Structural Changes II: Redefining Goals

Each time I meet with my thesis advisor(s), we continue narrowing down and specifying the goals of my game project. We started with a game that teaches lots of different things about the Renaissance through the Pazzi Conspiracy in 1478 Florence. Then we narrowed our focus to make a game that teaches 3-5 specific themes about Renaissance Florence, still at the height of Medici power in 1478. During our last meeting, we narrowed further. The game's goal now is to illustrate how Lorenzo de' Medici used his patronage networks to maintain power in 1478 Florence right before the Pazzi Conspiracy. I'm glad we keep making the game more particular in some ways, but in other ways I'm finding it to be a challenge. 

Historians are always writing papers with a very narrow research question. I've been trained to ask those sorts of questions in my history classes, too. I made a research proposal just last spring for my "Thinking Like a Historian" class that asked "What was the role of Florentine Grand Duchess Maria Magdalena von-Hapsburg de'Medici in the beatification of Maria Magdalena de' Pazzi?" This semester, my research project for my "History in the Age of Big Data" class is just as specific (and happens to use the same archive): "Based on Maria Magdalena von-Hapsburg de' Medici's letters to and from the Hapsburg court in Madrid, what can be said about her role in Medici-Hapsburg relations during her marriage to Cosimo I de' Medici?" These are the questions of an interesting research paper, perhaps even a traditional thesis. They use very specific primary sources (in this case 17th century Medici court letters available through the online Medici Archive Project) and a healthy smattering of secondary sources. Most importantly, they have one particular aim that adds to historical scholarship in a small way. 

I have to remember: this is not the reality of my thesis. 

I am an interdisciplinary Humanities student, who needs to use the disciplines of history as well as game development, digital media, sound design, computer science, and Italian language in my work. My thesis is a creative project, not a history paper, and so it's not intended to be historical scholarship. My game is a broad teaching tool to be used in a variety of intro-level classes. It aims to introduce the Renaissance to beginner history students so that they don't get lost in dry lectures and lengthy readings. It does not aim to make an innovative argument about the Renaissance, but rather to demonstrate an innovative way to teach existing knowledge. It makes an argument of utility, not history.

I worry that I am losing sight of this goal. The more I stray, the less structure this project has for me, and the more likely I am to put it last on my overwhelming to-do list. 

That is why I am taking time now to remind myself what I want this project to be. I need to define the things I am not willing to budge on. That will give me healthy structure and clearer goals, which will ultimately help me overcome procrastination and keep myself accountable. Ultimately, the important thing is that this game is done by May. It has to be useful, not perfect. 

Here are the things I am committing to today, that I am not willing to change:

1. This project will not make a complex historical argument. It will illustrate existing knowledge, not propose new scholarship. 
2. The game will be aimed at students who have little-to-no prior knowledge about the Italian Renaissance.
3. The game will be set in Renaissance Florence in 1478 with the Medici family as the central figures. 
4. The player character will be a servant in the Medici house.
5. The central research question of the game is: “How did the Medici family use patronage networks to maintain power in Florence in the 1470s leading up to the Pazzi Conspiracy?”
6. Each level should aim to be played in around 20 minutes on average. The average playtime should not exceed 35 minutes.
7. Each level will have one short accompanying reading (10-15 pages, maximum 20 pages) or set of images for professors to assign in tandem with the level. 

Here is my new plan for the structure of the game. I am more open to changing the three middle levels, but they must relate to my primary research question in a way that is broad enough to appeal to a variety of classes and students.

1. Introductory Level: Key Figures in Florence
   1. This level will briefly introduce players to all of the major characters in the rest of the game. This will give them a starting point to be curious about future levels. It will help students understand them more easily because the material will not be entirely new.
   2. This level will be made last because it is dependent upon the content of the other levels.
2. Level One: Patron of the Arts
   1. How did the Medici family use patronage of art and architecture to build their public image?
3. Level Two: Patron of Humanism
   1. How did the Medici family’s involvement in humanism help them maintain power? 
4. Level Three: Patronage between Elites
   1. How did the Medici family maintain their network of Florentine elites, and how – broadly speaking – did it help them maintain power?
5. Concluding Level: The Pazzi Conspiracy
   1. To what extent was the Medici network effective in maintaining their power in Florence?
      • i.     Ineffective: They had a conspiracy against them which killed Giuliano de’ Medici.
      • ii.     Effective: Lorenzo de’ Medici survived the plot and consolidated local power afterwards.
   2. This is a subjective question that will enable students to discuss/debate in class once they have completed the game.

After doing this exercise, I feel much better about the direction of the project. Now I can select one of the middle levels to start with and begin researching and writing the plot.