Cheers and laughter explode around a projector screen at the front of the room as a player’s character is tossed out of the gaming arena, concluding a heated “Super Smash Bros. 4” battle.

Meanwhile, half a dozen students enjoy a casual game of “Cards Against Humanity” nearby. A third group lounges on the floor and chairs, taking turns teaming up against the zombie hordes of “Left 4 Dead 2.”

Members of the AACC E-sports Club gather on campus for four hours on Wednesdays to relax and train in their favorite competitive video games.

Around two dozen members attend each week, representing a wide range of competitive gaming interests, from MOBAs—multiplayer online battle arenas — like “League of Legends” and “Dota 2,” and brawlers like “Smash 4” and “Heroes of the Storm.”

AACC cybersecurity alumnus Conway Johnson founded the club a year ago to find students and locals to game with when his semi-professional “Heroes” team drifted apart.
“I’m not big on finding teammates online,” he said. “You deal with a lot of bad attitudes.”

Since then, the club has become something of a hub for the campus’s video-gaming community. The Nest lists group membership at 23 people, but club President Dallas Coleman, a sophomore music major, said the club’s mailing list is closer to 60 or 70, with about two dozen filtering in and out of the club meetings every week. The club also has an active Discord VoIP—voice over internet protocol—server, he said, which allows the members to talk and game together at AACC throughout the week.

Coleman gained permission from the Office of Student Engagement this semester to form competitive gaming teams under the AACC name. Details and rosters are still in formation, and the club is recruiting all skill levels.
Students at a February meeting reported a welcoming and friendly atmosphere with the club.

Jesseca Greene, a sophomore graphic design major, said her favorite thing about the club is “how much like a family we are.” She added, “We’re always very accepting when it comes to new people.” Her main game is “League of Legends,” where she ranks Bronze.

The club has invited AACC students and friends to watch and play against their teams on April 1.

That event will be a 24-hour fundraiser livestreamed through Extra Life, a charity movement dedicated to saving children through 24-hour gaming marathons.

The event is the club’s second this school year.