Philippe Chauveau

Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he spent most of his childhood enthralled by Mario Kart and FIFA, Philippe (Phil) Chauveau moved to the United States in 2011 to pursue higher education. After a stint in professional sports management with the International Olympic Comittee, Dr. Chauveau decided that video games were more interesting to research than sports (although he still plays and watches a lot of soccer, basketball, and American football). He received his Master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati, and his Doctorate at Texas Tech University, while teaching his own class sections as a primary instructor for both universities. Here at ERAU-Prescott, Dr. Chauveau’s research and teaching center around video game storytelling and eudaimonic entertainment outcomes, with an emphasis on how paratextual content (content associated with a piece of media, but that is distinct from that original or main body of work; i.e, book covers for novels, trailers for films, etc.) may affect video gaming experiences. More specifically, Dr. Chauveau’s research is concerned with how video games and other interactive media can make users feel a range of emotions, especially those considered “deep” or contemplative. His previous publications include examinations of these emotional outcomes in various games and gaming situations, such as: violent games and feelings of guilt; co-operative gaming with AI and/or robot agents; and familiarity and its role in influencing enjoyment. Currently, Dr. Chauveau is investigating the potential effects of exploring digital environments in video games on physical-world tourism intentions, and on discerning which digital experiences may influence one’s desire to travel. The first part of this research is ongoing (to be presented August 2024) and analyzes tourism intentions with Tokyo based on experiences with the virtual depiction of Tokyo in the video game Persona 5. When he’s not in his office working (which is rare), you can often find him outside playing soccer/basketball or inside playing video games.