Unexpected Setbacks

The last few weeks have been quite unsettling, as my two Grandmother-In-Laws passed away a week apart from each other. I have been traveling across the entirety of the state and attending to the arrangements, services, burials, and family gatherings to celebrate the loss of two wonderful women.

That being said, I have fallen behind on my thesis research and development of an alpha prototype. I have settled on what I believe is my final thesis statement, abstract, and outline. After a Skype meeting with my instructor I was guided to a more narrow scope and focused design opportunities. The updated versions of everything are listed below.

Thesis Statement:

Interface Designers can create more engaging user interfaces for three-dimensional games with material design.

Thesis Abstract:

Material Design guidelines give designers a methodical plan for designing applications for smart devices. While Material Design is a tool for two dimensional interface design, it lacks any guidelines for designing in a three dimensional space. Video Games, Virtual Reality, and Interactive Spaces can all be enhanced by Material Design. This change to Material Design also allows for three dimensional objects to be used as the materials themselves and allows for additional interface manipulation. Material Design excludes traditional three dimensional objects, and instead opts for a metaphorical third dimension that is "paper thin". This research intends to explore three dimensional interface design using Material Design and conventional three dimensional objects. This exploration is focused on the extension of the z-axis, in a similar manner to the way Material Design already extends the x-axis and y-axis. The method used to enact Material Design in a three dimensional interface come from this research overlap and the guidelines presented for Material Design.

Thesis Outline:

1. Introduction
   1. Introduction to Material Design and the exclusion of 3D Interface Design.
   2. Thesis Statement: Interface Designers can create more engaging user interfaces for three-dimensional games with material design.
   3. The visual component will be an interface designed using the Material Design guidelines re-purposed for a 3D space utilizing 3D components.
2. Material Design Analysis
   1. Explanation of Material Design.
      1. What is Material Design?
      2. Why is Material Design limited to "flat" surfaces?
      3. Material Designs use of shadow to simulate three dimensions.
      4. Methods for incorporating 3D assets and space with Material Design.
   2. Material Design used in current applications and media.
      1. Examples of work that utilizes Material Design in 2D.
      2. Examples of work that utilize Material Design in 3D (if any).
3. Literature Analysis
   1. Current literature on Material Design and ideal uses.
   2. Literature on 3D interface design theory.
4. Current 3D Interface trends.
   1. 3D Video Game Interface trends .
   2. Virtual Reality Interface trends.
      1. Training Simulations.
      2. VR Games.
5. Physical Component
   1. Objective: Develop a 3D interface that adheres to Material Design guidelines and ideally improves the user experience.
   2. Material Design Guideline Development:
      1. Potential changes to the current Material Design guidelines.
      2. Methods of Manipulation: Individual Objects vs Environment Space
      3. Lighting and Texture concerns in three dimensions.
   3. Analysis of user surveys, interviews, and any empirical data gathered from user group.
   4. Analysis of 3D Material Design Interface.
      1. Usability improved?
      2. Navigation Capabilities?
      3. User feedback and comparison of user satisfaction with traditional Material Design and current 3D Video Game interfaces.
6. Conclusion
   1. Potential future developments in 3D Material Design based on user feedback.
   2. Thesis objective successes and failures.