VisFiles Virtually Lost in Virtual Worlds m Wayfinding Without a Cognitive Map T. Todd Elvins San Diego Supercomputer Center University of California, San Diego as authors), of course, had no such problems finding their way and were able co apply accurate primed search strate~es.The difference between these two types of travelers is that the world author had developed a cognitive map of the world. Such a map is required for skillful wayfinding and navigating with confidence [2]. Darken states in his thesis [3] that first t i m e w o r l d travelers can build spatial knowledge into a cognitive map more effectively if t w o rules are followed: (I) the world browser software should be designed so that wayfinding cues can more easily be perceived, and (2) the world must be built to include real world wayfinding foundations such as structure and embedded cues. Does this mean that virtual worlds have to resemble the real world? No, a virtual w o r l d is more general than the real world. Real world constraints such as gravity, non-intersection of solids and linear space and time are n o t required in virtual worlds. However,
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