Mind uploading is the process of uploading one’s consciousness into another entity, spanning across the internet or another body. This project analyzes the use of Freud’s theories of personality and his theories of the unconscious while understanding the appeal of mind uploading in two fantasy and dream-like films, Transcendence and Avatar. Mind uploading is a popularized concept with Transcendence and Avatar inspiring aspiring filmmakers and scientists with its imaginative and limitless qualities. Both films uniquely explore mind uploading with their own creative processes. The use of mind uploading in Transcendence highlights the blur between the realms of unconsciousness and consciousness, showing the destructive nature of mind uploading. In Avatar, mind uploading is shown as an evolutionary process in which the newfound unconscious has the potential to save and create new lives, giving characters within the film a second chance. These films reveal the interconnectedness of Freud’s theories of personality and how collaborative the mind can be to achieve a common goal.

This creative honors thesis explores game design by going through the game design experience to produce a prototype of an original board game. From being a casual board game designer to creating one herself, here is a re-account of the experiences it took to design Descent into the Deep. The game design process involved intensive research of game mechanics, learning design tool skills for prototyping, and playtesting to create a playable original board game. Descent into the Deep is a hand management/path game that has players balance their resources to stay alive while considering the opportunity costs of their decisions to earn the most research points. Descent into the Deep has players push their luck and brains to collect research cards for points or offense and defense attacks against other players. The documentation includes the game's rule book, design process, and journal.