People_
Professor Marcus Carter
BA Hons (Melbourne), PhD (Melbourne)
Professor in Human Computer Interaction
Australian Research Council Future Fellow
Australian Research Council Future Fellow
Address
G04 - Wilkinson Building
The University of Sydney
Professor Marcus Carter is a researcher in human-computer interaction, focusing on virtual reality, games and emerging technologies. He is currently leading an ARC Future Fellowship project on The Monetisation of Children in the Digital Games Industry.
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Dr Carter has ongoing research interested in the following areas, and is available for HDR supervision on related topics:
- Human-computer interaction (with a focus on the social, ethical and inclusive challenges of emerging technologies such as AI, VR/AR, robotics, and automation)
- Game Studies (with a focus on VR/AR, and/or the social experiences of play
- Animal-Computer Interaction (the development of digital enrichment for animals in captivity)
- Virtual and Augmented Reality (with a focus on how emerging VR/AR technologies can be used in conservation education and conservation caring)
- Australian Research Council Future Fellowship FT220100076 ($911,616)
- The Australian, Top 250 Researchers in 2021, #1 in Human-Computer Interaction [link]
- Best paper’ award (top 1% of submissions) ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2020 [link]
- The Australian, Research 2020 Rising Star [link]
- The Australian, Research 2019 Rising Star
- University of Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Research Engagement and Impact Award 2019 (in collaboration with Dr Sarah Webber)
- Best paper award (top 1% of submissions) at CHI 2017 [link]
- Best paper award for all of 2017 at the ACM ToCHI Journal [link]
Project title | Research student |
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Cultivating empathy through ludonarrative texts in the English classroom | Gerard ALTURA |
Open Learner Models for learning in VR. | Ying An CHEN |
Co-Creative Game Design Assistants for Collectable Card Games | Alex ELTON-PYM |
Changing the shape of the [virtual] world: Disability inclusion in social virtual reality | Wenqi TAN |
Understanding the Monetisation Ecology for Mobile Games in the Context of China: A Qualitative Study | Tianyi ZHANGSHAO |
Selected publications
Publications
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Books
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2024). Fantasies of Virtual Reality: Untangling Fiction, Fact, and Threat (forthcoming). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. [More Information]
- Gray, J., Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2024). Governing Social Virtual Reality: Preparing for the Content, Conduct and Design Challenges of Immersive Social Media. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. [More Information]
- Carter, M. (2022). Treacherous Play. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. [More Information]
Edited Books
- Sidhu, P., Carter, M., Zagal, J. (2024). Fifty Years of "Dungeons and Dragons". Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
- Carter, M., Bergstrom, K., Woodford, D. (2016). Internet Spaceships are Serious Business: An EVE Online Reader. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. [More Information]
Book Chapters
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2025). Virtual Reality and the Hardcore Gamer. In Leighton Evans (Eds.), Virtual Reality Gaming: Perspectives on Immersion, Embodiment and Presence, (pp. 15-28). Leeds: Emerald Publishing Limited. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2024). Virtual Reality Mobilities: Data, Power and Space in the Metaverse (forthcoming). In Gerard Goggin and Larissa Hjorth (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media (2nd Edition). London: Routledge.
- Carter, M., Allison, F. (2019). Guilt in DayZ. In Kristine Jorgensen, Faltin Karlsen (Eds.), Transgression in Games and Play, (pp. 133-152). Cambridge: The MIT Press. [More Information]
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Journals
- Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2024). Cryptogames: The promises of blockchain for the future of the videogame industry. New Media and Society, 26(11), 6756-6778. [More Information]
- Egliston, B., Carter, M., Clark, K. (2024). Value and virtue in the extended reality (XR) industry. Information, Communication and Society, , 1-20. [More Information]
- Egliston, B., Carter, M., Clark, K. (2024). Who will govern the metaverse? Examining governance initiatives for extended reality (XR) technologies. New Media and Society. [More Information]
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Conferences
- Zhangshao, T., Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2025). Understanding Chinese Players' Perceptions of Gaming Monetisation and Regulation. DiGRAA Australia 2025 National Conference, Adelaide, South Australia: Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA). [More Information]
- Zhangshao, T., Carter, M. (2024). A Hybrid Revolution: The Appeal of Hybrid Gaming on the Nintendo Switch. 57th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2024), United States: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. [More Information]
- Sidhu, P., Carter, M. (2024). Memorable Play in Dungeons and Dragons: Understanding the Relationship Between TTRPG Design and Peak Play Experiences. 57th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2024), United States: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. [More Information]
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Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Zhangshao, T., Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2024). China restricted young people from video games. But kids are evading the bans and getting into trouble. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2022). Privacy Concerns and Data Harms in the Metaverse. The World Finacial Review. [More Information]
- Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2021). 'Potential for harm': Microsoft to make US$22 billion worth of augmented reality headsets for US Army. The Conversation. [More Information]
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Report
- Carter, M., Hardwick, T., Dawson, F., Allison, F., Butt, M., Clark, K., Johnson, M., Keogh, B., Mackenzie, M., Stanton, R., et al (2024). Maximising the Potential of SXSW Sydney Games: Report on SXSW Sydney 2023 as a Games Industry Event. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2020). Ethical Implications of Emerging Mixed Reality Technologies. [More Information]
- Gibbs, M., Carter, M., Cumming, D., Fordyce, R., Witkowski, E. (2018). Esports Spectatorship in Australia: Networked Society Institute Research Paper. [More Information]
Other
- Egliston, B., Clark, K., Carter, M. (2023), "My VR does not acknowledge me as a person": Is the metaverse leaving disabled users behind?. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2023), Picturing Early Virtual Reality. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2023), The politics of space in Pokemon Go.
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2025
- Zhangshao, T., Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2025). Understanding Chinese Players' Perceptions of Gaming Monetisation and Regulation. DiGRAA Australia 2025 National Conference, Adelaide, South Australia: Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA). [More Information]
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2025). Virtual Reality and the Hardcore Gamer. In Leighton Evans (Eds.), Virtual Reality Gaming: Perspectives on Immersion, Embodiment and Presence, (pp. 15-28). Leeds: Emerald Publishing Limited. [More Information]
2024
- Zhangshao, T., Carter, M. (2024). A Hybrid Revolution: The Appeal of Hybrid Gaming on the Nintendo Switch. 57th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS 2024), United States: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. [More Information]
- Zhangshao, T., Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2024). China restricted young people from video games. But kids are evading the bans and getting into trouble. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2024). Cryptogames: The promises of blockchain for the future of the videogame industry. New Media and Society, 26(11), 6756-6778. [More Information]
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2023
- Egliston, B., Clark, K., Carter, M. (2023), "My VR does not acknowledge me as a person": Is the metaverse leaving disabled users behind?. [More Information]
- Sidhu, P., Carter, M. (2023). Benevolent Transgressive Play in 'Dungeons and Dragons' [D&D]. Simulation and Gaming: an international journal of theory, design and research, 54(6), 708-729. [More Information]
- Newn, J., Vetere, F., Velloso, E., Carter, M. (2023). Exploring the effects of gaze awareness on multiplayer gameplay. 3rd ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2016, United States: Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. [More Information]
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2022
- Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2022). 'The interface of the future': Mixed reality, intimate data and imagined temporalities. Big Data & Society, 9(1). [More Information]
- Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2022). 'The metaverse and how we'll build it': The political economy of Meta's Reality Labs. New Media and Society, 26(8), 4336-4360. [More Information]
- Sidhu, P., Carter, M., Curwood, J. (2022). Designing for meaningful play and learning: Dungeons & Dragons, Animal Farm, and transforming games as 'texts'. Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, Online: Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE).
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2021
- Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2021). 'Potential for harm': Microsoft to make US$22 billion worth of augmented reality headsets for US Army. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2021). A Critical Future of Virtual Reality: All Work and No Play. 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers AoIR2021, Chicago: Association of Internet Researchers. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2021). All work and no play in the future of virtual reality. Sydney Business Insights. [More Information]
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2020
- Egliston, B., Moore, K., Carter, M. (2020). Apple, Google and Fortnite's stoush is a classic case of how far big tech will go to retain power. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Mavoa, J., Carter, M. (2020). Child's play in the time of COVID: screen games are still 'real' play. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Moore, K., Mavoa, J., Gaspard, L., Horst, H. (2020). Children's perspectives and attitudes towards Fortnite 'addiction'. Media International Australia, 176(1), 138-151. [More Information]
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2019
- Allison, F., Newn, J., Smith, W., Carter, M., Gibbs, M. (2019). Frame Analysis of Voice Interaction Gameplay. 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2019), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Carter, M., Allison, F. (2019). Guilt in DayZ. In Kristine Jorgensen, Faltin Karlsen (Eds.), Transgression in Games and Play, (pp. 133-152). Cambridge: The MIT Press. [More Information]
- Ho, X., Carter, M. (2019). Roguelike ancestry network visualisation: insights from the roguelike community. 14th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG 2019), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
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2018
- Carter, M., Egliston, B. (2018). Broken records, 'crunch' and freemium that's not free: 2018 was a huge year in gaming. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Mavoa, J., Carter, M., Gibbs, M. (2018). Children and Minecraft: A survey of children's digital play. New Media and Society, 20(9), 3283-3303. [More Information]
- Allison, F., Carter, M., Gibbs, M., Smith, W. (2018). Design Patterns for Voice Interaction in Games. Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY '18), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
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2017
- Carter, M. (2017). 'Loot boxes' and pay-to-win features in digital games look a lot like gambling. The Conversation. [More Information]
- Mavoa, J., Carter, M., Gibbs, M. (2017). Beyond Addiction: Positive and Negative Parent Perceptions of Minecraft Play. The annual symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY 2017), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Mavoa, J., Gibbs, M., Carter, M. (2017). Constructing the Young Child Media User in Australia: A Discourse Analysis of Facebook Comments. Journal of Children and Media, 11(3), 330-346. [More Information]
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2016
- Allison, F., Carter, M., Gibbs, M. (2016). A History of Voice Interaction in Games. 1st International Joint Conference of DiGRA and FDG, Dundee, Scotland: Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA). [More Information]
- Carter, M., Bjork, S. (2016). Cheating in Candy Crush Saga. In Tama Leaver, Michele Wilson (Eds.), Social, Casual and Mobile Games: The Changing Gaming Landscape, (pp. 261-274). New York: Bloomsbury. [More Information]
- Carter, M., Bergstrom, K., Webber, N., Milik, O. (2016). EVE is Real: How conceptions of the 'real' affect and reflect an online game community. Well Played: A Journal on Video Games, Value and Meaning, 5(2), 5-33. [More Information]
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2015
- Gibbs, M., Meese, J., Arnold, M., Nansen, B., Carter, M. (2015). #Funeral and Instagram: Death, Social Media and Platform Vernacular. Information, Communication and Society, 18(3), 255-268. [More Information]
- Rault, J., Webber, S., Carter, M. (2015). Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Animal Welfare Science and Animal-Computer Interaction. 12th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology (ACE 2015), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Carter, M. (2015). Emitexts and Paratexts: Propaganda in EVE Online. Games and Culture, 10(4), 311-342. [More Information]
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2014
- Carter, M., Gibbs, M., Nansen, B., Arnold, M. (2014). #FUNERAL. Internet Research 15: The 15th Annual Meeting of the Association of Internet Researchers, Daegu: Association of Internet Researchers. [More Information]
- Bergstrom, K., Carter, M., Woodford, D., Paul, C. (2014). Constructing the Ideal EVE Online Player. DiGRA 2013: DeFragging Game Studies, Atlanta, GA: Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA). [More Information]
- Carter, M., Gibbs, M., Harrop, M. (2014). Drafting an Army: The Playful Pastime of Warhammer 40,000. Games and Culture, 9(2), 122-147. [More Information]
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2013
- Carter, M., Gibbs, M., Wadley, G. (2013). Death and Dying in DayZ. 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment (IE 2013), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Carter, M., Gibbs, M. (2013). eSports in EVE Online: Skullduggery, Fair Play and Acceptability in an Unbounded Competition. 8th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG 2013), Chania: Society for the Advancement of the Science of Digital Games. [More Information]
- Gibbs, M., Carter, M., Arnold, M., Nansen, B. (2013). Serenity Now bombs a World of Warcraft funeral: Negotiating the Morality, Reality and Taste of Online Gaming Practices. Internet Research 14.0: Resistance and Appropriation - 14th Annual Meeting of the Association of Internet Researchers, Denver: Association of Internet Researchers. [More Information]
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2012
- Carter, M., Wadley, G., Gibbs, M. (2012). "Friendly, Don't Shoot!": How Communication Design can Enable Novel Social Interactions. 24th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference (OzCHI 2012), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Carter, M., Gibbs, M., Arnold, M. (2012). Avatars, Characters, Players and Users: Multiple Identities at/in Play. 24th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference (OzCHI 2012), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
- Carter, M., Gibbs, M., Harrop, M. (2012). Metagames, Paragames and Orthogames: A New Vocabulary. Foundations of Digital Games (FDG 2012), New York: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). [More Information]
Selected Grants
2025
- Proactive harm prevention for virtual and augmented reality technologies, Gray J, Carter M, Egliston B, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP)
2023
- The Monetization of Children in the Digital Games Industry, Carter M, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Future Fellowships (FT)
- Playing with Narrative Boundaries through Videogames, Curwood J, Carter M, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/FASS External Engagement Fund 2023
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Related research video
Carter M, Sherwen S, Webber S. An evaluation of interactive projections as digital enrichment for orangutans: Zoo Biology. 2021
In the media
- 25/01/2022 - The World Financial Review: Privacy Concerns and Data Harms in the Metaverse
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01/05/2021 - Sydney Business Insights: All Work and no play in the future of virtual
reality -
24/09/2020 - Real Life : No Escape From Reality: The immersiveness of virtual
reality fuels a fantasy of richer data collection