Marcus Carter

Publications

Please find below a list of my peer-reviewed academic publications. The articles that I write in popular media venues on my research are listed on my media page, and I also recommend checking my Google Scholar profile for my most recent papers.

I’m in the process of updating the links, apologies for those that don’t work.

Books

  1. Carter, M. & Egliston, B. (2024) Fantasies of Virtual Reality. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press [MIT Press Store, Open Access Link]
  2. Gray, J., Egliston, B. & Carter, M. (2024) Governing Virtual Reality: Preparing for the Content, Conduct and Design Challenges of Immersive Social Media. Palgrave [Palgrave Store]
  3. Carter, M. (2022) Treacherous Play. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press. [MIT Press Store, Open Access Link]
Book cover for Fantasies of Virtual Reality. Features a NASA scientist wearing a 1980's VR Headset.
Cover of 'Treacherous Play' book, featuring a spaceship from the game EVE Online.
Cover of Governing Social Virtual Reality Book.

Books Underway

  1. Keogh, B., Butt, M. & Carter, M. (2025) Game Studies: Concepts, Practices and Debates. Polity Books.
  2. Carter, M., Gibbs, M. & Allison, F. (2025) Death and Dying in Videogames.

Edited Books

  1. Sidhu, P., Carter, M. & Zagal, J. (2024) Fifty Years of Dungeons & Dragons. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press [MIT Press Store Page]
  2. Carter, M., Bergstrom, K. and Woodford, D. (2016). Internet Spaceships are Serious Business: An EVE Online Reader. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press. [UMP Store Page]
Cover of 'Fifty Years of Dungeons and Dragons' book.
Cover of 'Internet Spaceships are Serious Business' book, featuring a spaceship battle from the game EVE Online.

Book Chapters

  1. Carter, M. & Egliston, B. (2025) Virtual Reality and the Hardcore Gamer. In VR Gaming: Perspectives on Immersion, Embodiment and Presence, Leighton Evans (eds.) Emerald [Forthcoming].
  2. Carter, M. & Egliston, B. (2024) Virtual Reality Mobilities: Data, Power & Space in the Metaverse. In The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media (2nd Edition), G. Goggin & L. Hjorth (eds.) London: Routledge.[forthcoming, PDF]
  3. Carter, M. (2020) EVE Online. In M. Wolf (ed.) Encyclopedia of Videogames: The Culture, Technology and Art of Gaming. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
  4. Carter, M., Allison, F. (2019) Guilt in DayZ. In Transgressive Games Aesthetics, K. Jorgensen & F. Karlsen (eds.), pp. 134-152. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press. [link]
  5. Mavoa, M., Nansen, B., Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2018) Why Young Children Don’t Play: Parent’s Accounts of Non-Engagement with Digital Games. In Digitising Early Childhood, L. Green, D. Holloway, K. Stevensen & K. Jaunzems (Eds.), pp. 192-211. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [link]
  6. Carter, M. & Bjork, S. (2015) Cheating at Candy Crush Saga. In Social, Casual Mobile: Changing Games, T. Leaver & M. Willson (eds.), pp. 261-274. London: Bloomsbury. [link]
  7. Carter, M. & Bergstrom, K. (2015) EVE Online for the Uninitiated. In Internet Spaceships are Serious Business: An EVE Online Reader, Carter, K. Bergstrom & D. Woodford (eds.), pp. 1-16. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press. [link]
  8. Gibbs, M., Carter, M. & Mori, J. (2015) Vile Rat: Spontaneous Shrines in EVE Online. In Internet Spaceships are Serious Business: An EVE Online Reader, Carter, K. Bergstrom & D. Woodford (eds.), pp. 129-147. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press. [link]
  9. Carter, M. (2015) Massively Multiplayer Dark Play: Treacherous Play in EVE Online. In The Dark Side of Gameplay: Controversial Issues in Playful Environments, T. Mortensen, J. Linderoth & A. Brown (Eds.), pp. 191-209. London: Routledge. [link]

Journal Articles

  1. Egliston, B., Carter, M. & Clark, K. (2024) Who will govern the metaverse? Examining governance initiatives for extended reality (XR) technologies. New Media & Society [OA Link]
  2. Sidhu, P. & Carter, M. (2023) Benevolent Transgressive Play in Dungeons and Dragons. Simulation & Gaming [OA Link]
  3. Egliston, B., Carter, M. (2023). Cryptogames: The promises of blockchain for the future of the videogame industry. New Media and Society [link]
  4. Egliston, B. & Carter, M. (2022) ‘The metaverse and how we’ll build it’: The political economy of Meta’s Reality Labs. New Media & Society [link]
  5. Mavoa, J., Nansen, B. Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2022) Synchronizing multi-perspectival data of children’s digital play at home. Digital Creativity [link]
  6. Egliston, B. & Carter, M. (2021) The material politics of (mobile) virtual reality: Oculus, data, and the technics of sensemaking. Convergence [link]
  7. Egliston, B. & Carter, M. (2021) Critical questions for Facebook’s virtual reality: data, power and the metaverse. Internet Policy Review [link]
  8. Coghlan, S., Webber, S. & Carter, M. (2021) Improving ethical attitudes towards animals with digital technologies: the case of apes and zoos. Ethics and Information Technology [link]
  9. Egliston, B. & Carter, M. (2021) ‘The Interface of the Future’: Mixed Reality, intimate data and imagined temporalities. Big Data and Society [link]
  10. Carter, M.& Egliston, B. (2021) The work of watching Twitch: Audience labour in livestreaming and e-sports. Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds 13(1) [link]
  11. Egliston, B. & Carter, M. (2021) Examining visions of surveillance in Oculus’ data and privacy policies, 2014-2020. Media International Australia [link]
  12. Carter, M. & Egliston, B. (2021) What are the risks of Virtual Reality data? Learning Analytics, Algorithmic Bias and a Fantasy of Perfect Data. New Media and Society [link]
  13. Sidhu, P. & Carter, M. (2021) Pivotal Play: Rethinking Meaningful Play in Games through Death in Dungeons and Dragons. Games and Culture [link]
  14. Carter, M., Webber, S. & Sherwen, S. (2021) Interactive Projections as Digital Enrichment for Orangutans. Zoo Biology [link] [video]
  15. Carter, M., Webber, S., Rawson, S., Smith, W., Purdam, J. & McLeod, E. (2020) Virtual reality in the zoo: A qualitative evaluation of a stereoscopic virtual reality video encounter with little penguins (Eudyptula minor). Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 8(4):239-245. [link]
  16. Egliston, B. & Carter, M. (2020) Oculus Imaginaries: the promises and perils of Facebook’s virtual reality. New Media and Society [link]
  17. Carter, M., Moore, K., Mavoa, J., gaspard, l. & Horst, H. (2020) Children’s Perspectives and Attitudes Toward Fortnite ‘Addiction’. Media International Australia [link]
  18. Carter, M., Moore, K., Mavoa, J,. Horst, H. & gaspard, l. (2020) Situating the Appeal of Fortnite Within Children’s Changing Play Cultures. Games and Culture (online first) [link]
  19. Zonaga, A. & Carter, M. (2020) The Role of Architecture in Constructing Gameworlds: Intertextual Allusions, Metaphorical Representations and Societal Ethics in Dishonored. Loading… The Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association 12(20): 71-89. [link]
  20. Allison, F. Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2020) Word Play: A History of Voice Interaction in Games. Games and Culture 15(2): 91-113. [link]
  21. Carter, M. (2018) Valuing Play in Survivor: A Constructionist Approach to Multiplayer Games. Games and Culture (online first, 12/10/2018). [link]
  22. Mavoa, J., Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2017) Children and Minecraft: A Survey of Young Children’s Gaming Habits. New Media and Society 20(9): 3283-3303. [link]
  23. Carter, M. & Allison, F. (2017) Fear, loss and meaningful play: Permadeath in DayZ. Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, 9(2): 143-158. [link]
  24. 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. [link]
  25. Velloso, E., Carter, M., Gellersen, H., Esteves, A. & Newn, J. (2017) Motion Correlation: Selecting Objects by Matching Their Movement. Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 24(3): article no. 22. [link]
  26. Webber, S., Carter, M., Smith, W. & Vetere, F. (2016) Interactive Technology and Human-Animal Encounters at the Zoo. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 98: 150-168. [link]
  27. 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 Journal 5 (2): 5-33. [link]
  28. Carter, M., Apperley, T., Crawford, L., Gibbs, M. & Nansen, B. (2015) What ‘is’ Australian Game Studies? Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association 2 (1): 1-16. [link]
  29. Carter, M. (2015) The First Week of the Zombie Apocalypse: The Influences of Game Temporality. Journal of Games and Virtual Worlds 7 (1): 59-75. [link]
  30. Carter, M., Gibbs, M. & Arnold, M. (2015) The Demarcation Problem in Multiplayer Games: Boundary-Work in EVE Online’s eSport. Game Studies 15(1) [link]
  31. Meese, J., Gibbs, M., Carter, M., Arnold, M., Nansen, B. & Kohn, T. Selfies: Selfies at Funerals: Mourning and Presencing on Social Media Platforms. International Journal of Communication 9(14): 1818-1831. [link]
  32. Carter, M., Gibbs, M. & Harrop, M. (2014) Drafting an Army: The Playful Pastime of Warhammer 40,000. Games and Culture 9 (2): 1-26. [link]
  33. Carter, M. (2014) Emitexts and Paratexts: Propaganda in EVE Online. Games and Culture 10(4): 311-342. [link]
  34. Carter, M., Harrop, M. & Gibbs, M. (2014) The Roll of the Dice in Warhammer 40,000. Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association 1(3). [link]
  35. Wadley, G., Gibbs M. & Carter, M. (2014) Voice in virtual worlds: The design, use and influence of voice chat in online play. Human-Computer Interaction 30(3-4): 336-365. [link]
  36. Gibbs, M., Meese, J., Arnold, M., Nansen, B. & Carter, M. (2014) #Funeral and Instagram: death, social media and platform vernacular. Information, Communication & Society 18(3): 255-268. [link]

Fully-Refereed Conference Articles

  1. Zhangshao, T. & Carter, M. (2024) A Hybrid Revolution: The Appeal of Hybrid Gaming on the Nintendo Switch. In Proceedings of the 57th HICSS Conference [link]
  2. Sidhu, P. & Carter, M. (2024) Memorable Play in Dungeons & Dragons: Understanding the Relationship Between TTRPG Design and Peak Play Experiences. In Proceedings of the 57th HICSS Conference [link]
  3. Webber, S., Smith, W., Carter, M. & Vetere, F. (2022) Watching Animal-Computer Interaction: Effects on Perceptions of Animal Intellect. In Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI’22). Article no. 21. [link]
  4. Carter, M. & Egliston, B. (2021, October). A Critical Future of Virtual Reality: All Work and No Play. Paper presented at AoIR 2021: The 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Philadelphia, PA, USA: AoIR. [Link]
  5. Moore, K. & Carter, M. (2020) It is not an Island It’s a World: Fortnite and “Worldness”. In Proceedings of the 2021 HICSS Conference [Link]
  6. Webber, S., Carter, M., Smith, W. & Vetere, F. (2020) Co-Designing with Orangutans: Enhancing the Design of Enrichment for Animals. In Proceedings of the 2020 ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS’20). Eindhoven, Netherlands [Link]. Won Best Paper Award (Top 1% of Submissions).
  7. Sidhu, P. & Carter, M. (2020) The Critical Role of Media Representations, Reduced Stigma and Increased Access in D&D’s Resurgence. In Proceedings of the 2020 Digital Games Research Association Conference (DiGRA’20). Tampere, Finland. [link]
  8. Ho, X. & Carter, M. (2019) Roguelike Ancestry Network Visualisation: Insights from the Roguelike Community. In Proceedings of the 2019 Foundations of Digital Games Conference (FDG’19), ACM Press, article 42. [link]
  9. Allison, F., Newn, J., Smith, W., Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2019) Frame Analysis of Voice Interaction Gameplay. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human-Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’19), ACM Press, paper 393. [link]
  10. Yoo, S., Carter, M., Kay, J. (2018) VRmove: Design Framework for Balancing Enjoyment, Movement and Exertion in VR Games. In Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI Play), ACM Press, 295-307. [link]
  11. Allison, F., Carter, M., Gibbs, M. & Smith, W. (2018) Design Patterns for Voice Interaction in Games. In Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI Play), ACM Press, 5-17. [link]
  12. Dong, R, Carter, M., Smith, W., Joukhadar, Z., Sherwen, S., Smith, A. (2017) Supporting Animal Welfare with Automatic Tracking of Giraffes with Thermal Cameras. In the 29th Australian Computer Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’17), ACM Press. [link]
  13. Gibbs, M., Carter, M. & Nansen, B. (2017) Those LED-Lit, Water-Kooled, Multi-Screen Streamline Battle stations. In Proc. 2017 Association of Internet Researchers Conference (AOIR’17). [link]
  14. Carter, M., Gibbs, M. & Witkowski, E. (2017) Understanding eSports Spectatorship: Players, Fans, Recruits. In Proc. 2017 Association of Internet Researchers Conference (AOIR’17). [link]
  15. Mavoa, J., Carter, M. Gibbs, M. & Nansen, B. (2017) Beyond Addition: Positive and Negative Parent Perceptions of Minecraft Play. In Proceedings of the 2017 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI Play), ACM Press, 171-181. [link]
  16. Webber, S., Carter, M., Sherwen, S., Smith, W., Joukhadar, Z., & Vetere, F. (2017) Kinecting with Orangutans: Zoo Visitors’ Empathetic Responses to Animals’ Use of Interactive Technology. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human-Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’17), ACM Press, 6075-6088. [link] Won Best Paper Award (Top 1% of Submissions).
  17. Pons, P., Carter, M. & Jaen, J. (2016) Sound to your Objects: A Novel Design Approach to Evaluate Orangutans’ Interest in Sound-based Stimuli. In The 2016 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI’16), ACM Press, article no. 7. [link]
  18. Velloso, E. & Carter, M. (2016) The Emergence of EyePlay: A Survey of Eye Interaction in Games. In the 2016 ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI Play), ACM Press, 171-185. [link]
  19. Newn, J., Velloso, E., Carter, M. (2016). Exploring the Effects of Gaze Awareness on Multiplayer Gameplay. In Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Extended Abstracts (CHI Play), ACM Press, 239-244. [link]
  20. Allison, F., Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2016) A History of Voice Interaction in Games. In Proceedings of the 1st International Joint FDG-DIGRA Conference, Dundee, Scotland. [link]
  21. Newn, J., Carter, M., Velloso, E. & Vetere, F. (2016) Multimodal Segmentation on a Large Interactive Tabletop: Extending Interaction on Horizontal Surfaces with Gaze. In Proceedings of the 2016 ACM International Conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ACM ISS’16), ACM Press, 251-260. [link]
  22. Cox, T., Carter, M. & Velloso, E. (2016) Public DisPLAY: Social Games on Interactive Public Screens. In the 28th Australian Computer Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’16), ACM Press, 371-380. [link]
  23. Bevan, T., Hoang, T., Carter, M. & Ploderer, B. (2016) HandLog: A Deformable Tangible Device for Continuous Input through Finger Flexion. In the 28th Australian Computer Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’16), ACM Press, 595-604. [link]
  24. Carter, M., Velloso, E., Downs, J., Sellen, A., O’Hara, K. & Vetere, F. (2016) PathSync: Multi-User, Gestural Interaction with Touchless Rythmic Path Mimicry. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human-Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ‘16). ACM Press. [link] [video]
  25. Carter, M., Newn, J., Velloso, E. & Vetere, F (2015) Remote Gaze and Gesture Tracking on the Microsoft Kinect: Investigating of the Role of Feedback. In Proceedings of the 27th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’15), ACM Press, 167-176. [link]
  26. Nansen, B., Arnold, M., Carter, M., Gibbs, M., Wilken, R. & Kennedy, J. (2015) Proxy Users, Use by Proxy: Mapping Forms of Intermediary Representation. In Proceedings of the 27th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’15), ACM Press, 294-298. [link]
  27. Allison, F., Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2015) Good Frustrations: The Paradoxical Pleasure of Fearing Death in DayZ. In Proceedings of the 27th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’15), ACM Press, 119-123. [link]
  28. Carter, M., Allison, F., Downs, J. & Gibbs, M. (2015) Player Identity Dissonance and Voice Interaction in Games. In the 2015 ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI Play), ACM Press, pp. 265-269. [link]
  29. Carter, M., Bergstrom, K., Webber, N. & Milik, O. (2015). EVE is Real. In Proceedings of the 2015 Digital Games Research Conference (DiGRA’15), Luneburg, Germany. [link]
  30. Carter, M., Webber, S. & Sherwen, S. (2015) Naturalism and ACI: Augmenting Zoo Enclosures with Digital Technology. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Congress on Animal Computer Interaction (ACI ’15), Iskandar, Malaysia. [link]
  31. Rault, J-L., Webber, S. & Carter, M. (2015) Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Animal Welfare Science and Animal-Computer Interaction. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Congress on Animal Computer Interaction (ACI ’15), Iskandar, Malaysia. [link]
  32. Linehan, C., Harrer, S., Kirman, B., Lawson., S. & Carter, M. (2015) Games Against Health: A Player Centered Design Philosophy. In Proceedings of alt.CHI 2015, pp. 589-600. [link]
  33. Carter, M., Nansen, B., Gibbs, M. & Arnold, M. (2014) #funeral. In Selected Papers of the 15th International Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. (IR’15), Bangkok, Thailand. [link]
  34. Carter, M., Nansen B., Gibbs, M. (2014) Screen Ecologies, Multi-Gaming and Designing for Different Registers of Engagement. In Proceedings of the the 2014 ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI Play), ACM Press, pp. 37-46. [link]
  35. Carter, M., Downs, J., Nansen, B., Harrop, M., Gibbs, M. (2014) The Paradigms of Game Research in HCI: A Meta-Review of 10 Years of Research. In Proceedings of the 2014 ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI Play), ACM Press, pp. 27-36. [link]
  36. Gibbs, M., Carter, M., Nansen, B., Kohn, T. (2014) Selfies at Funerals: Remediating Rituals of Mourning. In Selected Papers of the 15th International Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. (IR’15), Bangkok, Thailand. [link]
  37. Fisk, L., Carter, M., Yeganeh, B., Vetere, F. & Polderer, B. (2014) Implicit and Explicit Interactions in Video Mediated Collaboration. In Proceedings of the 26th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’14), ACM Press, pp. 250-259. [link]
  38. Carter, M., Gibbs, M. & Wadley, G. (2013) Death and Dying in DayZ. In Proceedings of the 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment (IE’13), ACM Press, article no. 22. [link]
  39. Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2013) eSports in EVE Online: Skullduggery, Fairplay and Acceptability in an Unbounded Competition. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG’13), SASDG, 47-54. [link]
  40. 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. In Proceedings of the 2013 Association of Internet Researchers Conference. [link]
  41. Bergstrom, K., Carter, M., Woodford, D. & Paul, C. (2013) Constructing the ideal EVE Online player. In Proceedings of the 2013 Digital Games Research Association Conference (DiGRA’13), Georgia, Atlanta. [link]
  42. Harrop, M., Carter, M. & Gibbs, M. (2013) Everyone’s a Winner at Warhammer 40,000 (or, at least not a loser). In Proceedings of the 2013 Digital Games Research Association conference (DiGRA’13). [link]
  43. Harrop, M., Gibbs, M. & Carter, M. (2013) The pretense awareness contexts and oscillating nature of coaching frames. In Proceedings of the 2013 Digital Games Research Association conference (DiGRA’13). [link]
  44. Carter, M., Gibbs, M., & Arnold, M. (2012) Avatars, Characters, Users and Players: Multiple Identities at/in Play. In Proceedings of the 24th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’12), ACM Press, 68-71. [link]
  45. Carter, M., Wadley, G. & Gibbs, M. (2012) “Friendly, Don’t Shoot!”: How Communication Design Can Enable Novel Social Interactions. In Proceedings of the 24th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference (ozCHI’12), ACM Press, 72-75. [link]
  46. Carter, M., Gibbs, M. & Harrop, M. (2012) Metagames, Paragames and Orthogames: A New Vocabulary. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG’12). ACM Press, 11-17. [link]
https://www.high-endrolex.com/33

Reports and Other

  1. Hardwick, T., Carter, M., Dawson, F., Allison, F., Butt, M-A., Clark, K., Johnson, M., Keogh, B., Mackenzie, M., Stanton, R., Wang, F.  (2024) Maximising the Potential of SXSW Sydney Games. Sydney Games and Play Lab. [link, pdf]
  2. Clark, K., Carter, M., Egliston B. & Heemsbergen, L. (2024) CAVRN Syllabus, Vol. 2. CAVRN [link, pdf]
  3. Clark, K., Carter, M., Egliston B. & Heemsbergen, L. (2023) CAVRN Syllabus, Vol. 1. CAVRN [link, pdf]
  4. Carter, M. & Egliston, B. (2022) Ethical Implications of Mixed Reality Technologies Project Report. Project Report [link]
  5. Carter, M. & Egliston, B. (2020) No Escape From Reality: The immersiveness of virtual reality fuels a fantasy of richer data collection. Real Life Magazine. [link] [pdf]
  6. Carter, M. & Egliston, B. (2020) Ethical Implications of Emerging Mixed Reality Technologies. Socio-Tech Futures Lab Report [link]
  7. Gibbs, M., Carter, M., Cumming, D., Fordyce, R. & Witkowski, E. (2018) eSports Spectatorship in Australia. Networked Society Institute Research Paper. [link]
  8. Carter, M. (2018) Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Gaming Micro-transactions for chance-based items. [My Submission] [Final Senate Report]