Spatial Navigation in 3D Environments (Bachelor Thesis Study)

Thank you for your interest in participating in this scientific study!

This experiment is part of a Bachelor Thesis at FH Technikum Wien.  The study investigates if users can spot the difference between procedurally generated, static and visually varied mazes.

• Complete duration: approx. 20 – 30 minutes
• Platform: Windows PC
• Controls: Keyboard & Mouse (WASD to move, Mouse to look around)
• Prerequisites: Age 18+, mouse recommended.

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What to Expect

1. Short Pre-Survey & Practice: You will briefly indicate your gaming experience and complete an untimed practice maze to familiarize yourself with the controls.
2. Main Experiment: You will navigate through 3 parts (static maze, procedural maze and visually varied maze; 5 short labyrinth runs each; 15 runs in total). After each part, a short on-screen survey will appear.
3. Finish & Export: Upon finishing, the game will automatically open your Windows File Explorer showing the generated file:
   session_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-mm-ss.json
4. Submission: Simply attach this .json file to an email and send it to: if23b255@technikum-wien.at  (Thank you!)

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Controls

• W / A / S / D: Move Forward / Left / Backward / Right
• Mouse: Look around
• Objective: Locate and reach the exit trigger in each labyrinth run.

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Information on Data Processing

• Responsible Investigator: Gregor Haas, Student at FH Technikum Wien (if23b255@technikum-wien.at).
• Purpose: Academic research for a Bachelor Thesis. The data is processed exclusively for non-commercial, scientific statistical evaluation.
• Legal Basis: Voluntary informed consent
• Recorded Data:
  • Objective Telemetry: Traversal time per run, distance walked, 10 Hz path coordinates (X/Z), and basic framerate statistics.
  • Survey Data: Age (optional), categorical gaming frequency, and Likert ratings (1–4) submitted during the in-game questionnaire.
  • Technical Identifiers: A randomly generated Universally Unique Identifier (UUID). No IP addresses, personal names, hardware fingerprints, or analytical tracking cookies are recorded by the application.
• Anonymity & Confidentiality: The recorded dataset does not contain directly identifiable personal data. No correlation register linking your identity to the generated UUID is maintained.
• Data Transmission & Storage: The research data is initially saved locally on your computer as a .json file. Transmission to the investigator occurs only if you actively choose to attach and send the file via email. After transmission, the data is kept securely until the formal conclusion and grading of the Bachelor thesis, after which it will be archived or deleted according to the institutional guidelines of FH Technikum Wien.
• Voluntary Participation & Revocation: Participation is completely voluntary. You may terminate the experiment at any time by closing the application (Alt + F4). If you cancel, or choose not to email the generated file, no data is transferred or evaluated. Once an anonymized file is submitted and merged into the aggregated analysis, selective deletion is technically impossible due to full anonymization.

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Declaration of Consent

By downloading, launching the application, and submitting the session file, you confirm that:

1. You are at least 18 years old.
2. You participate voluntarily and understand that you can cancel at any time without negative consequences.
3. You have read and understood the data protection information provided above.
4. You agree that your anonymized telemetry and survey data may be evaluated and published in aggregated, non-identifiable form as part of this Bachelor thesis.