Yesterday marked the release of the new Star Wars movie, as well as the oral examination of my PhD research project. In both cases, it was the start of two massive long-term projects. On one hand, unending stream of a new generation of Star Wars products that Disney will convince the planet to purchase over the next decade and, on the other hand, the official start of my research on game centers, the biggest academic endeavour of my career. My thesis truly awoke amidst the fruitful conversations with the seven professors in the room that day.
A few things to remember during the writing process.
- Let’s be careful with the theories of space. My understanding of space was entangled with other elements such as social affordances and architecture. This will need to be addressed before reading the game centers of different eras.
- Is Space Invaders representative of its era or an exceptional case? I might reconsider how I choose my case studies.
- Should I interview people or not? No clear answer was suggested.
- Finally, to what extend game centers are supported by the cool Japan campaign? This should be easy to figure out if I ask the right people.
I thoroughly appreciated the experience and I am grateful that my extended committee granted by a unanimous pass three minutes after the two hour-long debate. I am looking forward to start working on this project right after the holiday break and a well-deserved trip back to Quebec.
But for now, I’m off to watch Star Wars.