Evaluation of spatial thinking in video games from theperspective of geographical information systems

It is known that video games and geographical information systems (GIS) contribute positively to spatial thinking ability. Despite that; there is a lack of studies on the impact of video game genres and GIS knowledge. The aim of this study is to consider the spatial thinking ability in video games from the GIS framework. For this purpose, the effects of GIS experience and video games at different spatial levels on spatial thinking were examined. In order to test the hypothesis that video games and GIS knowledge contribute positively to spatial thinking, a spatial thinking test was applied to participants whose GIS knowledge levels and video game experiences varied. In order to determine the spatial level of video games, interviews were conducted with 5 different experts and video games were rated by analyzing expert feedback. The success scores of the participants in the spatial thinking test were analyzed with non-parametric statistical tests. The results showed that spatially high level video games and intermediate and high GIS knowledge contribute to spatial thinking. These findings make it clear that low GIS knowledge lowers achievement and participants who play video games at high spatial level are more successful. Therefore, video games experience and GIS knowledge levels should be considered in studies on spatial thinking.