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

DeepLearning school - with games!

August 1, 2017

In Bilbao, the International Summer School on Deep Learning took place between 17 and 21 July 2017. The 1-week event gathered more than 1300 PhD students, researchers and AI practitioners with an interested in the theoretical and practical advances … read more

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Game Lecture: Simon Niedenthal - 27th September 2017

August 1, 2017

Simon Niedenthal - 27th September 2017 - 18h00 @ Institute of Digital Games About the talk: The study of the sense of smell is a hot topic nowadays, with major scientific advances coming on a regular basis. From the recent recalculation that humans are … read more

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The Institute of Digital Games (output between 2013 and …

July 29, 2017

Interested in what we've being doing between 2013 and 2015? We've made a presentation of our teaching, research and development work, as well as some of the events and game jams that we've organised. To see the report, click here! To see our M.Sc. Brochure … read more

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Get into Games bootcamp in Athens

July 28, 2017

INNOVATHENS, the hub of innovation & entrepreneurship in Athens, Greece, organized a 2-week bootcamp for novice game developers from 17 to 29 July. The bootcamp included an intense set of game lectures on game design and development. … read more

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GECCO 2017

July 28, 2017

IDG members Daniele Gravina and Antonios Liapis attended the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference in Berlin, presenting original work from the Institute of Digital Games on evolutionary divergent search and procedural content … read more

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BOOK: Experience Machines

July 14, 2017

Experience Machines: The Philosophy of Virtual Worlds is a book edited by Mark Silcox that relates American Philosopher Robert Nozick’s 'experience machine' argument to virtual worlds. The book is highly relevant to the philosophy of computer games, and … read more

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