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Student Organizations and Activities

In addition to coursework, IMM students take part in a range of organizations and activities across campus. These extracurricular activities allow students to foster networking connections, explore different disciplines, practice their craft in large scale events, and have fun! The following organizations were founded in part by IMM students and have a big IMM representation:

ACM SIGGRAPH

The TCNJ chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH — The Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques — an international organization “dedicated to the generation and dissemination of information on computer graphics and interactive techniques.” TCNJ SIGGRAPH members discuss and collaborate on animation, video, games, creative computing, and everything in between!

TCNJ SIGGRAPH members learn both technical and important soft skills through workshops hosted by the club that are designed to help students as they prepare for life in industry. Many members also go on to become student volunteers at the annual SIGGRAPH Conference hosted by the international organization. SIGGRAPH also promotes working with other on-campus clubs to foster multidisciplinary collaboration. TCNJ SIGGRAPH meets weekly on Wednesday from 1-2PM in AIMM 202.

AMPD

The Association for Music Production and Discussion is for anyone with a passion for making music. AMPD is a group of enthusiastic students with the means to create. Play an instrument and want to make a record? AMPD has access to recording studios on campus. Want to play in a concert and sing your own material? AMPD puts on concerts every semester, showcasing TCNJ’s very own musical talent.

Lions Gaming

Lions Gaming hosts a variety of games at The College of New Jersey, both casually and competitively. They run esports for Smash, LoL, Dota, Rocket League, Hearthstone, and more!

In Spring of 2018, Lions Gaming ran the largest Smash Tournament TCNJ has seen, with over 150 entrants. This event was cosponsored by TCNJ Game Design Club, Enigma, The Society for Creative Endeavors, & SIGRRAPH, and is set to run again in the coming years.

TCNJ’s Girls Who Code College Loop

Girls Who Code is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in
the tech industry. Among 150+ other chapters across the country, TCNJ’s Girls Who Code
College Loop is an on-campus student organization that hosts empowering technical
workshops, organizes professional development events, and shares opportunities (scholarships,
conferences, internship, and fellowships) for women to pursue through a weekly newsletter. The
Girls Who Code College Loops program also aims to provide a supportive network through
weekly events to meet with industry professionals, GWC corporate partners, and even other
collegiate chapters of GWC.

TCNJ Game Design

Interested in game design? Aspire to work in the games industry? TCNJ Game Design is a club for students interested in game design to meet, share ideas, learn, and work on projects with their peers.

 

Student-run Events

 

Global Game Jam

The Global Game Jam® (GGJ) is the world’s largest game jam event (game creation) taking place around the world at physical locations. Think of it as a hackathon focused on game development. It is the growth of an idea that in today’s heavily connected world, we could come together, be creative, share experiences and express ourselves in a multitude of ways using video games – it is very universal. The weekend stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. It is all condensed into a 48 hour development cycle. The GGJ encourages people with all kinds of backgrounds to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity.

The structure of a jam is usually that everyone gathers on Friday late afternoon, watches a short video keynote with advice from leading game developers, and then a secret theme is announced. All sites worldwide are then challenged to make games based on that same theme, with games to be completed by Sunday afternoon. In January 2016, we had over 600 locations in 93 countries create 6866 games in one weekend! The jam is known for helping foster new friendships, increase confidence and opportunities within the community. The jam is always an intellectual challenge. People are invited to explore new technology tools, trying on new roles in development and testing their skills to do something that requires them to design, develop create, test and make a new game in the time span of 48 hours.

The GGJ stimulates collaboration and is not a competition.

Haunted Hallway

Haunted Hallway is an annual Halloween art extravaganza hosted in the AIMM building by TCNJ ACM SIGGRAPH, often in collaboration with AMPD and CUB. The interactive exhibit features animations, digital art, and virtual reality experiences as well as music and live bands–all created and performed by the TCNJ’s student art and musical talents. And best of all, the event is 100% free! Attendees are however encouraged to bring money to browse the student craft stands.

 

The Hop

The Hop is a concert festival presented by AMPD! This event features live music from TCNJ’s student bands, and a small arter’s market where students are invited to sell their art to the event’s attendees. The Hop was first held in the Spring of 2018, and will likely continue as a fun spring tradition.