microplexity, by aivi from the album Beginnings - Rising Star Vol. 1

"microplexity"

[–bandcamp embed–]

a little tune for @risingstarpatronage.com that i wrote last year, inspired by the music of puzzle games!

mastered by @tv-ma.bsky.social 🖤

@michellecheuk.bsky.social

@clayxavier.bsky.social

@jeffliujeffliu.bsky.social

@jamailmusic.bsky.social

We're excited to keep up with each of their work as they continue to grow! If you haven't yet, follow Jamail Chachere, Michelle Cheuk, Clay Xavier, and Jeff Liu here on Bluesky and beyond! And as always, thank you for your continued support. It means the world.

We've said it before and we'll say it again - our ability to come together as a community is the thing that will support us all as we continue to navigate the years to come.

While there is still plenty of positive change to be made in the game industry at large, partnerships like these are clear evidence of the continued commitment of so many people in games working to make the field better for everyone.

While there is a distinct lack of photographic evidence (because someone forgot to take a picture 👀) we were also able to host a small dinner and get together with the support of esteemed composer @wilbertroget.bsky.social

This year, Rising Star was able to partner with GDC to provide passes to four exceptional artists, allowing them to attend the festival for the entire week!

Join Rising Star, our Scholars, and over 30k developers, artists, designers & innovators for the industry's premier event.

Grab Your Pass:
gdc.informafestivals.com/2026/registr...
#GDC2026 #GameDev

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You can follow his work on instagram (at)jeffliujeffliu !
www.instagram.com/jeffliujeffliu

Jeff’s looking forward to learning more about the industry, meeting creative folks to learn from and be inspired by, and hearing what styles of music and production techniques are being employed - with an eye towards learning from and working with indie developers in particular.

Jeff contributed storyboards and music for the entire run of Steven Universe, Steven Universe: The Movie, and eventually contributed work to OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, and most recently Adult Swim’s "The Elephant."

His work includes creating the backing track for “Cookie Cat” on a Gameboy with LSDJ and arranging the first demo of the opening song, “We Are The Crystal Gems”.

In 2012, Jeff started work on the first season of Steven Universe as a storyboard artist. Jeff had the pleasure of contributing early musical ideas for Steven Universe, which Aivi and Surasshu would later perfect.

a cartoon character with a star in his eyes is smiling ALT: a cartoon character with a star in his eyes is smiling

From 2007-2011 he attended The California Institute of The Arts (CalArts) - While at CalArts, he learned to make animated films and experimented with writing his own music for them, learning the skills he would use as a storyboard artist and songwriter for the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe!

And revealing our final Rising Star Scholar for GDC 2026… Jeff Liu! @jeffliujeffliu.bsky.social

Jeff Liu works in music and animation. While drawing was his first step into the world of making art, he was always inspired by music of all genres and dreamed of being a musician as well

GDC FESTIVAL OF GAMING 2026

Join Rising Star, our Scholars, and over 30k developers, artists, designers & innovators for the industry's premier event. 

Grab Your Pass:
gdc.informafestivals.com/2026/registrations/Atten...
#GDC2026 #GameDev

Michelle Cheuk | Composer & Sound Designer Michelle Cheuk | Composer & sound designer, songwriter, mixer. Michelle Cheuk is your one stop shop for all things audio.

She’s most looking forward to connecting with people she looks up to in the industry and reconnecting with good friends.   
  
You can follow her work on Instagram (at)dltmf_ql_ and on her personal website !

Coming from a multicultural Korean and American background, Michelle finds inspiration from and importance in celebrating both individuality and diversity, finding her greatest joy in collaboration and community building through sound for audiences and creators alike.

She has most recently contributed sound design to League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics through an internship with Riot Games, has been awarded Best Sound Design in a Short Film & been named a Rising Star Sound Designer at the 2025 Music + Sound Awards

Student Accomplice has since been nominated for the 2025 Student Emmy Awards, the 2024 Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and the 2025 Motion Picture Sound Editor Awards and has been awarded Bronze at the 2024 Student Oscar Awards, Gold at the 2024 Student Recording Competition at AES, and others.

Student Accomplice Letty, an anxiety-ridden sixteen-year-old, must learn to face her fears behind the wheel after her driving test is hijacked by an opportunistic bank robber l...

As a sound designer, she recently contributed to the capstone project from her university's Animation department, the animated film, Student Accomplice. her university's Animation Major’s Capstone Project, Student Accomplice. 

She began studies in classical music as a child and has since expanded her work to include a variety of genres. Her music has been enjoyed by fans with over 700k listens across streaming platforms.

Revealing our third Scholar… Michelle Cheuk! @michellecheuk.bsky.social
  
From being scouted by SBS for South Korean TV series KPOP STAR to singing and producing for Amazon series James May: Our Man In Japan, Michelle has a passion for recording & production, composition and sound design

GDC FESTIVAL OF GAMING 2026

Join Rising Star, our Scholars, and over 30k developers, artists, designers & innovators for the industry's premier event. 

Grab Your Pass:
gdc.informafestivals.com/2026/registrations/Atten...
#GDC2026 #GameDev

Clay Xavier | Video Game Composer Clay Xavier is a video game composer and multi-instrumentalist from Berkeley, CA. His compositional works have been featured in projects for brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, NPR, BET, and Tyler Perry Studios.

Clay is looking forward to reuniting with old friends, but very eager to make many more new friends. As such, he’s hoping he doesn’t lose his voice this year. You can find him here on Bluesky, at his personal website, & on itch io as clayxavier

In his free time (when he’s not on tour or practicing an obscure wind instrument) Clay can be found training his Pokémon to be the very best (like no one else ever was), wrestling audio programming in a game jam, or grabbing a bite to eat at his favorite Ethiopian restaurant.

Spooked Live Tour | KQED The hit podcast "Spooked" comes to life onstage as host Glynn Washington and guests celebrate Halloween season with live storytelling magic.

Not only a threat in the studio, he was recently the musical director for KQED’s Snap Judgment “Spooked LIVE” tour, where he created bone chilling horror scores live on stages across the West Coast.