Hi and welcome to my website! I am a PhD candidate and course instructor at the Université de Montréal, Canada, specializing in the study of video games and gaming cultures. I hold a master’s degree in game studies from Tampere University, Finland, and a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Toronto, Canada. My doctoral research investigates trauma-like gaming experiences and draws on affect theory and phenomenology of media. My second field of research explores the recent developments in sexuality studies and focuses on romance and queer desires in the visual novel.
My work has appeared in the Journal of Games Criticism, Synoptique, and Loading..., and in the anthology Video Games and Comedy. I am the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Press Start and the director of Pika-Pi!, a reading circle that works toward decentering game studies. I also work as a research assistant for the LUDOV game lab at the Université de Montréal.
Feel free to reach out if you are looking for a guest lecturer, would like a copy of any of my work, or just want to chat. 🙂
Education:
–PhD in film studies, specialization in game studies, Université de Montréal, Canada, 2021–present.
–MSc in game studies, Tampere University, Finland, 2021.
–MSc in anthropology, specialization in primatology, University of Toronto, Canada, 2019.
–BSc in anthropology (major) and Hispanic studies (minor), Université de Montréal, Canada, 2017.
Research Interests:
- Trauma studies & horror video games
- Sexuality studies, intimacy & queer theory
- Decentering game studies & multilingual scholarship
Games I play: Resident Evil Zero, New Pokémon Snap, Clannad, Tomb Raider II, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly, Arkham Horror.
Email: samuel.poirier.poulin @ gmail.com
Samuel Poirier-Poulin 