How do you like my (approved) topic for three credits of graduate level independent research: "An In-Depth Examination of the Evolution of Console-Based Role Playing Game User Interfaces Over the Past 20 Years."
Yup. My focus is on game design (i.e. graphics, AI and user interface courses) and the professor that approved it has a research focus in Human-Computer Interaction. I am treating the topic seriously, though I will be playing games all summer for it :-D
Oh yeah, I did a paper once on the Hero myth in electronic gaming, compared Super Mario, the Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy to King Arthur, Jesus, the Odyssey, etc. Got an A on it too. I don't think I still have it though.
Ah, the Hero's Journey narrative structure is common of most Japanese RPGs. Back when I took "Topics on Compared Cultures" or something like that, it made a lot of sense.
Props for pulling that off I myself visited Digitainment 2005 (www.digitainment2005.nl) last week, a national symposium/seminar on the technological, bussiness and sociological impacts of video games and other forms of digital entertainment, sponsored by several Dutch universities, as well as Microsoft and a few other companies. Got no credits for it, unfortunately, but it was very interesting (this Japanese professor who lectured about "rock and roll robot" added the much-needed comical note) and there was free beer afterwards
