Check out all the Summer Camp fun at iD Tech Camps! Computer camp has fun activities all day and into the night! To see what iD Tech Camps students and staff are up to all week at summer camp go to http://www.internaldrive.com/photos . Enjoy these photos!

Summer computer camp dance party at iD Tech Camps, Stanford

UC Irvine, iD Tech Camps students have crazy hair at computer camp

iD at Columbia University, campers show off their computer skills to parents at Family Showcase

Noodle Wars at Columbia; get these computer campers outside for some fun

University of Washington, iD Tech Camps students getting ready for bowling with orange hair

We love iD Tech Camps instructors, summer computer camp held at UCLA

Funny hat day at iD Tech Camps, held at UC Irvine makes computer campers smile

Can’t catch this computer camper at iD Tech Camps, Stanford

Virdball Mania is on for summer camp students, iD Tech Camps at University of Washington

iD Tech Camps is Numero Uno, for summer computer camp held at UCLA

Learning has never been this fun! This week’s theme was students and technology. To see what iD Tech Camps students and staff are up to all week at summer camp go to http://www.internaldrive.com/photos . It is awesome to see the project that our students create. Enjoy these photos!

Wacom® Pen Tablets make web design easy, iD now at American University

Video game creation with Clickteam Multimedia Fusion 2 and Photoshop®, iD Tech Camps held at Brown University

Technology is for girls at iD Tech Camp at Columbia University

Have fun creating videos at computer summer camp iD Tech Camps held at Northwestern University

At UCLA, campers have fun with VEX robotics

Summer camp held at UCSD, iD Tech Camps makes technology cool

Canon cameras make iD Tech campers smile for Digital Video Editing, University of Denver

Special F/X gives this iD camper at University of Michigan a special pet

Summer computer camp girls are cool at iD Tech Camps, University of Washington

Check out how cool summer computer camp can be! This week’s theme was students having fun! This made the choice impossible as all pictures were of students and staff having crazy fun. To see what iD Tech Camps students and staff are up to all week at summer camp go to http://www.internaldrive.com/photos. It is Amazing! Thanks again to our elite camp instructors and directors for creating awesome summer camp memories for our students! Enjoy these photos!

Surf and Tech at UC San Diego, half day of technology and half day of learning to surf!

Bonjour from Mc Gill University in Montreal Canada at iD Film Academy!

All hail iD Tech Camps instructors at computer camp held at Merrimack College.

Yum, UC Santa Cruz! Choosing what to eat at computer camp makes everyone happy.

The spirit of summer computer camp held at University of the Incarnate Word.

iD Tech Camps at University of Houston rocks!

Technology talent is not the only thing students have at iD Tech Camps in Chicago at Northwestern University.

Have fun creating games at summer camp held at Brown University.

At Pepperdine University, technology makes us smile at computer camp.

Technology for girls at summer camp is cool, iD now at American University.

Computer fun with iD Tech Camps at University of Washington.

Teens, Teens and Teens was this week’s theme for camp photos. Here is a look at teens having fun at summer camp. With so many great teen photos it was a hard choice! Here are the winners for this week. Want more summer fun, check out the camp pictures on http://www.internaldrive.com/photos. Enjoy!

Thumbs up at Case Western Reserve Computer Camp

Computer fun for teen girls at University of Denver

Teen Thriller Fun at Emory University

Say Cheese at iD Film Academy for teens at UC Berkeley

iD Gaming Academy at Emory University makes this gamer happy

Gaming Rocks at iD Gaming Academy at Stanford

How to look cool at computer camp, University of Miami

Teens are all in at UT Austin summer technology camps

Enjoying the sun and new friends at Vassar Computer Summer Camps

Technology is for teens at iD Tech Camps at Towson University

Summer camp is in full swing and it’s time to look at some more photos! This week’s theme was “University & Dorm Shots.” We looked through the many photos on http://www.internaldrive.com/photos and are pleased to announce this week’s photo-of-the-week winners. Thanks for taking the time to take great photos and for painting the picture of what our summer camps for kids and teens are truly like! Enjoy these photos!

Technology Fun in the Sun at Arizona State University

Future Techies of the world at Southern Methodist University

Wild Computer Campers at Emory University

UC San Diego Campers Create High Tech Fun

UC Santa Cruz  Surf & Tech Camp- How’s that for a classroom

Ohio State University Video Game Summer Camp

Smith College Let the Gaming Begin

UNC- Chapel Hill Gearing up for Gaming Camp

Purdue University Technology Time for High Tech Campers

University of Virginia Computer Campers on the move to do something BIG

The Tennessean

As appeared in The Tennessean June 2009

Tech camp brings real-life teamwork to video games

By Jamie Sarrio

Jordan Cammon always brings the conversation back to video games.
Like other passionate gamers, the 10-year-old wants to talk about the characters, the levels, the sequences and the challenges that make his favorite games so exciting. And this summer he’s in good company – working with other students to create his own computer games during iD Tech Camp at Vanderbilt University.

“I love to talk about video games,” he said, fidgeting in his chair. “Since I love video games so much, I wanted to make games.”

The weeklong camp is held every year at universities all over the country for students age 7 to 17 who want to learn how to create 2D and 3D video games. Sessions in Nashville will run through July 17, and the camp starts at $700 and goes up to $1,200 a week, if campers elect to stay overnight.
Counselors, who are given gamer nicknames like “Sonic,” work with students to teach them how to use new programs and make their own video games. There’s also camaraderie among students, many of whom have a rare passion for video games.

“A lot of these kids have no identity at their regular schools,” said Tracey Price, camp director. “Tech camp is a great place for them to come and do what they love instead of doing it at home alone.”

Younger students start simple by picking characters, scenic backgrounds and objectives – older students build 3-D role-playing games or enhance existing games to make them their own. There’s one instructor for every eight campers, so the instruction is very personalized, Price said.

No applications are required, and students are separated based on ability and age. That’s partly to prevent younger students from being exposed to video games that are too violent or mature, she said.

Kids get taste of college

Campers also get exposed to life on a college campus and future careers in computer programming, though many are too young to know what they want to do just yet. They also take frequent breaks from the screen to play outside and share jokes.

Ethan Sloan, an 11-year-old from Franklin, says the food – dining hall style – is also a perk. “I think I am learning life-long skills I can use later,” he said. “It’s really helpful.”

Mostly boys attend the camp, but a few girls, like Kyra Tyler, sign up, as well. Tyler, a 12-year-old David Lipscomb Middle School student, wanted to come to the camp because she loves to play alternative reality games, like The Sims. At this camp, she’s working on building her own. “Most of my friends go to cheer camp or the mall, and I’ll do that stuff,” she said. “But I’d rather do this.”

Copyright © 2009 The Tennessean. All rights reserved

The Potpourri Tomball

As appeared in the The Potpourri Tomball June 2009
While peers play games, 6th grader creates them in summer camp
By Anna Schuman

Northpointe Intermediate student Gabe Shah is creating a 15-level multi-player Mario computer game in his iD Tech camp.

When Gabe Shah returns to school in August, his friends might tell stories of places they visited in the summer, of sites they’ve seen, of games they’ve played, but few can say they have done what the 11-year-old has.

The soon-to-be sixth grader at Northpointe Intermediate said he wishes he could spend all day every day at iD Tech Camp, held at the University of Houston. In just a few days, he has learned to create, and has completed, his very own 15-level, multiplayer “Mario” computer game.

An avid game player, Shah has had his sights set on becoming a game maker and working for Jagex Games, an independent game publisher and developer based in England. He, like many of his peers, was already familiar with playing games, but now he knows how to make them as well.

Creating games, he said, takes a lot of creativity. He was given few guidelines about the type of game to create, so most of it is straight from his imagination. Not only do he and his fellow campers leave at the end of the week knowing they were able to create something, they get to take their game home with them.

“It’d really be cool if my friends could play my game, and think it’s really cool, then they can ask where I got it and I can say I made it,” he said. “I’m the only one who can say they’ve made their own game.”

Students like Shah, ranging in age from 7 to 18, can participate in iD Tech’s gaming, film and programming camps nationwide. Some students travel across the country to go to the camps, others from across the world.

Anela Wenger, the camp director at U of H, said one of Shah’s fellow campers flew in from Japan for two weeks to participate in the camp in Houston. Wenger said she believes the popularity, though Houston is one of the smaller camps, is due to the program’s reputation.

“Some people might be skeptical to send their kids to a camp where they play video games all day,” she said. “Yeah, they do play games, but here they create the games.”

An educator by profession, Wenger said she is amazed by the focus the campers have when they start their projects. When they are doing other camp activities, indoors and outdoors, and even during lunch, campers ask if they can go back to work on their projects.

There’s more to what the campers learn than just how to program computers, design and create games, she said. They also learn great problem-solving skills through the medium of game creation.

Shah plans to return to the camp each year, taking different classes at different levels, learning everything he can, and hopes to one day be among the college and graduate students who teach the camp classes.

He said people might think of people who love computers as nerdy, but he wants people to remember how Bill Gates got his start, and said he and future campers might be among the next Albert Einsteins and Bill Gates’ of the world. Until then, he plans to spread the word about his favorite camp and the importance of computers to everyone.

“They always say reading, writing and math are what you need to know, but I think everyone should know computers these days,” he said. “Kids don’t have to love computers to come to this camp, but I bet they will when they leave.”
Share the Experience

iD Tech Camps run at the University of Houston through July 24. For more information or to reserve your spot, go to www.internalDrive.com.

Summer camp is in full swing and it’s time to look at some more photos! This week’s theme was “Fun Camp Activities – Games, Relays and Sports.” We looked through the many photos on http://www.internaldrive.com/photos and are pleased to announce this week’s photo-of-the-week winners. Thanks for taking the time to take great photos and for painting the picture of what our summer camps for kids and teens are truly like! Enjoy these photos!

Summer Fun at Stanford University Computer Camp

Macalester College Summer Day Camps

Ready to Rumble at Rider University

The Race is on to Santa Clara University Technology Camps

Teen Summer Camp Water Fun at Lake Forest

Ready – Set- Go to UC Davis Summer Camp

Colorado State University Camp Kids

The University of Michigan Creative Campers

Summer Campers Jump Through Hoops at Villanova University

Computer Tech Dance off at Carnegie Mellon University

Are you bored playing your favorite video games again and again? Tired of the same old characters exploring the same old levels, getting destroyed at the same spots?

Wouldn’t it be more fun if you could design new interactive levels, create bold new characters and give them a whole new arsenal of mind-blowing weapons and vehicles? You could wage new wars, turn up the battle intensity and create your own unforgettable, unique experiences.

You love playing video games, so why not take a top selling hit and mod it to be your own? iD Tech Camps and the iD Gaming Academy for teens offer you the opportunity to learn these fun skills at their summer technology programs.

Unreal Tournament® 3, the world’s premier first-person shooter, ships with the foundation anyone needs to get started making games with the award-winning Unreal® Engine 3 toolset. Unreal Engine 3 provides the platform and tools needed to develop cutting-edge 3D projects. Consequently, it has been used as the backbone for bestselling games like Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War®, BioShock, Mass Effect, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and many more.

Many video game companies actively recruit aspiring game developers who specialize in “modding” (modification of) existing video games–a colossal trend sweeping the industry.

“We encourage students and aspiring game developers to make mods for Unreal Tournament 3,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “It’s our experience that people who have a strong grasp of the Unreal Engine toolset increase their chances of getting a job in the game industry. Epic has recruited a significant portion of our staff from the mod community, and we are even co-sponsoring the $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest, a mod competition for Unreal Tournament 3.”

This increasing appeal in Unreal Tournament 3, the Unreal Engine and game modding in general has spiked the interest of many teens looking to get in on the action. Recognizing this trend, summer technology programs like iD Tech Camps and iD Gaming Academy have not only incorporated game modding and video game creation courses into their curriculum, but they have also provided a platform allowing their students to work with the best game development software available. As students learn to create and mod levels, they will also gain valuable level-design skills that can be directly leveraged in the growing and lucrative game development industry.

“We make sure that our video game design courses use cutting-edge technology like Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3,” said Pete Ingram-Cauchi, President and CEO of iD Tech Camps and iD Gaming Academy. “Students are given the tools to create levels, characters and scenes that only their wildest imaginations could produce. Where else can you do this? It’s awesome.”

At iD Tech Camps, ages 13-17 attend weeklong summer camps using Unreal Tournament 3 in the Game Modding and 3D Game Design courses. In Game Modding, gamers redesign Unreal Tournament 3, adding their own skins, levels and characters. In 3D Game Design, teens use Unreal Engine 3 to design 3D environments and make 3D game levels with dynamic range and bloom lighting, particle effects, physics and an advanced scripting language. iD Tech Camps provides weeklong, day and overnight technology summer camps for ages 7-17 at over 60 prestigious universities nationwide including Stanford, UCLA and MIT.

Meanwhile at the 2-week iD Gaming Academy, ages 13-18 take a 2-week immersive program of intensive study in the dynamic world of video game creation and game development. Gamers can take Level Design- Unreal Engine 3 where they modify Unreal Tournament 3 with custom maps, storyboards and character treatments. They’ll learn what makes a game addicting and the strategies behind compelling game play as students create their own levels. Other iD Gaming Academy courses include Game Modeling with Maya® and Game Programming with XNA^TM for the Xbox 360® and PC.

With Epic’s game engine toolset being used at iD Tech Camps and iD Gaming Academy locations across the nation, teens are able to satisfy curiosities while opening new doors that have tremendous impact on their lives and future careers.

“At one time, half the people who worked for us were chosen because of their modding work — level designers, artists, programmers, everything,” said Rein.

So if you are looking to design professional games that both look and feel like the ones you play at home, consider iD Tech Camps (www.internalDrive.com) and iD Gaming Academy (www.iDGamingAcademy.com) game design camp for teens. Whether just for fun and creativity, or to learn a skill that may open doors to creative opportunities in the videogame design field, these summer gaming camps will open new levels of fun and excitement. What starts as a mere hobby can turn into a potentially lucrative career opportunity in the fast growing video game industry.

Written by Ryan Barone