I really like how you make things that are simple from the RTP and turn them a lot more useful. Barrel, Chests, Obelisks. These are the common things almost any game can use. And it makes for a more fluid game experience for the players to break a barrel and it actually animate breaking than to simply "barrel, broken barrel, you got item X".
Good luck on your thesis. It's a pain in the ass these last moments.