Press

I have been interviewed for The Guardian, WIRED, the ABC, BBC, CBC, Le Monde, Der Standard, and many other both specialist and generalist news outlets.

I am always open for comment on stories about Twitch / live streaming, about esports, and about gaming more generally - please give me a shout via my university details, my Contact Page or my Twitter to get in touch!

 

TV / Radio / Newspaper Appearances:

  • “Saudi Arabia and the Esports World Cup”, ABC News Live, July 4th, 2024.
  • “Doping and Esports”, ABC News Live, May 25th, 2023.
  • “Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard Merger”, ABC News Live, May 16th, 2023.
  • “Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard Merger”, ABC Behind the News, May 10th, 2023.
  • “Fortnite and Microtransactions”, CBC Radio, January 31st, 2023.
  • “Fortnite and FTC Fine”, ABC News Live, December 20th, 2022.
  • “Global success of Cult of the Lamb showcases Australia’s video games development talent”, The Guardian, August 21st, 2022.
  • “The Games Industry in China”, BBC World Service, August 11th, 2022.
  • “Dans les recoins de Twitch, le monde étrange des streams automatiques sans joueur et sans streamer”, Le Monde, April 8th, 2022.
  • “Twitch”, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, October 15th, 2021.
  • “Squid Game owes its popularity to anxieties of modern life”, The Guardian, October 9th, 2021.
  • “Gaming offers escape and empowerment”, The Australian, July 24th, 2021
  • “Video Games and Gambling”, 2SER Radio, April 29th, 2021
  • 10 News First Sydney, July 6th, 2020.
  • "Commodore 64, Nintendo and Nokia join turntables in retro revival", The Australian, November 21st, 2019.
  • “Match-fixing, doping becoming prevalent in esports”, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 30th, 2019.
  • "How gamers with disabilities find community, and sometimes cash, livestreaming on Twitch", The Star, April 10th, 2019.
  • "PFFNHS, SNHS students learn effects of video gaming during workshop", Sioux Bulletin, November 21st, 2018.
  • "This millennial is making $560K a month playing a video game on Twitch — here’s how", Global News, August 21st, 2018.
  • "Gaming Addiction", BBC Radio Scotland, June 18th, 2018.
  • "Five Dangers of Loot Boxes", BBC Own it, June 15th, 2018.
  • "The Life of an Esports Caster", Daily Mail, February 3rd, 2018.
  • CBC Edmonton, December 13th, 2017.
  • "Daily Fantasy Sports, Gambling and Video Games", News Talk 770 Radio, October 26th, 2017.
  • "Daily fantasy sports: Is it gambling?", Edmonton Metro, October 22nd, 2017.
  • "Computer bluffen nicht", Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, September 19th 2016.
  • BBC World News, May 2016.
  • "Overwatch seeks esports domination", BBC News Online, May 24th 2016.
  • "Ultima Ratio Regum: Wie das Spiel eines 25-Jährigen komplette Welten simuliert", Der Standard, May 10th 2015.

 

Interviews / Coverage:

  • “Female and LGBTQ gamers face constant abuse. For many, it’s enough to give up playing”, Sydney Morning Herald, March 28th, 2024.
  • “Gubbins, a video game by Melbourne's Studio Folly, looks to capture the genius of Wordle”, ABC News, November 23rd, 2023.
  • “Meet Emmett Shear, OpenAI’s ‘Highly Intelligent, Socially Awkward’ Interim CEO”, WIRED, November 20th, 2023.
  • “One of the most popular game franchises of all time is going back to its roots”, Sydney Morning Herald, October 4th, 2023.
  • “The Twitch-Fueled Catastrophe of Kai Cenat's New York City Giveaway”, WIRED, August 10th, 2023.
  • “Minecraft Legends is a reminder that lightning rarely strikes twice in gaming”, The Conversation, May 11th, 2023.
  • “Why video game adaptations are finally levelling up”, Sydney Morning Herald, April 7th, 2023.
  • “Sex, hate and Trainwreck: Aussie gambling billionaire’s links to Twitch’s controversial competitor”, Crikey, March 3rd, 2023.
  • “Are in-game ‘loot boxes’ a gambling gateway for children?”, Deseret News, December 7th, 2022.
  • “Success on Twitch No Longer Comes on Twitch”, WIRED, October 3rd, 2022.
  • “Expert warns Twitch gambling ban won’t mark end of Slots hype in streaming”, Dexerto, September 21st, 2022.
  • “What does the future of in-game advertising look like?”, Dexerto, August 17th, 2022.
  • “The risks behind addictive Slots streams taking Twitch by storm”, Canvas8, July 15th, 2022.
  • “Video gamers the next generation of gamblers”, Asia Gaming Brief, March 30th, 2022.
  • “Netflix's Squid Game guards spotted fighting on Google Maps by eagle-eyed TikToker”, Daily Star, October 21st, 2021.
  • “Twitch Leak: Il Sistema Della Donazioni Crollera?”, Dr Commodore, October 8th, 2021.
  • “Think, fight, feel: how video game artificial intelligence is evolving”, The Guardian, July 19th, 2021.
  • “Gamblers in the stream: making celebrities — and money — out of people who film themselves betting”, Crikey, July 15th, 2021.
  • “Twitch hasn't kept its promises to disabled streamers”, Input Magazine, March 12th, 2021.
  • “The Future’s Biggest Stars Are Born on Twitch”, W Magazine, March 11th, 2021.
  • “Major Streaming Site Offers Social Slots Betting”, VIXIO, January 22nd, 2021.
  • “On Twitch, Online Casino Streamers Promote Gambling to Their Audience While Taking on Little Risk”, Paste Magazine, December 21st, 2020.
  • “Why loot box games like FIFA should be regulated by the UK Gambling Commission”, Compare.bet, October 27th, 2020.
  • "Loot boxes: A gamer’s friend or foe?”, Calgary Journal, April 5th, 2020.
  • “Gaming and Gambling”, Eastside Radio, January 24th, 2020.
  • "Victoria investigates Overwatch esports league", Casino Aus, October 3rd, 2019.
  • "Police launch enquiries into Overwatch and CS:GO teams over ‘complaints’", Esports Junkie, September 26th, 2019.
  • "Australian police investigating CS:GO and Overwatch teams overcorruption complaints", PC Gamer, September 24th, 2019.
  • "Australian esports criminal investigation reveals video game industry is ripe for corruption", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, September 22nd, 2019.
  • "Esports Fans Not Interested Enough in Games’ Integrity", Gambling News, June 3rd, 2019.
  • “Esports poses additional challenge to states entering legalized sports betting”, Las Vegas Review Journal, June 1st, 2019.
  • "More than fun and games: Why an increasing number of people with disabilities are finding a safe space and income potential on Twitch", Folio, April 5th, 2019
  • "The WSOP fights back", Gambling Insider, January 9th, 2019.
  • "Catching up with esports", Gambling Insider, November 30th, 2018.
  • "Loot boxes – is it time to regulate?", Gambling Insider, November 1st, 2018.
  • "How to Make a Roguelike", Gamasutra, October 29th, 2018.
  • "A blurred line betweenwork and play could cause trouble for the Overwatch League", Dot Esports, May 24th, 2018.
  • "Desire, competition, or addiction - why do we buy loot boxes?", PCGamesN, April 3rd, 2018.
  • "‘Aspiring Streamers are willing to push themselves hard’ – new study looks at what makes a successful streamer", eSports News, December 10th, 2017.
  • "Studie: So hart arbeiten Streamer für ihren Erfolg", Giga.de, November 11th, 2017.
  • "7 roguelikes that every developer should study", Gamasutra, June 12th, 2017.
  • "Understanding Classic Roguelikes - An Interview with Dr. Mark R Johnson", IndieHaven, April 22nd, 2017.
  • "Pricing a Roguelike", Gamasutra, January 31st, 2017.
  • "LSE win Varsity Games Dota 2 University Tournament", eSports News, November 29th, 2016.
  • "The Crusader Kings II Mod capable of generating huge, alternate histories", Kill Screen, September 19th, 2016.
  • "'No Mans's Sky': El videojugeo de nunca acabar", El Pais, August 10th, 2016.
  • "Interview: Mark R Johnson, creator of Ultima Ratio Regum", Heidelberg Journal of Religions and the Internet, 2016.
  • "Magic Pony’s neural network dreams up new imagery to expand an existing picture", TechCrunch, April 14th, 2016.
  • "Prozedurale Welten", Golem.de, August 3rd, 2015.
  • "Generation Game: Mark R Johnson on Ultima Ratio Regum", Ready-Up.net, June 19th 2015.
  • "Ultima Ratio Regum, A Generated 4X Roguelike", Rock Paper Shotgun, October 18th, 2013.

 

Articles:

  • “Gambling live streams on Twitch: What are they and why do they matter?”, The Conversation, September 16th, 2021.
  • “5 ways Twitch’s massive data leak might change live streaming as we know it”, The Conversation, October 7th, 2021.
  • "An Insider Look into the World of Competitive Bullet Hells", Waypoint, February 3rd 2017.
  • "Understanding Twitch Chat: New Forms of Digital Community and Play", Discover Society, January 3rd, 2017.
  • "High-Stakes Gamblers, Game Design, and the Meaning of Cheating", First Person Scholar, November 30th, 2016.
  • "Procedural Generation’s Future", Rock Paper Shotgun, September 16th ,2016.
  • "How to Create Cultures", Rock Paper Shotgun, September 2nd, 2016.
  • "The Sociology of ‘Streaming'", Sociological Imagination Blog, August 22nd, 2016.
  • "How Games Benefit from Procedurally Generated Lore", Rock Paper Shotgun, August 5th, 2016.
  • "You can spin your own Sci-Fi Tale in RimWorld", Vice Gaming, July 27th, 2016.
  • "How to Generate A Religion", Rock Paper Shotgun, July 22nd, 2016.
  • "Researching the Growth of eSports in the UK", eSports News, May 31st, 2016.
  • "Civilian Targets", Five out of Ten Magazine, July 28th, 2015.
  • "Seeing Green", Five out of Ten Magazine, July 28th, 2015.
  • "Before Spelunky and FTL, there was only ASCII", Paste Magazine, July 22nd, 2015.
  • "The Demonic Properties of an Ampersand", Kill Screen, July 2nd, 2015.
  • "Alternate History Aesthetics in Red Alert", Memory Insufficient, June 16th, 2015.
  • "Warning Forever: A Danmaku Dialogue", First Person Scholar, June 15th 2015.
  • "How integral are letters and text to ASCII gaming?", Imaginary Realities, May 25th 2015.

 

Podcast Appearances:

  • "The Ethics of Making Money on Twitch or YouTube", Ethics and Video Games Podcast, January 23rd, 2023.
  • "The Growing Gamblification of Video Games", Ethics and Video Games Podcast, October 4th, 2022.
  • Roguelike Radio, Co-Host, 2015-Present.
  • "Interview with Mark R Johnson", Checkpoints Podcast, February 6th, 2018.
  • "Interview with Mark R Johnson", Gambling with an Edge Podcast, July 25th, 2017.
  • "Comparing the Professionalization of Pro Gamblers and Pro Video Game Players", UNLV Gaming Podcast, July 14th, 2017.
  • "A gathering of masters @IEM", Digital Jam Podcast, March 5th, 2017.