This week I had a meeting with our thesis proposal supervisor and my feedback was that:
- My topic was very specific (which is good)
- The answers to my topic may be ‘obvious’ so delving into more areas may be benefical
- Work on writing about specific games
From this, I developed a first plan for my thesis proposal using elements from the thesis proposal structure we were provided with:
• Research title or question
“Enhancing the Gameplay Experience in Video Game Combat through the Implementation of Visual Effects”
• Keywords
- Combat
- Video games
- Spells
- Weapon design
- Melee
- Swords
- Guns
- Creatures
- Survival Horror
- Fantasy
• Introduction
Introduces your topic – Combat in video games overview. Visual effects overview.
States your problem statement and the questions your research aims to answer – introduce ethical questions, how the implementation of visual effects increases gameplay experience positively or negatively, and examples and types of implementations.
• Literature review
Delve into the research sources I have collected, introduce them, and explain why I am using them.
• Research design, methods, and schedule
Parts in bold highlight what I will be using, and what I would then need to talk about.
The type of research you will do. Are you conducting qualitative or quantitative research? Are you collecting original data or working with data collected by other researchers?
Whether you’re doing experimental, correlational, or descriptive research
The data you’re working with. For example, if you’re conducting research in the social sciences, you’ll need to describe the population you’re studying. You’ll also need to cover how you’ll select your subjects and how you’ll collect data from them.
The tools you’ll use to collect data. Will you be running experiments? Conducting surveys? Observing phenomena? Note all data collection methods here along with why they’re effective methods for your specific research.
Your research timeline (if applicable)
Your research budget (if applicable)
Any potential obstacles you foresee and your plan for handling them
• A brief outline of each chapter
For each outline:
A title and purpose of the chapter?
What are the research questions that drive your enquiry in each chapter?
Who are the key thinkers and idea that you will include in the chapter?
How will the research you are presenting answer your research questions?
• A draft chapter
Develop a chapter I choose
• Bibliography
Other things to add:
- Any ways your work can challenge existing theories and assumptions in your field
- How your work will create the foundation for future research
- The practical value your findings will provide to practitioners, educators, and other academics in your field
- The problems your work can potentially help to fix
- Policies that could be impacted by your findings
- How your findings can be implemented in academia or other settings and how this will improve or otherwise transform these settings