Games Research and Education (M.Sc. and Ph.D.)
Welcome to the Institute of Digital Games, the research and education centre at the University of Malta, focusing on game design, game analysis, and game technology!
Our work is at the forefront of innovative games research. We explore games and play, uncovering new playful and generative possibilities in game design and technology. We delve into everything games can teach us about ourselves.
Our multidisciplinary academic team spans computer science, literature, game design, philosophy, media studies, and social sciences.
Click here to read our annual report for the year 2022/2023.
Find us on …
David developed an innovative model for understanding board game involvement for his thesis.
It is an environment roaring with ideas, thoughts, games, prototypes, concepts. It was a period when I felt constantly inspired.
Rebecca is researching narrative in games. As part of her thesis, she developed a choice-driven video game.
Practice in the form of game project assignments and a supportive teaching staff really boost your confidence as a game designer!
The Institute feels like a little community that you're part of.
William's research explored the procedural generation of multi-floor levels for first-person shooters.
Being involved in the research process, I realised how passionate everyone at IDG is about their research.
Blog What we have been up to lately
Deep Learning Algorithms for Games - The Power of Pixels …
The pixels and sounds of emotion! What if we could detect emotions in a general, user-agnostic fashion? Is it possible to capture human emotion solely by looking at the pixels of the screen and hearing the sounds of the interaction? No sensors, no … read more
IDG finalist at the 2021 ION Game Design Awards!
Construction BOOM!, a tile-laying board game developed at the Institute of Digital Games as a satire of the local construction industry has just been announced as a finalist of the Game Design Excellence prize at the American ION Awards (in Salt Lake City, … read more
Hiring Developers, PhD Students, and Post-Doctoral Fellows …
We're hiring! Work with us at one of the leading game research institutes in Europe! The Institute of Digital Games runs a number of EU funded projects at the intersections of game artificial intelligence, computer-aided design, affective computing, machine … read more
Princeton Review - IDG in Top 25 Postgrad Programmes in …
Used with permission. ©2019 TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information about reprints from The Princeton Reviewvisit PARS International Corp. at www.TPR-licensing. … read more
CURIO - An Educational Game Toolkit for Primary School …
The Institute of Digital Games is proud to announce the official launch of CURIO! CURIO is a 2020 free, educational toolkit funded by Erasmus+. The project and its attending research were led by our own Prof. Stefano Gualeni! It empowers … read more
Science in the City 2020 - Machine Learning for Kids …
Science in the City is usually Malta’s premiere science event, with the bastions of Valletta coming alive with all kinds of interactive science demonstrations, performances and talks. People can wander between the Maltese balconies and chat directly to the … read more