Games Research and Education (M.Sc. and Ph.D.)

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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.

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

Game Lecture Series - Andrei Xuereb MHFA

June 6, 2017

Fantasy vs Reality - Sword fighting in Video Games is a comparative lecture and demonstration about combat with swords and other edged weapons as used in video games and history. The objective of this lecture is to educate the audience about the … read more

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Playfields workshop - #GoGoTal-Qroqq

May 31, 2017

Join us for a playtest of the Playfields app, and for a discussion of play and digital game tools in social research. Playfields is a digital tool for playful fieldwork – an app for encountering surprise and challenging traditional ways of doing field … read more

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DiGRA Italia Conference 2017

May 29, 2017

At the inaugural conference event for the Italian chapter of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA Italia), held on May 12 at the IULM University in Milan, IDG faculty member Daniel Vella gave a presentation entitled "De-Roling from Gamplay and … read more

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Mixed-initiative and Board game design at CHI 2017

May 16, 2017

At the 35th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System, better known as CHI, there were several initiatives related to design practice that the IDG was involved in. For starters, the Mixed-Initiative Creative Interfaces … read more

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Interdisciplinary Challenges for Game Studies in Copenhagen

April 26, 2017

On Wednesday 3 May the IDG members made a joint appearance at the IT University of Copenhagen, where they participated in a series of talks on the Interdisciplinary Challenges for Game Studies. The afternoon included four talks on diverse … read more

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Go Go Gozo 2017 - Exhibition

April 25, 2017

GoGoGozo is a project that looks at playful research methods and digital mapping, and takes place in Gozo from May 2nd to 12th 2017. Over 10 days, students from UK, Netherlands, Czech Republic, and Malta, will playfully engage with research, with field … read more

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