinions from two groups of users on the perception of cultural objects reconstructed in a virtual reality previously unknown to them. To achieve our objective and answer the questions, we have adopted four main stages of research: to pinpoint concepts adopted by researchers by discussing two types of approach, to create a virtual reality application according to the scheme based on knowledge from analog sources and digital actions in several workspaces, to prepare and conduct a survey among experts and gamers, and to graphically juxtapose the results of the survey. The evaluation by experts in medieval strongholds and serious story game users of the specific ways of immersion in the VR of reconstructed buildings in the current area provides researchers with an extended view of its effectiveness and attractiveness as well as with suggestions for further design processes.

The main objective of this article was to determine the effectiveness of a web map GUI (Graphical User Interface) layout designed specifically for desktop monitors and smartphones. A suitable design of buttons for the graphical user interface is vital for the effectiveness of web maps. This article presents a study of three rules that prevail in GUI map design in terms of responsiveness, which was analyzed on two devices: a smartphone and a PC screen. The GUI effectiveness study, based on six variants of web maps, was conducted by means of eye-tracking on a group of 120 participants. An additional goal was to find an index (based on eye movements, mouse tracking, and time) that would be assessing the effectiveness of the GUI layout on both devices. The main motivation for conducting the research described in the article was the desire to find a synthetic measure based on more than one factor (time) in the context of determining the effectiveness of the GUI.