TJ Nissen is a 2018 Graphic Technologies fall graduate and the owner of Network Nirvana, a business in the JPEC’s R. J. McElroy Student Business Incubator. In 2018, TJ was awarded the UNI JPEC Business of the Year award to recognize his hard work and dedication.

TJ is no stranger to graphic design and technology. In fact, he used his network to get some artwork for his new game worlds. When asked about these unique pieces in his office, TJ was all too excited to share the story behind them:

"The images seen on the walls in my office are canvas wraps produced at the graphics lab here at UNI. They are hand-made, full color canvas wraps on 16x20 inch wooden frames. The illustrations are original works from Averee Chaloupka and depict some of the many areas and expansions to the underwater city of Adytum as seen in Adytum: Redux and AdytumOnline. They depict Adonis Park, Atlas Reef, Elysium, and Adytum's Wonder World. Each of these are integral locations within both the book and the online game alike."

Network Nirvana has been in the works since TJ attended high school in 2010. It started as a class project, but TJ wondered if he could make a career out of his love for video games. Now the creation has blossomed into a start-up business that specializes in developing next-generation gaming experiences for players through Minecraft. Their biggest title is called NirvanaOnline, and it consists of a series of MMO game worlds built inside of Minecraft that challenge players to expand their critical thinking skills. NirvanaOnline is currently available via contract at public and academic libraries in the Cedar Valley. You kind find out more information by visiting his website.

TJ’s post-graduation plans include renting an office space at the Center for Business Growth and Innovation while pursuing Network Nirvana and its Battle Royale mode. His goal is to run a massive gaming company with hundreds of thousands of players, but until then, he’s looking to expand his team. In the next five years, TJ is hoping to gain team members that’ll help in content creation and workshop presentation. These positions will be key in scaling his business and taking Network Nirvana to the next level.