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
Game Development Paths: The Business and Industry of Making …
The Institute of Digital Games is thrilled to offer students a guest lecture from the business side of game design and game development by the GTR game accelerator & G.Round community-driven playtesting platform. The 1-hour lecture will be … read more
COMnPLAY-Science project: Questionnaires for Science …
The COMnPLAY SCIENCE project examines non-formal and informal science learning through coding, making, and playing thereby helping understand the new ways that young Europeans are nowadays increasingly engaged with, outside school and higher education science … read more
Game Research and Education: Bridging the Virtual with Real …
Join Prof. Stefano Gualeni and Dr. Iro Voulgari in a Commonwealth of Learning and Commonwealth Centre for Connected Learning webinar where we will discuss the impact of games beyond entertainment and also how games can specifically be leveraged as tools for … read more
Emotion AI - An Experiment using Theory of Mind and …
A study conducted at the Institute of Digital games investigating how an agent’s behaviour and the player’s own performance and emotions shape the recognition of frustrated behaviour was published in KI - Künstliche Intelligenz - the … read more
Artificial Intelligence and Emotion: Exploring the Next …
Dr. Konstantinos Makantasis, post-doctoral researcher in Artificial Intelligence at the Institute of Digital Games has been awarded a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships for his TAMED (Tensor-bAsed Machine learning … read more
Virtual Existentialism - Philosophy in Virtual Worlds
A wild new book appears! The Institute of Digital Games is excited to announce the release of a new book: Virtual Existentialism - Meaning and Subjectivity in Virtual Worlds! The book was written by IDG's own Prof. Stefano Gualeni and Dr. Daniel Vella, and … read more