Tattoo game: get inked at Ink Studio in Malta Living

Looking for a tattoo game where the ink is part of your character, not a sticker? Ink Studio has opened in Birkirkara in Malta Living, the free life sim of real Malta played in your browser. Walk in, and Nina the artist asks whether you want a walk-in or something of your own. The studio is always open; you'll find it in Get around.

Pick from the wall

The flash wall is the studio's book of ready designs, drawn bold and simple so they read on a small character. There's the real eight-pointed Maltese cross, a luzzu with its eye and its blue, yellow, red and green, the classics (a heart that says MUM, an anchor, a rose, a swallow, a wave under the sun), animals (a dolphin, a black cat) and abstract designs (lines, a mandala). Chips sort them: All, Malta, Animals, Abstract.

Where it goes, and how big

Tap a design and you see it on your own character, big, from the front. Pick the spot: neck, shoulder, upper arm, forearm, back or ankle. Whatever covers it (a sleeve, a trouser leg, a collar) is hidden in the preview and outlined, so you always see the design on your skin. Then the size:

• Small: €60 (about a minute)
• Medium: €110 (about two)
• Large: €200 (about three)

The neck takes small only, an ankle small or medium. You pay as the sitting starts, once: a double tap never charges twice.

Lie down and hold still

As in a real studio, you lie on the tattoo bed, Nina covers you with a towel and rests your arm on the armrest under the lamp. Then it's a little game: keep the needle in the green by pressing and holding when it drifts, while Nina talks you through it, a line every 20 seconds. Steady hands, sharper lines. A shaky sitting is never ruined, only a little softer, and a free touch-up within the week sharpens it.

Then FRESH INK: you with your new tattoo, under cling film for a day, and a card to share. Nina will point you to the aftercare balm at the counter, €8 (on the house in the studio's opening week, as the first thing you buy at any new place). The studio mirror shows it the way round mirrors do, with one nudge: sleeveless tops and tanks at the Boutique, so it shows (see dress the part).

Where it shows

Your tattoo is part of your skin, not your outfit, so it stays through any change of clothes, hair or skin tone. It shows wherever your skin does, as in real life: a forearm in a tee, a shoulder in a tank top, the back in swimwear. A suit covers it. Everyone in the room sees it on you.

You can have up to six, one per spot. Laser removal takes two sittings at €150 each, whatever the size; after the second the spot is free again. A new life starts without ink.

Ink Studio is one of the places opening one by one on the bigger map; just opened says how a new place shows up, and the Malta life simulator guide covers the rest of the island. Play Malta Living free and head to Ink Studio.

Questions people ask

Can you get a tattoo in Malta Living?

Yes: at Ink Studio in Birkirkara. Pick a design from the flash wall, choose the spot and size (from €60), and lie down while the artist inks it.

Where do tattoos show on my character?

Wherever your skin does: a tee shows a forearm, a tank top a shoulder, swimwear your back. Clothes that cover the spot cover the tattoo.

Can I remove a tattoo?

Yes. Laser removal at Ink Studio takes two sittings at €150 each, and after the second the spot is free for a new design.