Thesis Paper Outline, v1

This is the first draft of the “Hacked Mechanics” Thesis Paper Outline. I have attempted to present everything as concisely as possible, yet still leaving room for expansion. The one organizational decision that I am still unsure about is where I placed the Design Process. Of course, there may be other areas that need more thought or reorganization as well.

  I. Introduction
     A. Introduction
     B. Artist statement
     C. Thesis statement
 II. Project Overview
     A. Problem Statement
     B. Brief history of Interactive Fiction
     C. Brief look at common Interactive Fiction mechanics
     D. Brief description of “Hacked Mechanics”
III. Why Real-Time Mechanics are important
     A. More detail about real-time mechanics
        1. Pros
        2. Cons
        3. New mechanics and innovation of a genre
 IV. Detailed description of new mechanics
     A. Similar systems (if any)
     B. How new mechanics differ from current mechanics
     D. Design process
        1. Artistic Influences
        2. Prototyping
        3. Testing
     E. How new mechanics work
        1. Real-time gameplay
        2. Real-time game progression
        3. Real-time game notifications
        4. Etc.
  V. Contexts & Ethnography
     A. User testing and game-based research
     B. How test subjects have responded to new mechanics
 VI. New mechanics in action
     A. Playable demos of new mechanics
VII. Conclusion