Nine Games created in 48 hours at Malta Global Game Jam

Caption (From left to right): Mask of Agamemnon, Institute of Digital Games students - Paul Psaila and Eneh Lang receive the coveted framed poster from Prof. Antonios Liapis and Ballroom Break-in

The Malta Global Game Jam, organised and hosted by the Institute of Digital Games, brought together over 40 creatives from a wide range of backgrounds, from programmers to artists, from game designers to architects to take on the challenge of making a functioning game in 48 hours. The Global Game Jam is a world-wide event held simultaneously all over the world where all participants get inspired by the same theme. This year the theme was: ‘Mask’.

Designing for Social Interactions in Multiplayer Games
A major highlight of our event was our keynote speaker, Senior Game Designer at CCP, Josh Bayer, who shared his experience in designing for social interactions in multiplayer game. Drawing on his lessons from building the systems for the Massively Mulitplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) EVE Online, he explained how they balanced trust and distrust between players to create memorable experiences (and ultimately long-term friendships).

Connecting Students and Hobbyists to the Video Game Industry in Malta
Connecting students with industry professionals and learning from more experienced designers is an important part of the process. There are no judges at the Malta Global Game Jam, but the pros instead offer guidance, support and inspiration. This year we were fortunate to have in addition to Josh Bayer, an array of local game design studios to try out the games and provide some guidance and advice. Andrew Farrugia (co-Founder Anvil Games Studios), Ali Mitisi (founder Hand Rock Studios), Prof. Antonios Liapis, Christopher Mifsud (founder Play on Words), and John Chasoulidis Abela were all there to provide guidance and tips to the participants.

The Nine Games Made at Malta Global Game Jam
All games can be downloaded and played for free from the Malta Global Game Jam site. At the end of the game jam, all of the participants were able to try each other's games and vote for their favourite. This year’s winner of the popular vote was Ballroom Break-in, made by Institute of Digital Games students, Paul Psaila and Eneh Lang.

Ballroom Break-in is a 2-person Local Multiplayer PvP game where one player takes the role of Master Thief and the other takes the role of the Security Guard trying to stop them.

The Turning Stone is a puzzle game where Peep, a small white kiwi who has wandered into ruins with mysterious power, must solve environmental puzzles.

Wiċċ is a puzzle/survival platformer about escape: you’re a witch fleeing an angry mob through a forest full of concealed traps. Use magic to unmask what’s hidden..... but every cast makes capture more likely.

The Mask of Agamemnon is a two-player 2-D shooting game where you play as spy or mercenary in a high-stakes, globe-trotting showdown in pure ’80s style — fast, flashy, and deadly. Who will claim Agamemnon’s mask?

Aquanaut follows an astronaut on mission to find signs of life encounters a signal coming from a planet. He follows the signal down to the planet’s surface and finds that the signal is coming from the bottom of the sea.

Masked Under the Influence is a cooperative first-person game where two players experience the same reality in very different ways. One plays as a Partygoer who begins hallucinating after taking drugs, while the other becomes the Mask guiding them through a distorted, hazardous house.

Beneath the Mask is a short visual game about trying on different masks in life and the challenges that come with each. Includes a slider puzzle and lots of custom music.

MasquePaint is a funny, fast-paced and colourful game, inspired by the nostalgic Battle Painters. Your goal as the diva of tonight’s masquerade is to fill the space with your dazzling golden aura. Just be careful not to bump into other dancers!

Mask Dash is a fast, casual 2D arena game where the player competes against an AI to reach a mysterious mask placed at the center of the arena.

Lessons Learned from Malta Global Game Jam 2026

It is never just about making games—it is about encouraging participants to push their creativity, experiment with ideas, and not be afraid to learn from their mistakes. We got to see some very interesting new ideas, like the covert mechanics of Ballroom Break-in and the two-player interaction for Masked Under the Influence, that might not be commercially viable, But there are lessons to be taken from making these games, playing around with the concepts and being able to take parts of them and discard parts of them to become a better game designer and developer.

Game development is not just a technical skill – it is an evolving and a growing art form, something we teach at the Institute of Digital Games as well. This blend of storytelling, technology, and design to craft experiences that resonate is what makes studying this discipline so important. 

For all University of Malta students interested in the basics of Unity and Unreal Engine, some of the most popular ‘game engines’ at the moment, Paul Psaila is part of the team teaching the DegreePlus course: DGP0941 - Creating Virtual Worlds. For those considering an M.Sc. related to artificial intelligence or game studies, we invite you to attend the online info day or stop by the Institute of Digital Games.

This year’s Malta GGJ was proudly supported by Gaming Malta and Playcon whose commitment to growing the Maltese gaming industry continues to be crucial for games and research and organised in collaboration with Odin and MCAST.