Nina Penner
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ninapenner.bsky.social
Nina Penner
@ninapenner.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Music, Brock University. Author of Storytelling in Opera and Musical Theatre (Indiana UP, 2020). Currently researching video game music.
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Hi! I’m a musicologist. I mostly post about videogames these days. My work in this area include doi.org/10.1525/jsmg... & unwinnable.com/2024/06/04/h.... I have written about opera, musical theatre, and film music in the past, including iupress.org/978025304997...
Dynamic Music at the Macro and Micro Levels: A Comparison of The Pathless (2020) and Tchia (2023)1
The unpredictability of player behavior in open-world games presents notable challenges, particularly for developers with storytelling ambitions. Most composers have met these challenges by writing mu...
doi.org
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.
🖌️ Chicory: A Colorful Tale is part of Games with Heart, a Steam event supporting the American Heart Association! All of the games participating are donating a percentage of their sales to the AHA 💖

store.steampowered.com/curator/4590...
February 12, 2026 at 2:42 AM
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!
February 3, 2026 at 2:10 AM
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.
February 3, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Reposted by Nina Penner
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
January 19, 2026 at 4:50 PM
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/...
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...
store.steampowered.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:22 PM
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.
January 17, 2026 at 3:09 PM
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.
January 17, 2026 at 3:07 PM
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.
January 17, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Nina Penner
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
December 31, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Happy new year, John! Very grateful for the community you’ve built around Gaming in the Wild.
December 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Great list! Love to see South of Midnight get some recognition for its score.
December 16, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Reposted by Nina Penner
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.
December 5, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Same. Wishlisted right away.
November 21, 2025 at 3:29 AM
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.
November 21, 2025 at 3:27 AM
You or your student, @profjay.bsky.social? Or @kategalloway.bsky.social for a musical perspective.
Looking to speak with academics/experts specializing in video games studies specifically ideas around conquest, environmentalism, and land for a piece. Please repost this or give recs.
November 20, 2025 at 12:54 AM
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.”
November 18, 2025 at 1:09 AM
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.
November 8, 2025 at 11:58 AM
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.
November 8, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I’m so curious about your thoughts on Wanderstop. I don’t think you need to be into cozy/farming games.
November 8, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Second this
November 8, 2025 at 11:47 AM
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.
November 7, 2025 at 10:04 PM
I literally went on Bluesky just to see what you two are doing for Halloween. Bravo! Love it!
October 31, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Safe travels! My student Lex House and I are looking forward to seeing you soon!
October 26, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Nina Penner
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!
September 30, 2025 at 7:12 PM