I'm Dr. Chris Hugelmann,
a games user researcher from Toronto, Canada. 

A bit about me:

I am a games user researcher and games studies scholar with dual US/Canadian citizenship with 6+ years of experience in user research, user experience design, and user interface design. I am a mixed methods researcher, primarily focusing on qualitative methods including interviews and focus groups, observation, think aloud, and diary studies. My background in design and cognitive psychology launched my early career in UI and UX design, assisting numerous projects with information architecture, accessibility adherence, as well as conducting usability testing.

I earned my PhD from the Communication & Culture program at Toronto Metropolitan University and York University. My research is focused on the intersection between user experience (UX) and digital games, looking at the ways that identity and community can be created and constrained within typical digital game interfaces due in part to the underlying game engine.

Not only have I completed Dark Souls 2 100%, I have played many, many hours in Destiny 2 as a clan leader, helping my friends through all of the challenges the game offers. I've built two fightsticks to improve my fighting game skills in the BlazBlue series and Guilty Gear -STRIVE-. I'm currently playing Sea of Stars, a game I backed on Kickstarter, that has an amazing SNES-era JRPG vibe.

A bit about my research:

At the intersection between games user research, user experience design, and critical game studies, my dissertation utilizes a research-creation methodology to prototype novel in-game interfaces for identity creation and community formation within massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). These interfaces are informed not only by currently implemented interfaces and best practices -- using autoethnographic methods to discover conventions in popular MMOs -- but also through analyzing critical game studies literature to focus on ideas of accessibility, inclusion, and standards that present themselves within digital games and their platforms.