In virtual reality games, players dive into fictional environments and can experience a compelling and immersive world. State-of-the-art VR systems allow for natural and intuitive navigation through physical walking. However, the tracking space is still limited, and viable alternatives are required to reach further virtual destinations. Our work focuses on the exploration of vast open worlds - an area where existing local navigation approaches such as the arc-based teleport are not ideally suited and world-in-miniature techniques potentially reduce presence. We present a novel alternative for open environments: Our idea is to equip players with the ability to switch from first-person to a third-person bird's eye perspective on demand. From above, players can command their avatar and initiate travels over large distance. Our evaluation reveals a significant increase in spatial orientation while avoiding cybersickness and preserving presence, enjoyment, and competence. We summarize our findings in a set of comprehensive design guidelines to help developers integrate our technique.

翻译：在虚拟现实游戏中，玩家沉浸于虚构环境，能够体验引人入胜且身临其境的世界。最先进的VR系统支持通过物理行走实现自然直观的导航。然而，追踪空间仍然受限，需要可行的替代方案来抵达更远的虚拟目标。我们的工作聚焦于广阔开放世界的探索——在这一领域，现有局部导航方法（如基于弧线的传送）并不理想，而微缩世界技术则可能降低临场感。我们提出了一种针对开放环境的创新替代方案：赋予玩家能力，使其可随时从第一人称视角切换至第三人称鸟瞰视角。从高处俯瞰，玩家能指挥虚拟角色并启动远距离旅行。评估结果表明，该方法在显著提升空间方位感的同时，避免了晕动症，并保持了临场感、愉悦感与胜任感。我们最终总结出一套全面的设计指南，以协助开发者整合该技术。