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2010 @ iD Tech – Nachos (Part 1)

Hey All – it’s (the other) Pete reflecting on another amazing season at iD Tech! This is the moment that everyone gets to take a nice long breath before diving back in and finding new, exciting ways to make 2011 even better. Of course, iD Tech doesn’t really stop – iD 365 is active all year round and is an awesome way to keep the iD spirit alive while waiting for summer to finally reappear.

While all of the other folks at iD are catching up on their much needed beauty sleep (ahem… Josh!), I figured it was prime time to take over the blog and fill it with some of the incredible stuff that happened this summer across the world of iD. There’s so much to cram in that I’ll have several posts over the coming week covering Nachos, iDX and new games!

All of our camps are connected via an active online community in order to share ideas, stories, advice and concerns to help make every camp better. The more we share, the more we learn and the better everyone does their jobs. Luckily for me, there is an entire Forum based solely around Nachos, a staff incentive program that encourages staffers to go above and beyond in their work. This online gathering place gives me a window into the amazing job our staff does every day.

Anyway, here’s a breakdown of the some of the cooler Nacho submissions we had during the summer:

The Drill Sergeant

This training-only Nacho was given out for starting a random chant during lunch at one of the trainings. Matt (aka Rocky) from Columbia University (of whom I will mention a bunch of times) submitted this video of his table starting their 2010 Nacho hunt.

The Mad Hatter

The gang at Sacred Heart University scored tons of Nachos this season. One of the first submissions was this shot from Wacky Hat Day, earning them the Mad Hatter.

Not to be outdone, Princeton had a Wacky Hat Day of their own with too many hats to post! This particular submission, however, really beamed of iD pride!

The Michael Cotter

iD Vassar claimed a ton of Nachos this summer – one requiring the simple task of High-5′ing all of camp. Check it out!

The Scripps
One of my very favorite Nachos, we had a bunch of attempts from all over the country!

You’ve Been Served
There was a bit of a Nacho rivalry this summer between St. Mary’s University and Purdue. One of the highlights of their battle for Nacho superiority was the attempt that each had to out “serve” one another on the dance floor. I’m not quite sure who won…?

Stay tuned for more Nacho highlights! w00t!

 

September 1st, 2010 | Posted in Summer Camps, iD Tech Bloggers, iD Tech Camps Submit a Comment »

 

 

CNN Money Reports on iD Tech Camps – Build iPhone apps at summer camp!

 

August 13th, 2010 | Posted in Princeton University, Seton Hall University, iD In The News Submit a Comment »

 

 

As appeared in the Pioneer Press – Teens flock to LFC to learn video game development by Stephanie Kohl

August 5, 2010

By Stephanie Kohl

Coming from all over the country, 25 students spent two weeks at Lake Forest College for the iD Gaming Academy hosted by California-based internalDrive.

The Gaming Academy offered students ages 13-18 a two-week experience in the world of video game development. The beginner students take one of four courses offered, including 3D modeling and animation with Maya, programming for game consoles, 3D level design – Unreal Engine 3, or Flash scripting for Web games.

The teens left the camp, which ran July 18-30, with a gaming portfolio and tools to excel in the expanding game development field. Students were also given studio tours to see first-hand how industry professionals create games.

Sam Nesbit, an 18-year-old Lake Bluff resident, has attended iD camps for the past five summers. This year, he enrolled in the camp to focus on programming for game consoles, where he worked on a Pong-style game. Just to create the two paddles of the game, Nesbit needed about 130 lines of coding. Prior to enrolling in the camp, all Nesbit knew was what the code looked like.

“I want to learn the programming language,” he said.

Kyle Davison, a 14-year-old Carmel, Ind. resident, said learning about coding has given him a new appreciation for all the work that goes into making a video game exciting.

“(The hardest part) is getting everything done right and not miscoding anything,” Davison said.

Evanston resident Noah Grosshandler, 15, enrolled in the 3D level design course of the camp, where he spent time modifying the award-winning game Unreal Tournament 3.

“I enjoy gaming and I kind of wanted to see what happens behind the scenes,” Grosshandler said.

During the camp, Grosshandler focused on creating a new level for the game. Beginning with an empty grid, he worked with Unreal Engine 3 to place features, like pillars and lights, available to designers. Eventually, his grid would look like a room in the game.

“I’m not sure anything will ever be done,” he said. “There’s always something that can be tweaked.”

Grosshandler said it has been fun to spend his time with people who share his interests and can have intelligent conversations about video games and gaming.

Part of camp involves lots of open gaming, especially in the evening, but the students work hard on their respective programs.

“We try to get them all to a place that when they leave here, they can continue on,” said Tom Miecznikowski, director of the iD Gaming Academy at Lake Forest College.

Miecznikowski said the students will leave camp not only having the technology and programming background, but they’ll also have samples of their work, created with tools used in the industry.

“This is serious training,” he said. “They’re getting ahead.”

 

August 5th, 2010 | Posted in Lake Forest College, Northwestern University, iD In The News Submit a Comment »

 

 

As appeared in The North Andover Citizen – Getting into the game by Sally Applegate

August 5, 2010

By Sally Applegate

 

August 5th, 2010 | Posted in Merrimack College, iD In The News Submit a Comment »

 

 

As appeared in the Detroit News – Future game-makers test their skills at Ann Arbor summer camp

July 27, 2010

By Michael H. Hodges

Remember this: In a world where computers run everything, nerds rule.

So you might think the 31 kids glued to glowing screens last week at the Ann Arbor summer camp run by iD Tech, a company out of California’s Silicon Valley, were just a bunch of campers who prefer computers to campfires. But you would be wrong.

These are future masters of the universe, acquiring sophisticated programming skills in video-game design with Flash and Maya animation and other programs that most adults who design games don’t get under their belts until they hit college or the professional world.

The campers wore their nerdiness with a cheerful swagger.

“Oh yeah, I’m definitely a nerd,” said Alex Eichner, 15, a camper from Alexandria, Va. “No doubt about it.”

The week-long program was one of seven iD Tech sponsored this summer at the University of Michigan, as well as at other universities around the country. The last U-M session begins Sunday and winds up Aug. 8. Spots are still available. (See box, 2C.)

Last week, all the campers happened to be boys. Camp officials say most courses generally attract a few girls, at least, though they concede — video games being something of a male province — that they’re outnumbered.

This digital world comes with its own rarefied geek vocabulary — anyone over 30 might want to bring a translator. “Modders” modify existing games to their specifications, “actionscripting” or coding the landscape with “doodads” or “static mesh” — both terms for the physical details like cars, lamps or rocks that make a virtual world look realistic, all of which has to be painstakingly programmed.

For his part, Eichner was mapping the layout and geography for a “Warcraft 3″ video game he’s adapting to loosely resemble Capture the Flag.

“I’m making the heroes,” he said, while two of his teenage colleagues nearby worked on other details.

“It’s a lot of work,” Eichner said. “I have to tell the program how strong the heroes are and define aspects of their power. Are they fast? Do they fight up front with a sword? Do they have magic abilities?

“Then I have to balance them,” he added, “so they’re evenly matched.”

Lead instructor Finn Haverkamp, 23, said he majored in creative writing in college and acquired most of his computer skills on his own.

But he stressed the similarity between game design and the writing process — a lesson he passed along to the campers.

“Writing,” he said, with a nod to Eichner’s labors, “is all about revision. And game design is like that.”

Camp director Micki Woodford, 35, said this year iD Tech leaned on kids to come up with strong plots for their games and characters.

“The writing was really emphasized in our training,” she said. “Every camper has to submit a storyline in writing before we start making characters.”

Eichner was working in a 2-D universe — essentially designing games that bear some resemblance to the old Mario Brothers, where two characters compete or duke it out on screen.

In a nearby room, 13-year-old Adam Alpert from Farmington Hills was busy modifying “Half-Life,” a hugely popular 3-D game that puts the player right in the middle of the action.

It’s a “first-person shooter” game — meaning the player appears to move around just like in real life, seeing the world through his eyes. (That’s what they mean by “3-D.” No funny glasses are involved, and the computer images themselves are not three-dimensional.)

But as in real life, you don’t see your whole body because your eyes can’t take all of it in. Instead, in Alpert’s game, the shooter’s arms and hands are visible at the start, just as they would be when we look down.

It is, as he acknowledged with a grin full of braces, a “blood-and-guts game” where bad guys’ heads explode in a shower of red when you hit them. So it’s no surprise that iD Tech restricts enrollment in 3-D design to 13 years old and older.

In Alpert’s virtual universe, the player starts in a house.

“You want to get out the door,” he said, “but it’s blocked. So you get a crowbar, break the window, and from there you pretty much go into the city, passing downed houses, wrecked cars and burnt-out stuff.

“But, I haven’t got that far.”

He’d have to hurry. He had only three more days before the end of camp.

iD Tech camps

Got a computer whiz who’d like to polish her or his skills? There are still openings for the last week of high-tech computer design camp at the University of Michigan run by iD Tech.

Ages: 7 to 17; 3-D design classes limited to 13 and older

Cost: $779: one-week day camper; $1,249: one-week overnight camper

More information: Call (888) 709-8324 or visit www.internaldrive.com

mhodges@detnews.com (313) 222-6021

 

July 27th, 2010 | Posted in University of Michigan, iD In The News Submit a Comment »