Thesis I

Catalog description

Thesis 1 is the first of two related courses, Thesis 1 and Thesis 2, in which Game Center MFA students create their thesis projects. The thesis classes are focused on supporting the students’ work towards creating a finished project during their second year. A thesis project can take many forms, including a digital game, a game that exists off the computer, such as a card game or a sport, aa game that combines digital and non-digital components, such as a game that is played in real spaces incorporating the use of smartphones, a series of smaller games that represent the exploration of a set of related ideas, a game-related website, curated exhibition, or other criticism-oriented project, and a traditional research paper. Students will be encouraged to work in groups to create their thesis projects, but the possibility also exists for students to work by themselves. Because of the wide range of forms that a thesis can take, the thesis courses do not present a specific curriculum. Instead, they provide a context and structure to support and guide the students’ research. The thesis process begins during the second semester of the MFA students’ first year, as they generate thesis concepts and form into teams. These project concepts and teams must be approved during the spring semester of the students’ first year by a Game Center faculty. Students will begin the Thesis 1 course with approved project concepts and teams.