Nina Penner

A chart showing Ontario behind all other provinces in funding against a teal background. Text: Demand for an Ontario university education has never been higher. But per-student funding for Ontario’s universities is the lowest in the country. Ontario universities need stable long-term funding now.

Demand for an Ontario university education has never been higher.

But per-student funding for Ontario’s universities is the lowest in the country.

Ontario universities need stable long-term funding now.

Read our briefing note: tinyurl.com/4p7chy55

Precariously employed contract faculty teach almost 50% of university courses in Ontario with little job security or institutional support. OCUFA is holding a Social Media Day of Action to call for fair, stable working conditions for contract faculty.
tinyurl.com/ybanf5yp

Excited to publish the Call for Presentations for a special issue of the Journal of Sound and Music in Games called "Stage Select: Interactions of Games & Musical Theater," edited by @ninapenner.bsky.social and William Gibbons.

online.ucpress.edu/jsmg/pages/s...

Chicory is a game about the challenges of creating art, of impostor syndrome, and of breaking the rules and imagining a more equitable future. And it has an absolutely banger soundtrack, my favourite from
@lena.fyi, and that’s saying something.

Ever since the creation of this category, I knew it was just a matter of time that Austin Wintory would win. It’s fitting it’s for a @giantsquidstudios.com collaboration. He and @mattnava.bsky.social do magic together. Congrats!

When I saw the nominees, I was disappointed at the absence of some significant scores of the year: E33, Hades II. I didn’t imagine that an indie game, a new IP, with an eclectic, subtle touch would win. I was elated to discover yesterday that I was wrong.

Super excited to announce Our Sonic Landscape, a one day game audio conference taking place on May 2nd here in Vancouver BC.

Rachel, Em and I are organizing this and tickets on sale soon.

So we're looking for speakers. Please fill out the form on the website

oursoniclandscape.com

#gameaudio

Save 25% on Tall Trails on Steam A chill exploration game where EVERYTHING goes in the boot! You're Alp, a lil' golem on a quest to find his purpose. Run, climb, and use items as fuel in your Rocket Boot to blast yourself into the ai...

Tall Trails by @bradysoglin.bsky.social: a charmingly silly game with joyous and varied movement and level design, a surprisingly meaty experience for a solo project. One of my 6yr old’s favourites of 2025. Currently on sale on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/2393760/...

Experienced bugs related to characters speaking when I was trying to interact with the map or go to sleep. There was also one English translation error near the end: “cease” instead of “seize” I believe.

Would benefit from mini-game instructions in the menu (and maybe a way of turning these off: my kid couldn’t do them), a way to tell the difference between main and side quests, and having characters go silent when you’ve exhausted their dialogue.

Fading Serenades by @partnano.bsky.social: a miniature “strand” game in the trappings of Stardew Valley exploring topical themes of obsolescence and technology-related ecological collapse. Beautiful sound and pixel art kept me going despite repetitious dialogue and quests.

Bandcamp’s Mission and Our Approach to Generative AI We’re articulating our approach to generative AI so musicians can keep making music and fans can trust the music they find on Bandcamp.

that's goddamn right

blog.bandcamp.com/2026/01/13/k...

Me, a professor: *orders a course pack*
Campus bookstore: give us two months to make sure these 18 copies you requested you don’t violate any publisher’s copyright

Me, an AI company: *violates every publisher’s copyright*
Campus bookstore: we will pay you to offer your services to all students

Happy new year, John! Very grateful for the community you’ve built around Gaming in the Wild.

Great list! Love to see South of Midnight get some recognition for its score.

i am begging game developers and musicians who are not putting your soundtracks on bandcamp/ampwall to just... do that... please... i will not be streaming your music off A Music Service. let me actually give you money.

Same. Wishlisted right away.

Enjoy! There are some good songs. I don’t even play this genre and it’s my most played game this year. Though i mostly play really small indie games so that’s maybe that carries less weight than it does with others. I didn’t play Clair Obscure this year for example.

You or your student, @profjay.bsky.social? Or @kategalloway.bsky.social for a musical perspective.

Totally. It seems always this way. Thankfully we now have the @indiegameawards.gg. So many games on there I hadn’t heard of. I just played Many Nights a Whisper last night. What an impactful game in such a small package. Only weird aspect was Clair Obscure been deemed “indie.”

It’s like 10 hours. I don’t want to say too much. I guess I’ll just say that I don’t think it’s going to blow your mind. But I am glad I played it. This would be a game for me right now. I’ve actually considered replaying it.

My big one is Expedition 33, though to be honest I don’t think I’m going to get to it for GOTY season. Life is too much right now.

I’m so curious about your thoughts on Wanderstop. I don’t think you need to be into cozy/farming games.

Second this

Congrats! Glad but not surprised to see Sword on this list. Yes, where is Expedition 33 and Hades II? I know this was never going to happen for such an indie release but I would have loved to see @lena.fyi’s Beastieball get its flowers too: such a fun listen.

I literally went on Bluesky just to see what you two are doing for Halloween. Bravo! Love it!

Safe travels! My student Lex House and I are looking forward to seeing you soon!

Flyer that includes the cover image of the Journal of Sound and Music in Games in light blue text over a dark background and the text Pipeline to Publication: A JSMG Mentorship Workshop. Friday, October 17. 2:00pm EDT, 7:00pm UTC/GMT. https://tinyurl.com/bdcpupby Passcode: 847119

Announcing our JSMG editorial board Pipeline to Publication Workshop Friday, October 17 at 2pm EDT/7pm GMT at tinyurl.com/bdcpupby, passcode: 847119. We hope you can join us, and please share this post to all who might benefit!

Just finished a run of Word Play by @gamemakerstoolkit.co I’m not into card games so I was missing out on the Balatro craze. Now there’s a Balatro for me. Please tell me that this is coming to mobile before Christmas. If so, I’ll have a good gift for my mother-in-law (she’s not heard of Steam)

HeartLoop Games - Call for Musician / Audio Designer HeartLoop Games is looking for a musician and audio designer for contract work on our combat-focused game! High-energy, breakbeat-driven music with funky samples and an upbeat, playful vibe. Chopped v...

Hello friends!

My team is looking for a musician / audio designer for contract work on our combat-focused game!

We're looking for music that's catchy, energetic, featuring chopped vocals, funky rhythms, and a seamless mix of hip-hop, electronic, and funk.