House of Nightmares complete and Some Advice
I learned that it is possible to make a thesis project seem more interactive by how it is presented.
When I showed my senior project to people at the event, I told them a brief summary and then offered to let them listen to it through headphones.
Before I let them listen and watch I asked them to see if they would be able to determine what had happened in the house from the clues I left through out it.
Some people were able to piece together the narrative, and others were not. This was actually the result I wanted. In a hypothetical context, if this were a game, developers would want it to have a certain level of difficulty. They would not want it to be too hard or too easy.
I accomplished that goal.
Despite only making a video game trailer, I was able to present my project in a way that made people “play a game” through watching a video.
It was interactive because people were actively trying to piece together the story with their mind, and using their eyes to search for clues. At the time, I did not know I was adding an interactive feature to my project, but I did because I was able to communicate my idea clearly and effectively to every person that was interested at the showcase.
My advice to any future seniors is to make something that demonstrates your strengths in something you are interested in.
If it is not interactive, think of a way that could help you communicate your project in an interactive way. Just because programming may not be your strength, does not mean that your project can’t be interactive. I think that is the biggest lesson I learned this semester. I hope I helped anyone that is worried about their senior thesis. This is my last post, so best of luck to any soon to be seniors.
