معرفی
Dominic Arsenault is a Full Professor in the Department of Art History, Cinema and Audiovisual Media at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Université de Montréal. His office is located in room C-2063 at Pavillon Lionel-Groulx. With extensive expertise in video game studies, he specializes in interactive storytelling, game narrative theory, and the historical development of video games as a cultural medium.
Professor Arsenault's research interests span multiple dimensions of video game studies. He focuses on narrative theories and interactive scripting for video games, with broader interests in literary, cinematic, and video game genre theories. His work examines visual representation and graphics in video games and animation cinema, economic aspects and innovation in the video game industry, and the historical, aesthetic, and cultural connections between video game music and heavy metal. His MMC (Multi-Memory Controller) musical projects demonstrate his research-creation approach to studying video game music.
His scholarly output shows consistent focus on video game history, narrative structures, and cultural impact. The publications reveal a trajectory from early work on foundational game systems (NES, SNES) to more contemporary analyses of game narrative techniques, Quebec's game industry development, and the relationship between heavy metal and gaming culture. His work demonstrates both historical depth and contemporary relevance in understanding video games as cultural artifacts.
Among his notable recognitions is the Prix Recherche de l'Observatoire du Cinéma au Québec (2013), awarded for his significant contribution to film studies research as Canada's first doctoral graduate from a film studies program.
Professor Arsenault actively supervises graduate students, with over 15 theses completed between 2014-2024, spanning topics from female character representation in Hayao Miyazaki films to experimental video game design. He leads and collaborates on numerous research projects funded by SSHRC and FRQSC, including major initiatives on 50+ years of Quebec video game history, innovative learning technologies, and the interdisciplinary music creation observatory (OICRM). His work connects academic research with practical applications in game design and cultural production.
