2016 Chillennium Event is the Largest Student-Run Game Jam in North America

BRYAN, TX, USA, September 15, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Texas A&M Learning Interactive Visualization Experience (LIVE) Lab will be hosting their Annual Chillennium 2016 game jam, Sept. 23 - 25, at the Texas A&M Hildebrand Equine Complex. Chillennium 2016 brings students from all over the country to the Texas A&M campus to create video games from scratch in a weekend. Chillennium 2016 is organized and hosted by A&M students, and it is the largest student-run game jam in North America.

Students participating in the jam come from all over the country, with nearly 200 registered attendees representing 11 schools, including Ohio State University, West Virginia University, Baylor, UTEP and Texas State University, to name but a few. Students will receive a theme to guide them in their game development on Friday afternoon and will work all weekend to win prizes and bragging rights. Industry veterans will be available as mentors all weekend for the students to turn to for advice on their projects.

"This is our third year and this great event keeps on growing,” said André Thomas, a LIVE Lab faculty member and founder of Triseum, an educational interactive gaming company also affiliated with Texas A&M and the LIVE Lab. “We sold out well before the deadline, and have more sponsorship interest than ever before. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn the problem solving skills, teamwork and everything else that is required to develop a game in such a tight timeframe.”

Doors open at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23 and the secret theme of the event will be unveiled at 5:00 p.m. that evening to kick off the event. The contest ends Sunday, Sept. 25, at 5:00 p.m. Student participants will be provided meals, snacks, showers and a designated rest area for the duration of the jam.

The judges for Chillennium 2016 include Marwan Ansari of Triseum, Ben Mears of SideFX Software, Jake Ross of Cloud Imperium Games, Nick Hester of Max Play, and Paul Stephanouk of Electronic Arts Mobile. Games will be ranked on a scale from 0 to 5 for their Innovation, Quality, and Completeness in the categories of Programming, Art, Design, and Sound for a total maximum score of 60. The three teams with the highest overall scores will be awarded the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for Best Overall Game. Additional prizes will be awarded to exceptional teams in each category of Programming, Art, Design, and Sound.

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CEO Profile: André Thomas
André Thomas has spent 20 years in CGI production and was formerly the Head of Graphics for EA Sports Football games (NCAA, Madden, Head Coach, NFL Tour). The Madden franchise is the longest running and most successful sports franchise in the history of the games industry. André was able to turn his passion for Computer Graphics into a career in 1994, when he created graphics for such notable feature films as Men in Black, Con Air, Independence Day, and Tomorrow Never Dies. He worked on the 3D feature film Valiant in 2003, after which he worked on Ant Bully. In 2007, André joined Electronic Arts and worked on over 15 shipped football games.

Thomas joined the faculty of the Visualization department at Texas A&M University in January of 2014, where he teaches Game Design, Game Development and interactive graphics techniques and founded the Learning Interactive Visualization Experience lab – LIVE lab.

About Triseum
Triseum creates high-quality learning video games, empowering players to learn through fun, engaging and immersive experiences. Games are meticulously handcrafted, fully tested and evaluated to provide the ultimate educational experience. Dedicated to creating products that disrupt the traditional learning experience. Video games are inherently a learning tool. We passionately believe that tool can provide authentic and engaging experiences for students and educators.

Triseum helps create learning opportunities for students, engaging and teaching through games, not with games, supporting bold curiosity and lifelong learning.

Rod Berger
MindRocket Media Group
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