Professor Marcus Carter
People_

Professor Marcus Carter

BA Hons (Melbourne), PhD (Melbourne)
Professor in Human Computer Interaction
Australian Research Council Future Fellow
Professor Marcus Carter

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.

Building on his undergraduate background in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, he completed a PhD in the Interaction Design Lab at The University of Melbourne in 2015, studying the design and player experience of the game EVE Online. Dr Carter has published extensively in game studies, on a range of titles such as EVE Online, Fortnite, DayZ, Candy Crush Saga, Warhammer 40,000 and the reality TV series Survivor. He is previously the President of the Digital Games Research Association of Australia, and was named one of MCV Pacific’s ’30 under 30’ in the Australian and New Zealand games industry in 2017.

Following the completion of his PhD, Dr Carter was appointed as a Research Fellow in the Microsoft Research Centre for Social Natural User Interfaces, at The University of Melbourne. In this role he worked on developing and studying new technologies and interfaces using gaze-tracking, conversational interfaces, and touchless gestural interaction, with a focus on their social use and impact. It was in this role that Dr Carter led the development of the ‘Kinecting with Orangutans’ project, developing novel digital enrichment for the Orangutans at Melbourne Zoo utilizing the Microsoft Kinect.
Dr Carter joined The University of Sydney in January 2017 with ongoing research projects focused on gaming content creators, children’s digital play, the emerging mixed reality technologies. He is currently director of the Sydney Games and Play Lab, a vibrant research environment that brings together researchers studying the use, design and impact of games to offer new insights into the cultures and practices of this emerging media.

In 2021, he was recognised as one of Australia’s top 250 researchers, named by The Australian as the top researcher in Human-Computer Interaction in Australia, based on the quality and impact of his publications over the past 5 years.

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 titleResearch student
Cultivating empathy through ludonarrative texts in the English classroomGerard ALTURA
Open Learner Models for learning in VR.Ying An CHEN
Co-Creative Game Design Assistants for Collectable Card GamesAlex ELTON-PYM
Changing the shape of the [virtual] world: Disability inclusion in social virtual realityWenqi TAN
Understanding the Monetisation Ecology for Mobile Games in the Context of China: A Qualitative StudyTianyi ZHANGSHAO

Publications

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

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]

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]

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).

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

Related research video

Carter M, Sherwen S, Webber S. An evaluation of interactive projections as digital enrichment for orangutans: Zoo Biology. 2021