Marcus Carter
@marcuscarter.com
Professor in HCI @ USYD, Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Game Studies & Virtual Reality.
People are going to be so pissed when they find out four chapters of this book are on videogame / video game (with that extraordinary 6 page footnote on the Latin roots of video in ‘videre’ and the implications of the Greek suffix eidos meaning “form, shape” thus implying seeing the game shape …
November 13, 2025 at 10:50 AM
People are going to be so pissed when they find out four chapters of this book are on videogame / video game (with that extraordinary 6 page footnote on the Latin roots of video in ‘videre’ and the implications of the Greek suffix eidos meaning “form, shape” thus implying seeing the game shape …
Reposted by Marcus Carter
Teaching game design is way harder than anything else I've ever taught, because we make collaborative social rituals out of all of human experience... and then also sometimes have to balance spreadsheets about polearm damage.
March 25, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Teaching game design is way harder than anything else I've ever taught, because we make collaborative social rituals out of all of human experience... and then also sometimes have to balance spreadsheets about polearm damage.
We're currently running a study interviewing game developers and games industry workers, particularly those involved in monetisation design. If you'd like to speak with us so that our research is better informed by industry perspectives please reach out!
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
We're currently running a study interviewing game developers and games industry workers, particularly those involved in monetisation design. If you'd like to speak with us so that our research is better informed by industry perspectives please reach out!
These key principles guide developers “to act in line with the European consumer protection legislation when offering in-game virtual currencies”. The headline is that purchases must disclose the 'real' value of purchases, but the principles go further than that commission.europa.eu/document/dow...
commission.europa.eu
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
These key principles guide developers “to act in line with the European consumer protection legislation when offering in-game virtual currencies”. The headline is that purchases must disclose the 'real' value of purchases, but the principles go further than that commission.europa.eu/document/dow...
Our research provides further evidence to support action taken by the European Consumer Protection Cooperation Network who (just last Friday!) have released new Key Principles on the design of virtual currencies ...
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Our research provides further evidence to support action taken by the European Consumer Protection Cooperation Network who (just last Friday!) have released new Key Principles on the design of virtual currencies ...
➡️ Parents feel that the way monetisation is designed in games becomes a barrier to teaching children healthy spending behaviours.
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
➡️ Parents feel that the way monetisation is designed in games becomes a barrier to teaching children healthy spending behaviours.
➡️ Many children feel misled by the games they play, experiencing financial disappointment and family conflicts due to misleading spending features.
➡️ Children need better protections over access to the virtual items and accounts they spend time and money on, and should have easier access to refunds
➡️ Children need better protections over access to the virtual items and accounts they spend time and money on, and should have easier access to refunds
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
➡️ Many children feel misled by the games they play, experiencing financial disappointment and family conflicts due to misleading spending features.
➡️ Children need better protections over access to the virtual items and accounts they spend time and money on, and should have easier access to refunds
➡️ Children need better protections over access to the virtual items and accounts they spend time and money on, and should have easier access to refunds
➡️ Random reward mechanics like loot boxes are deceptive and harmful, and still feature in many of the most popular Roblox games despite being banned for users under 15 in Australia in 2024.
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
➡️ Random reward mechanics like loot boxes are deceptive and harmful, and still feature in many of the most popular Roblox games despite being banned for users under 15 in Australia in 2024.
Our key findings:
➡️ Children are struggling with complex virtual currency systems, describing in-game currency conversions as “scary” and difficult to understand, often leading to unintentional overspending.
➡️ Children are struggling with complex virtual currency systems, describing in-game currency conversions as “scary” and difficult to understand, often leading to unintentional overspending.
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Our key findings:
➡️ Children are struggling with complex virtual currency systems, describing in-game currency conversions as “scary” and difficult to understand, often leading to unintentional overspending.
➡️ Children are struggling with complex virtual currency systems, describing in-game currency conversions as “scary” and difficult to understand, often leading to unintentional overspending.
and we've written about the key findings for The Conversation here theconversation.com/literally-ju...
‘Literally just child gambling’: what kids say about Roblox, lootboxes and money in online games
Kids who play Roblox games describe ‘scary’ virtual currencies and ‘cash grab’ random rewards.
theconversation.com
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
and we've written about the key findings for The Conversation here theconversation.com/literally-ju...
This work has now been accepted for publication at CHI – pre-print here papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
"They're Scamming Me": How Children Experience and Conceptualize Harm in Game Monetization
Regulatory shifts are increasingly placing the onus on online service providers such as digital game developers and platforms to ensure that their services do n
papers.ssrn.com
March 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
This work has now been accepted for publication at CHI – pre-print here papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
December 17, 2024 at 9:12 AM