Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Marcus Carter

@marcuscarter.com

980 followers 280 following 51 posts

Professor in HCI @ USYD, Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Game Studies & Virtual Reality.

Videos

Computer science 21%

Materials science 15%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by Marcus Carter

SSRN @ssrn.bsky.social · Aug 13

Check out the latest from the SSRN #blog which features a selection of #research on age verification & #online safety.

Read more: spkl.io/63322AKCwm

#Academicsky #AcademicChatter

The Latest Research on Age Verification & Online Safety

This list includes a selection of the latest research on age verification & online safety posted to SSRN in 2025. Tinder Backgrounds by Irina D. Manta (Hofstra University) The “Segregate-…

spkl.io

2 2 4

Reposted by Marcus Carter, Kath Albury, Julia Coffey

Daniel Angus @antmandan.bsky.social · Nov 19

I was in Canberra yesterday alongside other digital media experts to brief members of the cross bench and government on some of the key policies being debated at present, social media bans, age verification, and misinformation. @qutdmrc.bsky.social

Australian academic and civil society experts briefing federal politicians inside Parliament House. Screen capture from senator Pocock's Instagram feed.

A member of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, anti-bullying expert and co-founder of Project Rocket Lucy Thomas OAM, Prof Amanda Third (WSU), and Prof Dan Angus (QUT DMRC)

6 9 62

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Jose @jum.bsky.social · Apr 5

50 3.4K 16K

Reposted by Marcus Carter

J. Walton @ludopolitics.bsky.social · Mar 25

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.

1 2 8

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

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!

1 4

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

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

1 1 3

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

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 ...

1 1 3

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

➡️ Parents feel that the way monetisation is designed in games becomes a barrier to teaching children healthy spending behaviours.

1 1 3

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

➡️ 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

1 1 5

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

➡️ 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.

1 1 3

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

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.

1 1 5

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

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

1 1 6

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

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

1 1 6

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Mar 25

Last year, we ran a study where we gave children a $20 pre-paid debit card to spend in any game. This method elicited incredible data showing how carefully children weigh their purchasing decisions, but also revealed the many minefields and deceptive practices they have to navigate.

2 11 30

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Taylor Hardwick @darthtayrah.bsky.social · Mar 23

New article in @theconversation.com today by myself and @marcuscarter.com on how kids talk about when spending money in Roblox is harmful to them. TLDR; virtual currencies and random reward features should be better regulated!

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

2 9 22

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Yaron Meron @yaronmeron.com · Mar 20

My DRS paper on graphic design and AI has just passed 15,000 downloads | dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conferen...

Screenshot of conference paper titled “Graphic design and artificial intelligence: Interdisciplinary challenges for designers in the search for research collaboration”

2 3

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Felipe Pepe @felipepepe.bsky.social · Dec 25

Agree, it's why I always recommend reading @brkeogh.bsky.social's book The Videogame Industry does not exist.

Games are a media, an art field. While it's understandable to want to help people pay bills, we undermine them by focusing so much on their monetization - especially when it's unrealistic.

Cover of the book "The Videogame Industry Does Not Exist: Why We Should Think Beyond Commercial Game Production", by Brendan Keogh.

11 100 410

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Ben Abraham @afterclimate.com.au · Dec 24

God this is really annoying - but Adam Tooze posted the best thing he’s written in months *today*. It’s a wide ranging interview from a Chinese publication, but here’s the best (and most terrifying) description of the current AI bubble I’ve yet read

adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-...

Ding Xiongfei: You believe AI is being overhyped, correct?

Adam Tooze: Honestly, I’m not sure. I think it's still in such an early stage, and we’re very much in the zone of the “Solow paradox,” where everyone is talking about it—it’s supposedly everywhere—but it hasn’t really started doing or changing much yet. I've been asked this question so many times in various talks that I ended up creating a “polycrisis” diagram for AI. There are so many possibilities that might spin out. What worries me the most is the massive bet being placed on AI in the American stock market right now, which is essentially predicated on the assumption of a huge leap in productivity. The flipside of that is a huge upheaval in white-collar, routine labor markets, which could be devastating for employment and social stability. What we’re seeing is a vast, leveraged financial gamble on social disruption. If things go “well,” we could see a real social revolution. If they don’t, investors will be disappointed, and there could be a collapse in stock market values.

2 4 18

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Patrick Klepek @patrickklepek.bsky.social · Dec 18

I agree with @localthunk.bsky.social. Rating Balatro as an 18+ game is as unserious as it is hypocritical, and how we use ratings and regulations to safeguard children often makes no sense. My latest at @crossplayblog.bsky.social: patrickklepek.substack.com/p/is-balatro...

Balatro’s 18+ Rating Underscores Gaming’s Hypocritical “Protecting” Children Rhetoric

Loot boxes pass through regulatory and rating scrutiny without batting an eye, but a card game? My word!

patrickklepek.substack.com

28 260 1.1K

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Dec 17

@darthtayrah.bsky.social

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Dec 16

A safe distance!

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Ryan K. Rigney @pushtotalk.gg · Dec 13

Reviewed a crazy book about the Commodore 64 for Polygon.com!

www.polygon.com/books/496693...

Too Much Fun finally tells the C64’s legacy

Ryan Rigney on Jesper Juul’s new book about the forgotten history of early home computer games

www.polygon.com

1 9 37

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Dec 12

“the catchphrase might be that the Bullshit Jobs are now being done by the Bullshit Machine.”

Great read!

Chris J. Karr @cjkarr.bsky.social · Dec 11

@himself.bsky.social knocks another one out of the park with his great piece on LLMs and the anticipated effects they will have on large organizations of all kinds.

Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · Dec 9

The Management Singularity - LLMs aren't going to transform the Fate of Mankind but they will remake how big organizations work. www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-manage...

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Chris J. Karr @cjkarr.bsky.social · Dec 11

@himself.bsky.social knocks another one out of the park with his great piece on LLMs and the anticipated effects they will have on large organizations of all kinds.

Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · Dec 9

The Management Singularity - LLMs aren't going to transform the Fate of Mankind but they will remake how big organizations work. www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-manage...

The Management Singularity

LLMs will transform the world - but quietly

www.programmablemutter.com

7 8

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Tianyi ZhangShao @tianyizhangshao.bsky.social · Dec 9

Wondering why Australia shouldn’t (consider) ban social media (games) for minors? China sets us an example. Thanks for the great team work @benegliston.bsky.social , @marcuscarter.com 🍻
theconversation.com/china-restri...

China restricted young people from video games. But kids are evading the bans and getting into trouble

In China, many people see video games as ‘spiritual opium’. However, laws restricting young people’s play have proven difficult to enforce in practice.

theconversation.com

3 7

Reposted by Marcus Carter

Ben Abraham @afterclimate.com.au · Dec 6

"The global venture capital sector has invested over USD 225 billion in AI startups over the past five years, compared to USD 143 billion over the same period in startups operating across all aspects of the clean energy sector"

From the IEA's 2024 World Energy Outlook (p186). Now that's a problem.

2 8 24

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Dec 5

I don’t listen to much music, but when I do …

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Dec 3

“As we have seen in the past bad policy designs leads to bad outcomes,” Rowland said last week. “It is important we take the time to get these reforms right.”

1 2

Marcus Carter @marcuscarter.com · Dec 2

Maybe we can call gambling ads ‘social media’ and we’ll ban it then?

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · Dec 2

Gambling ads between Frozen and Bluey songs.
This shouldn’t be happening. Govt needs to have the guts to ban gambling advertising.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Australian father calls out Spotify for allegedly playing Sportsbet ads during Frozen and Bluey songs

Man says gambling ads ‘potentially damaging’ for his children who regularly listen to Disney and the Wiggles on his account on music streaming app

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Marcus Carter

David Pocock @davidpocock.bsky.social · Dec 2

Gambling ads between Frozen and Bluey songs.
This shouldn’t be happening. Govt needs to have the guts to ban gambling advertising.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Australian father calls out Spotify for allegedly playing Sportsbet ads during Frozen and Bluey songs

Man says gambling ads ‘potentially damaging’ for his children who regularly listen to Disney and the Wiggles on his account on music streaming app

www.theguardian.com

27 210 640