Portals and Perspectives: A Study Design for Evaluating Transitional Spaces in Virtual Navigation

Virtual worlds, due to their scale, often require virtual travel. A common solution for facilitating navigation in such environments involves the use of minimaps or World-in-Miniature (WIM) systems. However, these approaches can potentially impair spatial orientation, as they often involve instantaneous position changes without allowing for path integration. Moreover, target selection is typically performed from an allocentric rather than an egocentric perspective. We hypothesize that transitional spaces - designed specifically as intermediary environments for navigation - can address these challenges. In our approach, users are transferred into a walkable miniature world to select their destination. The subsequent movement is then carried out via portals, enabling an egocentric transition to the selected location. This hypothesis is examined through a study design that we intend to present and iteratively refine based on expert feedback and discussion.