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.
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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
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 official … 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 towards genEral moDels … 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
Learn to Machine Learn - 7 Free Games that Teach …
The famous Chinese philosopher, Confucius once said: ‘I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.’ This list of games to learn Artificial Intelligence while playing games is perhaps a little late for him (by … read more
Are we going to oppress artificial beings?
One day, the virtual worlds of our digital games and training simulations will be inhabited by artificial intelligences that are so perceptive and sophisticated that they are going to be morally relevant for us. They will be conscious of … read more
No Place Like Home: Dwelling and Being at Home in Digital …
In the past few weeks, the world has taken quite the turn. The World Health Organisation is actually recommending people stay home and play videogames and schools have closed with University of Malta teaching remotely for the rest of the semester. The … read more