Games research and education (M.Sc. and Ph.D.)

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The Institute of Digital Games is the centre for research and education in game design, game analysis, and game technology at the University of Malta.

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.

Read our latest report: IDG Annual Report - Academic Year 2021/22

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.

David C.
Graduated in 2015
Rebecca P.
Graduated in 2017
William C.
Graduated in 2015

Blog What we have been up to lately

Science in the City 2017

October 3, 2017

The Institute of Digital Games presented some of the projects and research they are currently working on at Science in the City, Malta's science and arts festival. The Institute presented the work being done under the AutoGame project and the … read more

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1st PhD graduate from the Institute of Digital Games - Dr …

September 26, 2017

The Institute of Digital Games would like to congratulate Phil Lopes for successfully defending his PhD in Artificial Intelligence in Digital Games. His research focused on Generating Multi-Faceted Game Content from Level to Audio and Measuring Affect of … read more

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De-Roling in Virtual Worlds

September 25, 2017

The latest issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, published earlier this month, includes a paper written by IDG members Stefano Gualeni and Daniel Vella, together with recent IDG graduate Johnathan Harrington. The paper, entitled "De-Roling From … read more

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'Chicken and Egg' (at Science and the City)

September 6, 2017

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? This presentation by Dr Stefano Gualeni will settle this issue once and for all: ‘Chicken and Egg’ philosophical play with thought experiments. By popular request, this talk - given earlier … read more

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FDG conference 2017

August 25, 2017

IDG member Daniel Karavolos attended the Foundations of Digital Games at Cape Cod in August 2017 to present his latest research at the Institute of Digital Games. His presentation took place at the Procedural Content Generation workshop, … read more

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Game Tales - 3-day Game Writing Workshop

August 10, 2017

Game Tales is a game narrative and writing workshop hosted by the Institute of Digital Games - University of Malta with the support of Arts Council Malta, featuring talks and hands-on writing sessions by award winning famous game writers and narrative … read more

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