Mission
The Society for the Study of Sound and Music in Games (SSSMG) is an international organization dedicated to the development of sophisticated understandings of sound and music in games from any and all perspectives.
The SSSMG actively seeks to include both practitioners (such as composers and sound designers) and researchers. Designed to be a resource for diverse groups of scholars and practitioners, the society will maintain an actively updated bibliography on its website, award an annual prize for academic articles in the field, and provide communication between scholarly and professional organizations.
To build a large and diverse body of knowledge, membership in the SSSMG is inter-professional and interdisciplinary, open to anyone involved with sound and music in games. We welcome many approaches to the study of game audio, including (but not limited to) historical research, musical analysis, ethnographies, psychological studies of perception, cultural studies, media studies, reception, and practice-based inquiry.
The Society is a registered charity in the UK with charity number 1180483.
Key Policies
Privacy Policy | Code of Conduct | Misconduct Policy
The Society for the Study of Sound and Music in Games acts as a central hub for the emerging academic, and professional, communities of people working with video game audio. Currently, SSSMG comprises two core groups:
Ludomusicology Research Group
The Ludomusicology Research Group was founded by Michiel Kamp, Tim Summers and Mark Sweeney in August 2011 as an inter-university research initiative dedicated to the study of game music. Based in the UK, our aim is to promote inter-university academic collaboration, act as a hub or point-of-contact to advertise the research of the group members (and of other academics working in the field) and serve as a general attempt to create a coherent direction and body of knowledge for this sub-discipline.
To achieve these aims, we organize an annual international conference on videogame music, provided the first widely accessible keyworded bibliography resource on our website, and host regular blog articles by guest contributors about videogame music and sound. We have also acted as a central hub in bringing together a number of publications including a double special issue of The Soundtrack and an edited volume of essays: Ludomusicology: Approaches to Video Game Music.
North American Conference on Video Game Music
The North American Conference on Video Game Music draws together scholars in the fields of musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology, media studies, sound studies, composition, and more to discuss all aspects of music in video games. Topics at past conferences have included case studies of influential games and composers, technology and its impact on game music, teaching game music, analyzing game music, and music’s relationship to game narratives.
The conference is spearheaded by Neil Lerner, Steven Reale, Elizabeth Medina-Gray and Karen Cook.
Affiliations and Sponsors
We are delighted to be associated with numerous organizations working in the same space as us, including:
Executive Committee
| First Name | Surname | Role | SSSMG Profile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | Austin | Executive Director (since 2023) & Trustee | michael-austin@sssmg.org | michaelaustin |
| Stephen | Baysted | Trustee (Editor-in-chief -2022) | stephenbaysted@sssmg.org | stephenbaysted |
| Karen | Cook | Member-at-large, Associate Editor (since 2024) | karencook@sssmg.org | karencook |
| Melanie | Fritsch | Press Officer | melanie-fritsch@sssmg.org | melaniefritsch |
| Lidia | López Gómez | Communications Officer | lidia-lopez@sssmg.org | lidia-lopezuab-cat |
| Elizabeth | Medina-Gray | Member-at-large & Trustee (Associate Editor -2022; Co Editor-in-chief, 2022-2024) | emedinagray@sssmg.org | emedinagray |
| Alia | Miroshnichenko | Development Editor | alia-miroshnichenko@sssmg.org | |
| Dana | Plank | Editor-in-chief (since 2024) | musicologess | |
| Aaron | Price | Executive Officer | aaron-price@sssmg.org | anp08001 |
| Timothy | Summers | Member-at-Large & Trustee (Associate Editor -2020; Co Editor-in-chief, 2020-2024) | tim-summers@sssmg.org | tim-summers |
| Mark | Sweeney | Trustee | mark-sweeney@sssmg.org | mark-sweeney |
| Ryan | Thompson | IT Officer | ryan-thompson@sssmg.org | bardicknowledge |
| Weida | Wang | Development Editor | weida-wang@sssmg.org |
Society & Journal Editorial Board
| First Name | Surname | Role | SSSMG Profile | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael | Austin | Executive Committee, Executive Director (since 2023) & Trustee | michael-austin@sssmg.org | michaelaustin |
| William | Ayers | Associate Editor (since 2024) | williamrayers | |
| Stephen | Baysted | Executive Committee, Member-at-large & Trustee (Editor-in-chief -2022) | stephenbaysted@sssmg.org | stephenbaysted |
| Gianna | Cassidy | Board Member | giannacassidy | |
| William | Cheng | Board Member | williamcheng | |
| Karen | Cook | Executive Committee, Associate Editor (since 2024) & Member-at-large | karencook@sssmg.org | karencook |
| Kevin | Donnelly | Board Member | kevindonnelly | |
| Melanie | Fritsch | Executive Committee, Communications Officer | melanie-fritsch@sssmg.org | melaniefritsch |
| Kate | Galloway | Board Member | ||
| William | Gibbons | Board Member (Executive Committee, Member-at-large -2022) | william-gibbons@sssmg.org | williamgibbons |
| Ariel | Grez Valdenegro | Board Member | ||
| Iain | Hart | Board Member | hartacus | |
| Andra | Ivanescu | Board Member | Andra | |
| Michiel | Kamp | Board Member | michiel-kamp | |
| Jesse | Kinne | Board Member | jessekinne | |
| Neil | Lerner | Board Member | nelerner | |
| Stephanie | Lind | Associate Editor (since 2024) | linds | |
| Lidia | López Gómez | Executive Committee, Communications Officer | lidia-lopez@sssmg.org | lidia-lopezuab-cat |
| Elizabeth | Medina-Gray | Executive Committee & Trustee (Associate Editor -2020; Co Editor-in-chief, 2020-2024) | emedinagray@sssmg.org | emedinagray |
| Alia | Miroshnichenko | Executive Committee, Development Editor | alia-miroshnichenko@sssmg.org | |
| James | Newman | Board Member | jimmy | |
| Hyeonjin | Park | Board Member | ||
| Leonard | Paul | Board Member | ||
| Dana | Plank | Board Member, Editor-in-chief (since 2024) | musicologess | |
| Aaron | Price | Executive Committee, Executive Officer | aaron-price@sssmg.org | anp08001 |
| Steven | Reale | Board Member | smreale | |
| Fanny | Rebillard | Board Member | ||
| David | Roesner | Board Member | davidroesner | |
| Andrew | Schartmann | Board Member | a-schartmann | |
| Barnabas | Smith | Board Member | ||
| Jennifer | Smith | Reviews Editor, Board Member, Executive Committee | ||
| Richard | Stevens | Board Member | richardstevens | |
| Timothy | Summers | Executive Committee & Trustee (Associate Editor -2020, Co Editor-in-chief 2020-2024) | tim-summers@sssmg.org | tim-summers |
| Mark | Sweeney | Trustee (Executive Director 2018-2023) | mark-sweeney@sssmg.org | mark-sweeney |
| Ryan | Thompson | Executive Committee & Board Member | bardicknowledge | |
| Hiroshi | Yoshida | Board Member | ||
| Weida | Wang | Executive Committee, Development Editor | weida-wang@sssmg.org |
Contact
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